WEST CHESTER >> The word that Christine Zaccarelli might use to describe the attitude she plans to bring to the Crime Victims Center of Chester County (CVC) as its new executive director is “pro-active.”
Although in the course of a 30-minute interview with Zaccarelli in her office on West Market Street she did not actually use the word, her desire to promote the organization that has provided advocacy, counseling and education services to the victims of crime in the county was clear.
“We want to make sure that people in the community think of us as a resource,” said Zaccarelli, only the fourth chief executive officer of the organization since its founding in 1973. “We want to get the word out. We need to let people know we are here before something happens to them. We need them to know we are here. We need to find our way to them.”
Within the law enforcement and victims’ rights community, the Crime Victims Center has developed a stellar reputation as an effective organization, having even been used as the model for a victims center in Japan. But Zaccarelli, an attorney by profession, said that she believes even more can be done to raise awareness in the nonprofit, business, legal, and educational community.
She has planned several events to get the word to other organizations — such as local chambers of commerce — of what serves Crime Victims offers. If a business owner becomes a victim, or is made aware of a crime against one of his or her employees, they would then know where to go, Zaccarelli reasoned.
That, she said, is because crime knows no boundaries. One can be a victim regardless of age, gender, class, or geographic location. Burglaries happen everywhere, drunk drivers lurk on every road, and as has been vividly illustrated recently, sexual assault cases are not exclusive to any one venue or profession.
The message that the center gives to those who seek its services is simple, Zaccareli said. “We will be there forever.”
The CVC is a private, community-based, nonprofit agency that provides round-the-clock support services to crime victims and their families, from the immediate aftermath of the incident all the way through court proceedings. It also conducts education and prevention programs for the public and related professionals.
The CVC was formed in 1973 as the pioneering Rape Crisis Council of Chester County, a grassroots organization at a time when victims of sexual assault had few channels of support and little recourse to professional assistance. At that time, the group says, many rapes and assaults were not reported or prosecuted due to social stigmas and a lack of counseling and legal guidance.
Early skepticism quickly faded as the group’s founders and volunteers joined forces with law enforcement, justice, medical and social services individuals and organizations. In 1976, the group expanded its mission to include victims of other serious crimes and in 1985 the group adopted its present name.
Its first director was a founder of the organization, Constance Noblet, who died two years ago. She was succeeded by a colleague, Peggy Gusz, who took the organization from its early incarnation to the place it occupies in the victims’ advocacy world today. Gusz retired in May after 43 years with the organization. Zaccarelli succeeds Ken Hutton, who served as interim director until Nov. 1, when Zaccarelli took over.
Although not a member of the organization until now, Zaccarelli knew of the CVC’s work for years and developed a professional relationship with its staff over the years as an attorney with Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Zaccarelli, 47, of Caln, grew up in the county and attended school in Downingtown, then the University of Pittsburgh. While working as a clerk and later a prosecutor in the county District Attorney’s Office, she attended Widener School of Law. She began working for Legal Aid in 2008, where she handled a variety of civil and family law cases, most notably helping victims of domestic abuse get protective orders. There, she said she came to know and respect the work the CVC staff advocates did.
It was over the summer that she learned through contacts that the CVC was seeking a new executive, and she believed herself up to the challenge.
“It’s has been a bit daunting, but it’s a good fit,” she said in the interview. “The staff is amazing. I wanted a leadership position, and the opportunity to realize it here at the CVC has been fantastic.”
Zaccarelli’s hiring came with other staff changes, including naming longtime advocate Brooke Hedderick as senior vice president of operations, Ashley Coyle as direct services supervisor, and Joe Myers as prevention and education supervisor. It held a gala fundraising event at the American Helicopter Museum in November, and has started an online donations option, “Help Give Victims Hope,” at cvcofcc.org/donate.
Zaccarelli is married with two children, one sophomore in college and the other a senior at Bishop Shanahan High School.
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
