NCVLI Staff

Douglas Beloof, J.D., Executive Director
Mr. Beloof is a Law Professor and the Executive Director of the Institute. He also supervises the Crime Victim Litigation Clinic. Professor Beloof has written the only casebook on the subject of crime victim law, Victims in Criminal Procedure, and has been cited by the United States Senate Judiciary Committee as an expert on crime victim law. He is a leader in legal education in crime victim law and writes amicus briefs to appellate courts nationwide.

Meg Garvin, M.A., J.D., Director of Programs
Ms. Garvin is the Director of Programs for the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI). She leads NCVLI’s impact litigation, and provides legal technical assistance to attorneys representing crime victims nationwide. Ms. Garvin has presented on victims’ rights at over 50 conferences nationwide; she regularly participates in national forums to develop policy on victims’ rights, and has testified before Congress and the Oregon Legislature on the current state of victim law. She is currently serving as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section Victims Committee and has been appointed by the Oregon Attorney General to Oregon’s Sexual Assault Task Force. Prior to joining NCVLI, Ms. Garvin clerked for the Honorable Donald P. Lay of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, after which she practiced law in a private firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, focusing on appellate litigation, complex business litigation, and employment law. She has a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound, an M.A. in Communication Studies with an emphasis in rhetorical theory from the University of Iowa, and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Whitney Grubbs, J.D., Program Manager
Ms. Grubbs is responsible for implementing, overseeing, and evaluating the subawarded Clinics of the Demonstration Project and the Crime Victims’ Rights Enforcement Project. Prior to joining NCVLI, Ms. Grubbs served as the Director of Youth Take Action, a nonprofit service-learning program serving students in three Oregon charter high schools. For six years preceding, she practiced law in private firms in Portland, Oregon, most recently Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlhaf, P.C., where she concentrated on employment and commercial litigation. Ms. Grubbs clerked for the Honorable Justice William Leaphart of the Montana Supreme Court and completed internships with the offices of the Montana Federal Defender and Missoula County Attorney. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Montana and a J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law.

Susanna Cowen, J.D., Staff Attorney
Ms. Cowen participates in the development and implementation of NCVLI’s national litigation and education strategies by providing legal technical support to victim attorneys and advocates nationwide, drafting amicus curiae briefs, and educating attorneys and advocates on victims’ rights issues. Prior to joining NCVLI, Ms. Cowen worked as a litigation associate at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, in New York. Her practice at Paul, Weiss involved general commercial litigation, as well as the representation of pro bono clients in the areas of employment, voting rights, and immigration law. Ms. Cowen has a B.A. in English from Columbia University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

Toby Krauel, J.D., Staff Attorney
Mr. Krauel provides legal technical assistance to crime victims’ attorneys and advocates nationally and drafts amicus curiae in support of crime victims’ rights in state and federal courts. Prior to joining NCVLI, Mr. Krauel was a prosecutor for over ten years in the State of Washington. In Cowlitz County, Mr. Krauel was the Chief Criminal Prosecutor where he supervised attorneys and handled a caseload consisting of murder, rape, and serious assault charges. Mr. Krauel has a B.S. from the University of Portland and a J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law.

Lisa Farrell, Grants & Programs Coordinator
Ms. Farrell assists NCVLI in monitoring and coordinating the organization’s grants and subgrants, educational events and trainings, evaluation and reporting, board of directors, website and marketing, and effective organizational development and functioning. Previously, she worked with the Project REACH Transition to Teaching Grant, a federally-funded grant program placing teachers in high-need schools in Arizona. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Arizona.

Jeff Hanson, Paralegal
Mr. Hanson provides paralegal and administrative support to NCVLI management team and staff attorneys. He previously worked for U.S. Pretrial Services and a private law practice in Portland.

Angela Sanders, Public Relations and Fundraising Officer
Ms. Sanders is NCVLI's Public Relations and Fundraising Officer. Prior to coming to NCVLI, she worked as a congressional investigator for the Government Accountability Office, as a fundraiser for two local nonprofit organizations, and as a freelance grantwriter. Angela is also a writer whose articles on Pacific Northwest art, culture, and food have been published nationally. She holds a bachelor of arts. in economics and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington.