Ms. Joell, founder of Community Advocates for Family & Youth (CAFY) is a key inspiration behind the program and its impact on the community.  Ms. Joell spent many years working as a volunteer in roles such as a Domestic Violence Crisis Hotline Counselor at Philadelphia’s Women in Transition Program; Big Brothers & Sisters Program in Pittsburgh, PA and was an active team leader at the Boys & Girls Teen Rap Sessions during her short time in New Jersey.  She is no stranger to recognizing and meeting the needs of people in crisis. 

Prior to CAFY, Ms. Joell worked with victims at Prince George’s Hospital’s Sexual Assault Center as an Exam Volunteer, Victim Advocate, then developed The Victim Advocacy Program and became its program’s coordinator.  Now, with CAFY, she has partnered with the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Special Crimes Section to provide victim services and support their sexual assault, child and vulnerable adult units. Additionally, CAFY has partnered with the County’s State Attorney’s office to conduct a unique Court Education Program, this is a result of a pilot program developed by Ms. Joell in 2003. 

Prior to her victim services work, Ms. Joell worked for more than 20 years as a finance manager with the IBM and GE Corporations.  Beginning her second phase after private industry she became the Jury Commissioner in the D.C. Superior Court.  She has used her business experience as an adjunct instructor at Prince George’s Community College teaching practical work ethic and skills to recent high school graduates.  She served as a board member to Montgomery County’s LifeSkills Workshop, Inc. She is currently a certified Family Mediator, a skill she uses at CAFY to conduct their “Family Dialogue Sessions”. She is a board member for the County’s Community Mediation Program, a member of the Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the National Crime Prevention Council and the Maryland Association of Victim Service Providers. 
She has presented at several key conferences - “Safe Harbor” hosted by the Prince Georges County State’s Attorney’s Office Domestic Violence Unit, and National Organization for Victim Assistance’s (NOVA) North American Victim Assistance Conference and Maryland Association of Resources for Family & Youth (MARFY) Conference.  She has worked with the Mentoring Network, Inc. to train social workers to be “Effective Witnesses”. She continues to work as a Victim Advocate in her current role and has conducted numerous trainings with faith-based and other local organization focused on assaults and youth violence.

In 2005, she was awarded the Governor’s Victim Assistance Award for outstanding victim services. In 2006 she was selected by National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) as one of the nation’s 32 leaders to create a teen victimization campaign.  Under her leadership, in 2006 CAFY became an approved site for the President’s National Volunteer Service Award and Volunteers in Policing Service Program and in 2007 CAFY received a U.S. Senator’s Citation for raising public awareness about youth violence.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

Produced by Community Advocates for Family & Youth.  The hosting of this website was made possible by the support by Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice.  Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U. S. Department of Justice.