Our Mission
The Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project (A/PI DVRP) is a non-profit organization in Washington, DC. A/PI DVRP supports and mobilizes Asian/Pacific Islanders to build safer communities by responding to harm and striving to end gender and power-based violence.
Our Story
In 1995, a group of Asian/Pacific Islander women came together to discuss the issues of violence against women in their community. These women, the Founders of DVRP, surveyed area service providers and found that over 500 abused A/PI women were unable to access culturally and linguistically appropriate services. This lack of services prevented survivors from accessing the critical resources they needed to lead healthy and safer lives.
Today, DVRP’s programs and structure is survivor-created and survivor-driven. DVRP has served over 1,300 survivors in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia, empowered community leaders to speak out against violence and provided trainings to various audiences on cultural humility and domestic violence awareness.
Our Team
Our Board of Directors
Masooma
Hussain
(she/her)
Masooma is a bilingual staff attorney at Network for Victim Recovery of DC (NVRDC) for the Rights In Systems Enforced Project (RISE). As a staff attorney, Masooma provides legal support and advocacy to victims of crime, with a strong focus on advocacy for victims of hate crimes and surviving family members of homicide victims. Masooma comes to DVRP with experience in policy, having advocated for funding for early childhood programs such as universal pre-k and home-visitation – former campaigns of The Pew Charitable Trusts – and investigations, serving as the analyst-in-charge for investigations undertaken by the Office of the DC Auditor, including the evaluation of DC’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, Metropolitan Police Department’s Investigation of First Amendment Activities, and the District of Columbia Public Schools’ school meals program.
Masooma most recently served as a judicial law clerk at D.C. Superior Court and, prior to her clerkship, as a pro bono attorney with Ayuda, a local organization that provides legal services to members of immigrant communities experiencing domestic violence. As a pro bono attorney for Ayuda, Masooma has represented clients seeking civil protection orders, divorce, and child custody.
Masooma received her B.A. from New York University and J.D. from the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America. In her free time, Masooma enjoys curling up with a good book and her doggo, hiking, brushing up on Urdu and practicing Spanish.
Co-Chair of the Board
Eleanor Victorioso is a CPA, life coach, and financial strategist for entrepreneurs She has worked with founders and employees at businesses in all stages, from pre-revenue, startups, and more established companies.
Eleanor has more than 10 years of experience as a financial consultant, which is a role that allows her to support startup founders in building their dream businesses. In March 2020, she initially launched The Doubleline Advisory Services to serve women founders in their journey to building purpose-driven businesses through accounting and operational support. A year later, she expanded The Doubleline to include life coaching services.
Eleanor is a survivor of domestic violence. She is passionate about supporting other domestic violence survivors and believes in using her experience as both a domestic violence survivor and finance professional to uplift and empower other women. On the DVRP Board of Directors, Eleanor serves as our treasurer.
Co-Chair of the Board
Nitasha
Chaudhury
Nagaraj
(she/her)
Nitasha Chaudhary Nagaraj, DrPH, MPH, is a Research Scientist /Adjunct Faculty member at The George Washington University (GW) Milken Institute School of Public Health. Nitasha received a B.A. in Health Care Administration and Information Systems from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 1999. She also received a Masters in Public Health and Doctorate of Public Health from The George Washington University (GWU). It was at GWU that she realized her passion for working with communities to design, implement, and evaluate interventions and programs aimed at improving the development and well-being of girls and women. Her research focuses on the evaluation of domestic violence, youth development, family violence, girls’ empowerment, and gender sensitization programs in the U.S. and in India. She currently evaluates the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the Clinical and Translational Institute at Children’s National Hospital and GWU, and a gender-sensitization program in India and Nepal. Dr. Nagaraj teaches courses for the MPH@GW program and is the Faculty Practicum Co-Director for the MPH@GW program at Milken Institute School of Public Health. Dr. Nagaraj is an Executive Board Member for the Global India Fund and DVRP.
June Lee is the director of the Immigrant Rights Legal Services Project at Legal Aid DC. Prior to joining Legal Aid in 2018, June spent five years representing survivors of domestic violence and labor trafficking in family law and immigration matters, first at Queens Legal Services and then at Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center. From 2015 to 2017, June served as co-chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee at the Asian American Bar Association of New York, where she helped establish a free legal advice clinic in Manhattan’s Chinatown. June has also worked as a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
Roxie has served as a program manager for professional development and internship programs at NIH since 2019. From 2014-2019, she was a research librarian at DOJ, also serving as the Training Coordinator and Internship Coordinator for DOJ Libraries. Before joining DOJ, she was the Acting Director of Prospect Research at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, identifying and profiling donors to support fundraising efforts for scholarships and educational programs in underserved communities. Previously, she was a case manager at various non-profits throughout Maryland, linking clients to supportive services, benefits, and housing. Throughout her career in public service, she has been passionate about supporting the growth and development of others, and empowering them to thrive.
Roxie earned her BA in Psychology from the Evergreen State College, and Masters in Library & Information Science from Simmons University. She completed her undergraduate thesis on PTSD and the neuropsychology of trauma, and has pursued continuing education on intergenerational trauma, and individual and relational healing.
She is an alumni of DOJ’s Leadership Excellence & Achievement Program, and former co-chair of their alumni board. Additionally, she is a member of the Iranian-American Women Foundation and Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, and volunteer mentor for Young Government Leaders. Roxie enjoys time with friends and family, reading, and community building and organizing.