A new recruit to the SHIELD team in 2021, Lydia delivers prevention education training to students and school personnel in West Virginia as SHIELD’s Training and Development Consultant. Lydia discovered her passion for listening to children and advocating for survivors of child abuse and sexual trauma when she joined the Child Advocacy Center movement in 2009. Since then, she has worked as a Forensic Interviewer, Multi-Disciplinary Investigative Team facilitator, Executive Director, and Clinical Supervisor. She loves research, teaching, and mentoring other professionals. Unlike most people, Lydia actually enjoys public speaking, and she has delivered a broad range of presentations to audiences small and large. She currently serves as the facilitator for WVCAN’s Forensic Interviewing Peer Review program and Randolph-Tucker CAC’s Forensic Services Supervisor. Before she came to the CAC movement, Lydia worked with teen parents, immigrant populations, and survivors of domestic violence at programs in Maryland, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. Lydia earned her Bachelor of Social Work from Shepherd University and Master of Social Work from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. She lives in beautiful Randolph County, WV, with her husband and three young children.