U.S. Department of Education

Violence Against Women Act Negotiated Rulemaking Committee

Meeting Summary

January 13-14, 2014

Welcome

Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, welcomed the 

members of the Committee and thanked them for agreeing to assist the Department in developing 

regulations to implement provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

Introductions

All members who were present introduced themselves. 

Overview of the Negotiated Rulemaking Process 

The facilitators provided an overview of the negotiated rulemaking process. They explained that the 

Committee’s discussions will focus on developing consensus regulatory text for the Department’s proposed 

rule to implement VAWA. 

Review and Adopt Protocols

Committee members discussed and adopted the draft organizational protocols, which will govern the 

Committee’s activities throughout the negotiated rulemaking process. 

Membership

The membership of the Committee was discussed. Additions to the Committee membership were 

proposed and discussed, and several were agreed to. The following members were accepted:

Federal Negotiator

U.S. Department of 

Education

Gail McLarnon

U.S. Department of Education

Non-Federal Negotiators

Community of 

Interest

Primary Alternate

Students Laura Dunn

Founder, SurvJustice

1. John Kelly

2. Know Your IX

Legal assistance 

organizations that 

represent students

Fatima Goss Graves

Vice President for Education and 

Employment, National Women’s Law 

Center

Bridgette Harwood

Co-Executive Director, Director of 

Legal Services, Network for Victim 

Recovery of DC

Consumer advocacy 

organizations

Nancy Chi Cantalupo

Research Fellow, Victim Rights Law 

Center

Denice Labertew

Director of Advocacy Services and 

Campus Programs, California Coalition 

Against Sexual Assault and Adjunct 

Faculty, Los Angeles Valley College 
and Los Angeles Mission College

Campus safety 

advocates

S. Daniel Carter

Director, VTV Family Outreach 

Foundation’s 32 National Campus Safety 

Initiative

Alison Kiss

Executive Director, Clery Center for 

Security On Campus, Inc.

Mental Health 

Services

Connie Best

Clinical Psychologist and Professor, 

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral 

Sciences, Medical University of South 

Carolina

Jessica Ladd-Webert

Director and Licensed Professional 

Counselor, Office of Victim Assistance, 

University of Colorado-Boulder

Institutional campus 

safety officials

Michael Heidingsfield 

Director of The University of Texas 

System Police

Paul Denton

Chief of Police, The Ohio State 

University Police Division

Institutional student 

affairs/disciplinary 

divisions

Cat Riley

Title IX Coordinator, Office of Title IX 

Compliance, University of Texas Medical 

Branch Galveston

Caroline Fultz-Carver

Associate Compliance Officer, 

University of South Florida System 

Institutional centers 

for women, lesbian, 

gay, bisexual, and 

transgendered 

individuals

Lisa Erwin

Vice Chancellor for Student Life and 

Dean of Students , University of 

Minnesota Duluth

Dennis Gregory

Associate Professor of Higher 

Education, Darden College of 

Education, Old Dominion University

Institutional attorneys Dana Scaduto

General Counsel, Dickinson College

Jerry Blakemore

Vice President and General Counsel, 

Northern Illinois University

Minority serving 

institutions and other 

Title III institutions

Anthony Walker

Chief of Police, Norfolk State University

Julie Poorman

Director, Financial Aid, Student 

Employment and the Call Center, East 

Carolina University 

Two-year public 

institutions

Rick Amweg

Director, Campus Safety & Security, 

University System of Ohio

Gary Lyle

Chief and Director of Public Safety, 

Anne Arundel Community College

Four-year public 

institutions

Jill Dunlap

Director, Campus Advocacy Resources 

and Education, UC Santa Barbara

Holly Rider-Milkovich 

Director, Sexual Assault Prevention and 

Awareness Center and Co-Chair, Abuse 

Hurts Initiative, University of Michigan

Private, non-profit 

institutions

Stephanie Atella

Health Educator, Student Development 

Michael Webster 

Director of Campus Safety, McDaniel 
Wellness Center, Loyola University 

Chicago

College

Private, for-profit 

institutions

Deana Echols 

Vice President of Compliance, Ultimate 

Medical Academy

Christine Gordon

American Association of Cosmetology 

Schools President and owner, Graham 

Webb Academy 

Agenda and Review of Issues

A representative of the Department’s Office of Civil Rights offered an overview of Title IX of the 

Education Amendments of 1972. The Committee reviewed and approved the draft Agenda, and discussed 

in detail the substantive topics listed on the Agenda. 

Public Comment

Opportunities were provided each day for the members of the public to provide comments. Several 

comments from the public were received at the end of each day.

Next Meeting

The next Committee session will be held on February 24 and 25, 2014 at the U.S. Department of 

Education in the 8

th Floor Conference Center located at 1990 K St. NW in Washington, D.C. Sessions 

will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 5:00 p.m. each day.

Next Steps

The Committee established two subgroups to meet by telephone prior to the next Committee meeting. 

These were the Stalking Subcommittee headed by Laura Dunn and the Prevention/Training Subcommittee 

headed by Nancy Chi Cantalupo. Each group was to seek to develop advice and possible draft regulatory 

text for the full Committee and the Department to consider.

Members Present

Non-federal Members:

Stephanie Atella

Rick Amweg

Connie Best

Jerry Blakemore

Nancy Chi Cantalupo

S. Daniel Carter

Paul Denton

Jill Dunlap

Laura Dunn

Deana Echols 

Lisa Erwin

Caroline Fultz- Carver

Christine Gordon

Fatima Goss Graves

Dennis Gregory

Bridgette Harwood

Michael Heidingsfield 

John Kelly

Alison Kiss

Jessica Ladd-Webert

Gary Lyle
Draft – 11/06/13

4

Julie Poorman

Holly Rider-Milkovich 

Cat Riley

Dana Scaduto

Anthony Walker

U.S. Department of Education:

Gail McLarnon