Maureen Baker

Maureen Baker is a Policy Associate with the Catherine Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine. For over twenty years Maureen has worked as an advocate, an educator, and a leader in the field of violence against women. Throughout her career, she has worked with professionals in the fields of domestic violence, sexual assault, crime victim advocacy, and criminal justice to identify and minimize barriers to integrated service delivery. Maureen provides leadership to a range of federal, statewide, and local justice policy initiatives. She is the Associate Director for the National Violence Against Women Act, Measuring Effectiveness Initiative (VAWA MEI) supporting hundreds of Office on Violence Against Women grantees in collecting and reporting accurate data on the delivery of services. Ms. Baker also directs a regional Victim Assistance Academy providing professional development opportunities for crime victim advocates across northern New England. Maureen was a featured Policy Advisor in the National Institute of Corrections Satellite Broadcast (2015) Offender Reentry: The Value of Victim Involvement, and co-created NIC’s Respectful Classification Practices with LGBTI Inmates, A Trainer’s Manual (2014). Ms. Baker has authored numerous curricula and reports including The GAL’s Role in Parental Rights and Responsibility Cases when Domestic Violence is Present, An Advanced Curriculum on Child Custody and Domestic Abuse for Guardians ad Litem (2012), and Domestic Violence Curriculum for Head Start, A Collaborative Training Model (2005).

Ms. Baker has a Master’s degree in Adult Education and has over 20 years’ experience with curriculum development, facilitation, and training delivery. She is most passionate about cross-disciplinary approaches to workforce and organizational development, especially as it relates to building collaborative relationships across diverse social service and justice systems.