Susun, a 1991 graduate of New York University School of Law, is an experienced family law attorney with 15 years of legal aid experience. She enjoys creating new projects and participating in collaborative initiatives, i.e., collective impact work. She has helped put together county wide housing service collaboratives, developed the court-based housing law clinics, and convened a reentry initiative to assist the formerly incarcerated. She has been actively involved in the United Way’s SparkPoint initiative focused on self-sufficiency. She serves on the steering committee for the Contra Costa County’s Alliance to End Abuse Initiative and the Community Advisory Board of the Contra Costa County Community Corrections Partnership. Susun has extensive training and facilitation experience and previously served as faculty for national training institutes hosted by the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence.
Natalie, a California native, has worked as a survivor advocate for fifteen years. She graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2011, where her studies centered around victim advocacy, criminal procedure, and civil rights. While living in Massachusetts, she worked as a Legal Consultant for a local Rape Crisis Center. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Santa Barbara, where she double majored in English and Sociology and worked as a Speaker for the Rape Prevention Education Program. She was a Certified Rape Crisis Counselor in California and Massachusetts. She is proud to be the coordinator for the Domestic Violence Multidisciplinary Team (DV MDT), the Human Trafficking Multidisciplinary Team (HT MDT), the Domestic Violence Death Review Team, the Strangulation Task Force and the Central Center’s Director. She believes strongly in a holistic approach to justice and healing.
Before joining the Family Justice Center, Shannon worked as the Coordinator of Administrative Services for a performing arts charter school providing executive support and programmatic guidance to students, instructors, staff, and outside academic partners. Shannon has extensive training and facilitation experience as a training consultant and auditor for local and state agencies and previously served as faculty and a guest lecturer for Carrington College, St. Mary’s College, Los Medanos College, and Montana State University. Shannon has a passion for and commitment to the Family Justice Center’s mission, vision, and belief that all survivors of interpersonal violence can achieve justice, healing, and hope through education, collaborative partnerships with the community, policy development and implementation, and advocacy.
Shannon earned an MSW from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from San Jose State University. Shannon is currently pursuing a PsyD in Clinical Psychology and has a strong interest in conducting research that focuses on violence, epigenetics, generational trauma, and healing.
