Kristin Eliason, Esq. (she/her) is the Head of Services at Network for Victim Recovery of DC (NVRDC), a nonprofit organization in the District of Columbia that provides holistic, trauma-informed, survivor-centered services to people who have experienced crime in the District. In her role, Kristin oversees NVRDC’s Legal Services, Case Management and Advocacy Services, Therapeutic Services, the Victim Legal Network of DC, and various restorative justice programs.
Kristin’s career working with survivors of crime began during law school as a student attorney representing survivors of intimate partner violence in various legal proceedings. While the early part of her career was spent representing survivors of power-based personal violence, in 2013, Kristin was hired as one of NVRDC’s first two staff attorneys, tasked with both representing crime victims, including surviving family members of homicide victims and survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner and dating violence, stalking, gun violence, child sexual abuse, identity theft, elder abuse, carjacking, burglary, robbery, and hate crimes. Kristin’s areas of practice have focused on Protective Order and Anti-Stalking Order matters, higher education misconduct proceedings under Title IX and the Clery Act, and the representation of crime victims in the assertion of their rights in criminal proceedings.
During her tenure at NVRDC, Kristin has pushed for the rights of crime victims through policy advocacy and strategic litigation, working with legislators and serving on various committees and coordinated community response groups dedicated to issues impacting people who experience crime in the District. Kristin has significant experience training attorneys and other professions on crime victims’ rights, trauma-informed lawyering, and other topics pertaining to crime victims.
Prior to joining NVRDC, Kristin was an attorney with House of Ruth Maryland's Protection Order Advocacy and Representation Project Maryland’s Montgomery and Prince George’s County. After law school, Kristin served as law clerk to DC Superior Court Magistrate Judges Janet Albert and Mary Grace Rook. Kristin is licensed to practice law in DC (active) and Maryland (active). Kristin serves as a part-time professor at the George Washington University where she teaches about victimology, victims, and the criminal legal system. Kristin received the 2022 Washington Council of Lawyers Legal Services Award for her extraordinary contributions to the District’s public-interest law community.