[Archived] City Manager Appoints New Director to Office on Women

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

Alexandria City Manager Vola Lawson announced today the appointment of Lisa Oviatt as the Director of the Office on Women, effective immediately.

Oviatt, age 39, has been the Acting Director of the Office since November 1999. Under the auspices of the Department of Human Relations, the Office on Women provides information, referral services, counseling, mentoring, and community education programs for women and their families in the areas of employment, health and safety, domestic violence, and sexual assault.

The Office operates the City’s Battered Women’s Shelter, reviews legislation that affects women and serves as an advocate for women. The Office also provides staff support to the Alexandria Commission for Women and assists in the coordination of the Annual Walk to Fight Breast Cancer, the Salute to Women Awards Banquet and the Take Our Daughters to Work Program.

"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to appoint Lisa Oviatt to this extremely important position," Mrs. Lawson said. "Lisa is a very capable manager who knows the Alexandria City government and is truly committed to fulfilling the mission of the Office on Women."

The Office on Women was created after the City’s Ad Hoc Committee on Women, chaired by City Manager Lawson, released a historic report in 1974 documenting widespread discrimination against women in the areas of employment, education, recreation, credit, housing and health.

Oviatt will oversee the Office’s $1.7 million annual budget, which includes local, state and federal grants, and a total of 18 employees. The Office has received national recognition for its successful Domestic Violence Program and its innovative approach to victim’s safety and advocacy. In addition, the Office’s Sexual Assault Response and Awareness Program (SARA) has attracted national attention for its extensive offering of victim’s services.

"I am truly honored to have been selected for this position," Oviatt said. "There is nothing more meaningful than having a job you love and knowing that your efforts and the efforts of your staff make a difference in the lives of people in the community."

Oviatt joined the City in 1994 as a part-time social worker in the Office’s Domestic Violence Program, overseeing the batterer’s treatment program and the court advocacy program. She has served as Acting Health and Community Education Specialist and coordinated the 1999 Walk to Fight Breast Cancer. She also has served as a member of the City’s interagency Domestic Violence Intervention Project and as a task force member of Virginia’s Commission on Family Violence Prevention. Additionally, Oviatt worked as an Offsite Research Associate with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, providing training and developing programs for federally-funded research projects. She has been a faculty member for the Virginians Against Domestic Violence Training Institute (VADV) since March of 1998.

From 1990 to 1994, she worked as a volunteer for the Domestic Violence Program, helping victims in several different capacities, and served on the Commission for Women in 1992.

Oviatt has a bachelor’s degree in social work from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. She and her husband, Matthew, and two sons, Daniel and Will, reside in Annandale.