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INTRODUCING: OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS!

By August 31, 2020News

MEET OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS! 

On 27 August 2020, the VSE Annual General Meeting was held online with delegates representing our member organisations. Among the important agenda topics there was the election/re-election of the Executive Board members for the next three years.

First of all, we would like to thank the previous board members, whose terms of office came to an end, for their service, and especially the Vice President Helgard van Hüllen, for her dedication, leadership, and lots of hard work during her many years of chairing the Board.

Before the Annual General meeting, all members had a chance to review the candidates’ bios and motivation to serve on the Board; and at the General Meeting the candidates had to do a short pitch to introduce themselves to the voters.

We are proud to announce our new additions to the Executive Board. We are building a dream team of professionals that not only believe in our mission but are also leading the conversation in their own communities on victims’ rights. We are excited to have their expertise, cultural values and drive to continue to make Victim Support Europe a game changing organisation.

Our new and re-elected board members are: 

  • Geraldine Hanna, VSE Vice President
  • Petra Klein, VSE Treasurer
  • Gábor Veisz, VSE Executive Board Member
  • Silvia Taravan, VSE Executive Board Member

We invite you to learn more about our board and their contributions to the victim support community:

Geraldine Hanna VSE Vice President

Geraldine Hanna has been the Chief Executive of Victim Support NI since February 2015 and in February 2016 she was crowned as the Best Newcomer of the Year in the CO3 Leadership Awards. Geraldine has 16 years’ experience in the victims’ sector and has been the driving force in establishing the Witness Service in courts across Northern Ireland. She has been integral in the development of key initiatives to improve services for victims and witnesses of crime including the Victim’s Charter, Achievement of Best Practice Guidance and Registered Intermediaries. She is passionate about the rights of victims of witnesses. Geraldine regularly volunteers with SOS BUS NI, helping vulnerable people on the streets of Belfast.

Petra Klein VSE Treasurer

Petra Klein has been a member of the board of Weisser Ring Germany since 2010 and has been in charge of Weisser Ring Germany’s branch office in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony since 2009.

Petra’s professional qualifications: Petra Klein retired from her position as police detective chief superintendent in 2008 due to poor health resulting from an accident suffered while on duty. As the head of a police negotiation team until 2008, she resolved cases involving hostage taking, kidnapping, blackmail, and threat management in cooperation with international agencies. Until 2000, she worked in a special department of the police active in the field of sexual offenses. From 2000 – 2008, Petra Klein was the contact person on issues relating to domestic violence for the police in northwestern Germany.

Gábor Veisz VSE Executive Board Member

Dr. Gábor Veisz has been working in the field of victim support since 2009. Between 2011 and 2017 he was head of the Victim Support Unit of the Hungarian Office of Justice (later Ministry of Justice), thus being responsible for the professional coordination of the Hungarian victim support system. The Hungarian state organisation for victim support became an associate member of VSE during his leadership. Also, Hungary was among the first to transpose the regulations of the 2012 Victim Support Directive in 2015. After leaving public service, he started his own legal practice in Győr in western Hungary and became a member of Fehér Gyűrű Közhasznú Egyesület/White Ring Association, the longest standing victim support organisation in the country. He has university degree in law from Budapest (MA) and from Dundee (BA).

Silvia Taravan VSE Executive Board Member Silvia Taravan is the President of Rete Dafne Italia. The project “Rete Dafne” was established as a non-profit association (Rete Dafne Onlus) in November 2015. The association is a network of 6 organisations. The mission of the organisation is to assist and provide direct services to all victims of any type of crime. The staff of the association consists of skilled and qualified professionals (8 psychologists, 3 psychiatrists, 2 lawyers, 4 mediators, 2 social workers and 2 secretaries). Rete Dafne Onlus implement activities directed to victims as well as “indirect” activities aimed at operators, the network of services and the local community. The services provided to victims are divided into four phases: 1. Information; 2. Welcome; 3. Orientation; 4. Specialised itineraries.

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