Staff and Board of Directors

Moire Balsam, Esq., joined VRLC in 2021. She provides direct representation to sexual assault survivors in campus and K-12 education matters and in privacy and safety matters. Moire also supervises VRLC’s legal internship program and co-supervises VRLC’s Intake Team. Prior to joining VRLC, Moire worked as an Assistant District Attorney for the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. Moire is a graduate of Fordham University at Lincoln Center and Boston College Law School.

Maura Crossin, Esq., is a distinguished advocate and legal expert who has devoted almost two decades to fighting for the rights of survivors of gender-based violence. Maura’s journey began on the ground as a Family Violence Victim Advocate, an experience she pursued after earning her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Connecticut. This foundational work fueled her decision to further her knowledge of the law at Quinnipiac University School of Law. After law school, Maura immediately focused on vulnerable populations, first as a Guardian Ad Litem representing minor victims of sexual assault and child abuse. She then spent years as the Senior Attorney and Program Director for the Victim Rights Center of Connecticut. In this key role, she became an expert in providing holistic, trauma-informed legal services. She successfully guided survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking through criminal, civil, and family court proceedings, addressing crucial issues like safety, privacy, housing, employment, and education. Bringing this wealth of direct client advocacy and programmatic expertise to VRLC’s Training and Technical Assistance Team in early 2023, Maura now works to expand knowledge and best practices across the field. She is committed to helping lawyers and advocates working with survivors to sustain and thrive. She is admitted to practice law in Connecticut.

Nora Grais-Clements, Esq., is a Senior Attorney with VRLC. She provides direct representation to victims of sexual assault in Western MA with a focus on safety and privacy matters, as well as working with victims with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Nora also works with clients on SSI/SSDI, housing, and K-12 education matters. Nora joined VRLC in 2018.  Prior to joining VRLC, Nora worked as a Staff Attorney at the Committee for Public Counsel, in the Children and Family Law Unit, representing low-income clients in child welfare matters. She has a background in social justice work, immigration, and domestic violence advocacy. She received her B.A. from Smith College and her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and Connecticut and is fluent in Spanish.

Tiffany Hester, Esq., joined Victim Rights Law Center in early 2024 as a Senior Attorney on the Training and Technical Assistance team. She provides national training and consultation on serving survivors’ legal needs that arise in K-12 school settings. Tiffany also specializes in confidentiality and privilege and the privacy rights of survivors who are minors. Before joining VRLC, Tiffany worked for the Kansas State Department of Education, where she provided support, training, and technical assistance to K-12 staff, parents, advocates, and attorneys regarding special education law. She earned her J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law and her B.A. in justice studies from Fort Hays State University.

Kayla Hogan-Daly, Esq., joined Victim Rights Law Center in December of 2022 as a Staff Attorney in the Boston office. She provides direct representation to survivors of sexual assault with a focus in K-12 education, safety, and privacy matters; as well as providing criminal justice advocacy. Prior to joining VRLC, Kayla worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk and Essex County with a primary focus on domestic violence cases. She received her B.S. from Suffolk University and her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.

Stephanie Friends Holt, Esq. is the Deputy Director of Operations at the Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC). She represents survivors of rape, sexual assault, and stalking throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with a focus on employment law, workplace retaliation, privacy and confidentiality protections, criminal justice advocacy, and safety planning. She regularly trains on employment rights, privacy, safety, and legal matters affecting the nonprofit sector. She also oversees VRLC’s national and statewide pro bono initiatives, recruiting, training, and mentoring volunteer attorneys to expand access to legal representation for survivors.

Stephanie began her work with VRLC in 2013 as a volunteer attorney and later joined the organization full time. She is a graduate of Virginia Tech and the University of Illinois College of Law.

Ellen Leuchs oversees VRLC’s fundraising initiatives. She brings decades of nonprofit experience in Massachusetts and New York. Prior to joining VRLC, she provided consulting to mission-driven organizations and philanthropists and served as Vice President of Philanthropic Services at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. Ellen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College of Columbia University.

Stacy Malone is the Executive Director of Victim Rights Law Center, where she leads the organization’s mission to provide free legal services to sexual assault survivors and to advance survivor-defined justice nationwide. Since becoming Executive Director in 2010, Stacy has guided VRLC’s growth in reach, impact, and national influence, strengthening its role as a leader in legal advocacy, systems reform, and professional training.

Stacy first joined VRLC in 2004 as a rape survivor who aspired to be a volunteer attorney, providing direct legal representation to survivors navigating employment protections, privacy rights, securing safety and criminal justice advocacy. Her experience working directly with clients continues to shape her leadership, ensuring that the organization’s strategic direction remains grounded in the lived realities of survivors. Stacy is a national trainer and thought leader committed to improving access to justice and promoting trauma-informed, survivor-centered practices.

Stacy serves on the Massachusetts Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking and advisory bodies including the Massachusetts Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program and the Massachusetts Disabled Persons Protection Commission Sexual Assault Response Unit.

She is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Boston University School of Law and has received numerous honors, including Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s Circle of Excellence Award and the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance Leadership Award. Her essay, “The Power of Survivor-Defined Justice,” appears in the anthology Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World. 

Through strategic leadership and steadfast advocacy, Stacy is continues to advance VRLC’s vision of a world where survivors are heard, believed, and empowered through access to justice.

Shannon Masden has a background in social work, community organizing, civil rights investigations, and trauma-informed violence prevention work. Prior to work at VRLC, she worked on multiple college campuses overseeing campus-wide responses to civil rights discrimination and harassment with particular focus on gender-based harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking and disability-based harm. Her work included policy development and implementation, conducting and overseeing investigations, hearing board oversight, alternative resolution procedures, campus wide training and implementing state and federal regulations. She has worked directly with trauma survivors in a variety of settings from domestic violence shelters to criminal courtrooms, as well as individual and family counseling. As a community organizer, she worked on a variety of campaigns including initiatives to end police brutality and predatory lending, increases to minimum wage and paid sick days, national immigration reform, LGTBQ equality, and the healthcare reform.

Cornelius McGarry is the CFO for Victim Rights Law Center. Cornelius is based in Boston and oversees the financial operations of all VRLC locations, which includes budgeting, financial reporting, compliance, and long-range strategy & planning. Cornelius has dedicated his career to meeting the financial and organizational needs of non-profit groups. He has previously worked in leadership roles at Boston Collegiate Charter School and AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts. As a steward of the financial health of the organization, Cornelius takes pride in maintaining a strong fiscal foundation to support the important work of VRLC. 

Amanda Walsh, Esq., is VRLC’s Deputy Director of External Affairs. In this capacity, she is responsible for spearheading the organization’s communications and national policy initiatives. She leads VRLC’s training and consultation program, supporting thousands of attorneys, campus administrators, advocates, and law enforcement professionals. Amanda oversees VRLC’s education practice and is a Title IX and campus gender-based violence expert. From 2015-2017, Amanda was the Title IX Program Officer at Brown University. She was responsible for implementing Brown’s sexual and gender-based harassment and violence policy and complaint procedures, building Brown’s flagship Title IX Office, and overseeing all related complaint investigations. Amanda is a graduate of Northeastern University and Roger Williams University School of Law.