Stephanie Moyes took the first step towards her career by studying victims of domestic violence for her psychology class. She interned with the Office of King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng were she prepared protection orders for victims of domestic violence and linked victims with services. Hired on full-time after graduation, Moyes moved up the ladder from victim advocate to project manager. She earned her Master’s in Public Administration along the way.

As an advocate, Moyes went to court with victims, sometimes as many as 30 in one day. Somehow she found time to volunteer at the Crisis Clinic and Eastside Domestic Violence Service, two social service agencies in the Puget Sound area working with domestic violence victims and their families.

“I knew that I needed to go back to school to shape policy,” she said. “With a graduate degree, I would be able to move into program management and go beyond direct service.”

Moyes left the justice system and began managing funding for domestic violence and sexual assault services at King County’s Department of Community and Human Services. As project manager in the Women’s Program, she distributed $1.5 million annually to community agencies providing counseling, transitional housing, and support services for survivors of violence and their children.

“We did much more than confidential shelter, “she said. “Many women were isolated. Some needed a transitional place to stay, others job training. We funded programs offering those types of services.”

In addition, Moyes was a staff liaison to the King County’s Women’s Advisory Board, where members are appointed by their County Councilmembers. The board focuses on projects to ensure the needs, rights and well-being of women are taken into account by county government. Recent projects included reviewing jail health conditions for pregnant and mentally ill women; organizing a forum on unemployment and women, and coordinating a community-based job readiness and financial literacy workshop. Moyes credits members of the advisory board, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and the County Council for maintaining funding for these services during the current economic downtown.

Today, Moyes has taken on a new challenge. As project manager for Youth and Family Services of the Community Services Division, she oversees a $2 million program for youth at risk of dropping out of middle or high school, becoming involved in gangs, or getting arrested. Caseworkers are placed in schools to engage directly with youth on such issues as school performance, substance abuse, anti-social behavior, family relationships, and/ or gang involvement. This collaborative effort involves the juvenile justice system, nonprofit agencies, and 19 school districts with dozens of schools.

“Prevention is just as important as intervention,” she emphasized. “Knowing there’s support to maintain these types of programs keeps me going.