Cristina Damiani, M.A.

Cristina brings over two decades of dedicated experience in the public sector, focusing on ending domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of interpersonal violence.

Cristina joined the Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO) in 2015 and has held various roles within this organization since then. Currently serving as its Director of Safe Homes, Cristina oversees budget management and direction for technical assistance and direct service programs addressing domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and related issues. 

One of the projects under the Safe Homes department is the Underserved Technical Assistance Project (UTAP), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women.  As the Project Director, Cristina leads a team working on capacity-building efforts to enhance outreach and services for survivors from underserved populations. Additionally, under this project, Cristina serves as a technical assistance Point-of-Contact, providing regularly scheduled and on-demand individualized support to OVW Underserved Program grantee organizations. 

Prior to her work at ALSO, Cristina was a co-director at the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center (OCVLC), a nonprofit organization specializing in wraparound victim rights, legal, and advocacy services. For five years, Cristina managed OCVLC’s operations and budget while providing bilingual advocacy services to crime victims, including domestic violence and sexual assault survivors.

Cristina also worked for five years at the Office of Court Administration in Puerto Rico, coordinating program development and implementation to enhance system responses to domestic violence in this jurisdiction. Most notably, this work allowed her to play a seminal role in planning, implementing, and expanding Puerto Rico’s first specialized domestic violence court.

Cristina began her career at a social justice nonprofit in New York, where she contributed to technical assistance and training projects funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Cristina holds a B.A. in Law and Society from American University and an M.A. in Anthropology from Hunter College, City University of New York. Proud of her cultural and linguistic roots, Cristina’s commitment to ending violence is driven by three core beliefs: all humans are interconnected; everyone deserves equal access to what they need to thrive; and violence and abuse will not end until everyone is free from violence and abuse.