Executive Director Kelli Nicholas Owens
Jara Traina
Jara Traina (she/her) is the General Counsel at OPDV. In this capacity, she advises the Executive Director on all legal matters affecting the agency. As part of her portfolio, she oversees the work of the New York State Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team. Ms. Traina brings over 20 years of legal, strategic policy, and management experience in human services, and has developed and implemented innovative solutions to address complex challenges facing vulnerable populations.
Ms. Traina previously worked at Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), where she was the Director of the Bureau of Domestic Violence Prevention and Victim Support. Over the course of her 13 years at OCFS, she was also a senior attorney with the Division of Legal Affairs, providing legal services for domestic violence programs, the Commission for the Blind, Child Preventive and Protective Services, foster care, juvenile justice and adult protective services. She also provided ethics training and guidance for OCFS employees. Prior to her work at OCFS, she was an Attorney for the Child at Children’s Law Center in the Bronx, where she represented children in custody/visitation, child welfare, domestic violence and guardianship cases in family court and supreme court matters.
Ms. Traina graduated cum laude from Muhlenberg College and received her juris doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law. She is admitted to the New York and New Jersey Bars.
Kathryn Gordon
Kathryn Gordon (she/her) is the Deputy Executive Director for External Affairs at OPDV. A seasoned Government affairs specialist, Ms. Gordon brings with her more than twenty years of experience working in and around state government, including the New York State Legislature and non-profit organizations.
Prior to joining OPDV, Ms. Gordon worked within not-for-profit administration and advocacy, including roles as the Director of Research and Legislation for the Healthcare Association of New York State and the Director of Government Relations for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District II.
Prior to that she served as the legislative director for two state senators. Her experience includes leading advocacy and public awareness campaigns and negotiating legislative and regulatory changes for women, physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, older adults, and people with disabilities.
Throughout her career, her passion for advocacy and supporting others has been witnessed in her volunteer activity with multiple task forces and nonprofits, including the Food as Medicine Coalition, Hudson Mohawk Area Health Education Center, the American Diabetes Association, and Breakthrough T1F (formerly JDRF).
Kathryn earned a master’s degree in public administration at Rockefeller College at SUNY Albany. She resides in New York’s Capital Region with her son and their family of feline and canine beasts.
Elizabeth Bliss
Elizabeth Bliss (she/her) is the Deputy Executive Director of Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Programming at OPDV. Ms. Bliss comes to OPDV with 25 years of experience working to improve the response to domestic violence and sexual assault. This experience ranges from working as a front-line advocate partnered with police officers to management-level leadership positions attending to program operations. With a focus on improving the systems that victims of domestic violence and sexual assault must navigate, Ms. Bliss worked on a statewide level addressing legislative policy and providing technical assistance to local programs seeking to align their services with best practices. Ms. Bliss has also worked on a national level providing training to multi-disciplinary law enforcement teams regarding the safe supervision of domestic violence offenders who are on probation or parole.
Elizabeth obtained her master’s degree in social welfare from University at Albany and she was a dual major in criminal justice and psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park where she obtained her bachelor’s degree. In addition to her victim advocacy work, Elizabeth has worked as a psychotherapist working with people from children to older adults with a wide range of lived experiences and behavioral health needs.
Michael Whiteley
Michael Whiteley is the Deputy Executive Director of OPDV’s Bureau of Law Enforcement and Public Safety Services. The Bureau of Law Enforcement and Public Safety is responsible for providing training and technical assistance to law enforcement, probation, parole, college public safety, courts and EMS providers in New York State.
Prior to joining OPDV, Michael served 22 years with the Town of Bethlehem Police Department. and is a highly decorated veteran within the department. Starting as a Patrol Officer, he was soon assigned to the Family Services Unit where he worked for many years. He went on to become a D.A.R.E. Officer and then Detective assigned to the Bethlehem Middle School as a School Resource Officer. Given his extensive experience with juvenile, domestic and special victim investigations, Michael was a sought-after presenter, facilitating trainings on many public safety topics to various agencies throughout New York. He is especially known for his work with the State of New York Police Juvenile Officers Association, bringing Raise the Age legislation trainings to officers across the state. Michael returned to the patrol division as Road Sergeant, obtaining the rank of Master Sergeant prior to his retirement in 2023.
Michael is a graduate of SUNY Brockport with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He has a paramedic certification from Hudson Valley Community College and obtained his police officer certification at the Zone 5 Regional Law Enforcement Training Center, Session 32.
Peter Lang
Peter Lang is the Deputy Executive Director of Finance and Administration at OPDV. A dynamic finance professional, experienced in managing financial operations with New York State, Peter served with the New York State Office of Information Technology Services’ Budget Unit for over 8 years, prior to starting with OPDV in 2025. In his current role at OPDV, Peter oversees the financial management and administrative operations of the agency, including budget, accounts payable, procurement and contracting, financial reporting, internal controls, travel, human resources, and facilities.
Peter holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Communication and Leadership from Marist College and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Springfield College.
Stevie Hunter
Stevie Hunter (she/her) is the Chief of Staff at OPDV. Stevie first joined the OPDV team as an Excelsior Fellow and had an integral role in the creation of the Power Down Speak Up Campaign to help protect New Yorkers from technology-facilitated abuse. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies from the University of Vermont (UVM) and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) with concentrations in Local Government and Policy Analytic Methods from the University at Albany SUNY.
Elizabeth Bartolomucci-Hughes
Elizabeth Bartolomucci-Hughes (she/her) is the Director of Gender-Based Violence Response at OPDV. Ms. Bartolomucci-Hughes has over 15 years of experience in gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response, human rights, and women and girls' empowerment. Before joining OPDV, Ms. Bartolomucci-Hughes worked internationally in a variety of roles with various humanitarian international non-governmental agencies, including the International Rescue Committee, International Medical Corps, International Planned Parenthood Federation, and Relief International. With a focus on humanitarian emergency response, she provided direct GBV services and training, collaborated with local and regional partners, and coordinated with key stakeholders and donors in the Middle East. Most recently, she served as a GBV Technical Advisor, working across South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Her responsibilities included providing GBV technical support, developing GBV curricula, and leading strategic planning in GBV programming. Domestically, Ms. Bartolomucci-Hughes has experience working at RAINN on the DoD Safe Helpline, supporting Department of Defense community members and the national sexual assault hotline. She has also worked on Capitol Hill, raising awareness and advocacy on statelessness, immigration, refugees, and GBV.
Ms. Bartolomucci-Hughes graduated cum laude from Millikin University and received her Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Indianapolis.