Agata DiGiovanni has been a prosecutor with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for 20 years. She currently serves as Chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau, which investigates and prosecutes misdemeanor and felony crimes involving intimate partners, including sex crimes and homicides. After joining the Domestic Violence Bureau as a Supervisor in 2016, Agata helped develop and manage two pioneering initiatives in the Office: the Domestic Violence Complaint Unit and the Strangulation Initiative.

Prior to joining the Domestic Violence Bureau, she was a prosecutor in the Office’s Economic Crimes Bureau. During her tenure in the Economic Crimes Bureau, she investigated and prosecuted various economic crimes including investigations involving the possession of child abuse images, and attempted dissemination of indecent materials to minors.

Throughout her career in the Office, Agata has served as a faculty member in the Office’s many training programs, including the Orientation Training, Misdemeanor Trial Training and Felony Trial Training Programs. She has also given trainings to NYPD and other professionals working in the field of Domestic Violence.

Agata received her undergraduate degree from St. John’s University and her J.D. from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law.

Emergency Medicine Physician, Director of Forensic Clinical Services
Kings County Hospital, SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Dr. Brigitte Alexander is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Kings County Hospital/SUNY Downstate where she is also the Director of Clinic Forensic Services and Medical Director of Brooklyn Sexual Assault Response Team (SART).

Dr. Alexander pioneered and implemented the first SART for NYC Health and Hospitals with the Office of the Mayor in 2004 and implemented the program citywide in 2006. She was instrumental in the development of the Suspect Evidence Collection Kit and assuring that 24/7 forensic exams are available at NYC H+H in Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn. She has taken her training internationally to Jordan, Costa Rica, Malta, and France. She is currently working on Nonfatal strangulation protocol with the Office of the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender Based Violence, District Attorney’s Office, NYPD, and EMS-FDNY. She has introduced the Emergency Medicine Clinical Forensics Fellowship at Kings County to work with community services and inter-disciplinary agencies, currently the only EM Clinical Forensic Fellowship in the country.

Brigitte first witnessed widespread human suffering while employed overseas as a historical photographer in Mali, West Africa. Because of drought and malnutrition, disease was widespread while basic health care was non-existent. This experience was instrumental in Brigitte’s decision to pursue a career in medicine. Brigitte completed her residency at Long Island Jewish Hospital/Albert Einstein School of Medicine where she was awarded the hospital faculty’s Humanitarian Award “for her commitment to the health of her patients, and for her diverse and continual efforts to improve and uplift the lives of all around her regardless of stature.”

Assistant Director
WestCOP/Victims Assistance Services

Desiree Alston has been working with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking for over 25 years. Desiree earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Mount Saint Mary College and graduated with her MSW from Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work with a specialization in clinical practice with individuals and families.

Desiree currently works with survivors of all types of crime and specializes in advocacy, outreach and education, and trauma informed response. A strong believer in fostering social awareness and system change for survivors of crime, Desiree has lobbied on behalf of child sex trafficking victims and has worked to create awareness by collaborating with NY Times reporters and large corporations in order to enhance community awareness and to garner support for the needs of survivors.

Desiree currently serves as the Assistant Director with WestCOP- Victims Assistance Services (VAS), and oversees all programs and special program initiatives, including: Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) services; a Victim Impact Project (at Westchester County Jail) through the Resolve to Stop Violence Program (RSVP); MDT/CAC program (serving child victims of physical and sexual abuse) in partnership with Westchester County DSS and the Children’s Advocacy Center; Volunteer Rape Crisis Counselor training/recruitment program; and the operation of their 24 hour crisis helpline. She also works in collaboration with Title IX coordinators from colleges throughout Westchester County in her direction of VAS’s Sexual Violence Prevention Education program. Desiree is a core member of the Westchester County Domestic Violence High Risk Team (DVHRT) in partnership with local law enforcement, The Office for Women, and fellow domestic violence service providers.

Additionally, Desiree is an expert on strangulation prevention and provides training for police departments, service providers and educational institutions in order to raise awareness and increase victim safety through advocacy, outreach and education.

Deputy Commissioner for Family Justice Centers and Survivor Supports
Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence

Jennifer DeCarli is the Deputy Commissioner for Family Justice Centers and Survivor Supports at the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV). In this role, she oversees the operations of the City’s five Family Justice Centers, as well as other survivor support programs, including the office’s housing initiatives work.

She has over 25 years’ experience working with survivors of domestic and gender-based violence and has dedicated her professional career to supporting survivors and helping them access and navigate the systems and supports they feel will lead them to safety. She holds a master’s degree in social work from NYU and a law degree from the University at Buffalo School of Law. She has held several leadership positions during her career including Director of the Safe Horizon Brooklyn Family Court Program and their Staten Island Family and Criminal Court Program; Executive Director of the Brooklyn Family Justice Center for ENDGBV and Director of Legal Services at Her Justice.

Prior to her work in New York City, she represented domestic violence survivors in Family Court in upstate New York and worked for the Empire Justice Center providing technical assistance and capacity building to communities and legal service agencies specializing in assisting domestic violence survivors.