Dr. Kate Watson, president and founder

Kate is the President and Founder of The Advocacy Academy, which is a consulting company focused on the development of skilled victim and family advocates to reduce violence around the world. Through her work with The Advocacy Academy, she has conducted educational workshops in 32 states, 8 countries, and across many fields: healthcare, education, social services, financial advising, victim advocacy, corrections, and leadership. On average, Dr. Watson speaks to 10,000 live audience members each year.

Dr. Watson holds a Master of Education in Psychological Counseling from Columbia University, a Doctorate in Health Policy and Social Justice from Drexel University, and a Certificate of Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.

She is an on-going consultant to the Department of Defense, the NFL, and to major television networks. In addition to her speaking and consulting work, Dr. Watson sits on the Board of Directors for The Lady Parts Collective, which is a Los Angeles-based theater company specializing in the development of work relevant to women in the United States.  She is also a Director Emeritus for the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers. Dr. Watson is the author of three books: (1) The Embodied Advocate, (2) Motivational Interviewing for Victim Advocates, and (3) Only Trying to Help, which is also the name of her podcast, available at www.OnlyTryingToHelp.com.   

Admin Team

  • April Ortiz

    MARKETING ASSISTANT

  • Melanie Gibbons

    PROJECT ASSISTANT

  • Nick Zebrowski

    TEAM DEVELOPMENT

  • Michael McDevitt Kelly

    ADMIN ASSISTANT

Training Team

  • Capt. Staudenmaier

    TRAINER

  • SFC Felicia Penn

    TRAINER

  • Elizabeth McElroy, LCSW

    TRAINER

  • T. Nicole Cirone

    TRAINER

Intern Team

  • Aidan Morales

    Intern

  • Erin O'Neill

    Intern

  • Jileah DeNapoli

    Intern