BOARD OF DIRECTORS

RICHARD TOLLNER
Treasurer of the Board

Richard Tollner is a former banker, real estate investor with three decades of experience, a clergy abuse survivor and Pro-Bono Lobbyist for Child Sex Abuse legislation. He has accumulated over fifty years of Board of Directorships serving churches, municipalities, chamber of commerce, libraries, charitable organizations, as well as corporate and business interests.

Richard worked in New York State as  pro-bono lobbyist for the passage of the Child Victims Act for twelve years. He is a speaker on clergy sex abuse survivorship. He has been an outspoken advocate of sex abuse victims since coming out in 2002 during the Boston Sex Abuse scandal, naming names in New York State, long before the MeToo movement exploded.

A long term fundraiser, Richard has helped raise a few million dollars for, American Cancer Society, Veteran organizations, To Love A Child, Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley, churches and libraries, among others. He has founded 501c3 organizations, created major fundraisers, and helped numerous charitable and nonprofit organizations deliver their message to the public, as well as, the legislative sector.

Richard is the Treasurer of CHILD USA, where he diligently reviews and oversees that our donations and grants, are directed to the best use, to support children with our mission statement.

BRITTANY HENDERSON, ESQ. 

Secretary of the Board

Brittany Henderson is a partner at Edwards Henderson. She represents crime victims and survivors of sexual abuse in civil litigation. In 2016, Brittany was recognized for obtaining one of the top 50 jury verdicts in the United States resulting from a high profile sexual abuse case that she litigated with Brad Edwards in Federal Court in Chicago, Illinois and again in 2018, when they obtained a $71 million verdict in state court pursuant to Federal Maritime Law on behalf of a young woman who was sexually assaulted while working as a crew member on a large yacht. She has worked with and against lawyers considered the best in the country and has obtained nearly $100 million in jury verdicts and settlements in her career.

In addition to being a fearless advocate for crime victims, Brittany has co-founded two progressive charities for sexual abuse survivors and is committed to making a difference both in the courtroom and in the community. Brittany has been recognized as a Rising Star by SuperLawyers and by the National Trial Lawyers Association’s “Top 40 Under 40.”

JEFFREY FRITZ, ESQ.

Jeffrey P. Fritz, Esq. is experienced in representing crime victims on behalf of survivors of murder, assault, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse. He is with the law firm of Soloff & Zervanos in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York.

He represented multiple victims of former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky in claims against Penn State University for child sexual abuse and has represented victims of child sexual abuse within religious organizations, medical facilities, schools, daycare facilities, sports organizations, and other institutions.

Mr. Fritz is a 1996 Cum Laude graduate of Widener University School of Law. He is a member of the bar in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He is also a charter member, advisory board member, and past president (2010 & 2011) of the National Crime Victim Bar Association, a national organization of attorneys and professionals devoted to obtaining civil justice for the victims of crime. Mr. Fritz is also a member of the American Association for Justice and the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Associations.

Jeffrey P. Fritz has authored several articles regarding civil justice for crime victims in national publications such as Trial Magazine, The Victim Advocate, and Victim Voice. He has served as a lecturer on civil justice for attorneys, victims, and victim service providers throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey and nationally. 

MARY LIU, ESQ.

Mary Liu is a partner with Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC.  She joined the firm in 2012.  After graduating from the University of Florida in 1994 with a Bachelor’s of Science, Mary spent the first 13 years of her career in management consulting, executive coaching, and human resources.  In 2010, Mary graduated summa cum laude while earning her J.D. from the Nova Southeastern University School of Law, ranking in the top 2% of her graduating class. 

Mary focuses her practice on sexual abuse and assault, medical device, and pharmaceutical litigation.  Mary is leading the AWKO’s nationwide Catholic clergy and Boy Scouts sexual abuse and assault litigations.  She is passionate about representing victims and survivors, and giving them a strong platform to have their stories heard.

Prior to joining AWKO, Mary served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Florida, representing the state in civil prosecutions of cases involving child abuse, abandonment, and neglect.  Mary also ran a successful family law practice, representing clients in cases involving the dissolution of marriage and domestic partnerships, child custody and support, and grandparent visitation disputes.  In addition to her extensive experience as a practicing attorney, Mary also served as an Assistant Professor of Law at Irvine University College of Law, where she taught courses in Civil Procedure and Community Property.

Mary is licensed to practice law in Florida and California, and she is currently serving as the co-chair of the American Association for Justice’s Website and Social Media Content Liability litigation group.

HILLARY M. NAPPI, ESQ.

Hillary M. Nappi is a Partner at Hach Rose Schirripa & Cheverie LLP and practices in complex civil litigation. Ms. Nappi has been selected by Super Lawyers as Metro Rising Star in civil litigation from 2018 through 2022.

Ms. Nappi leads the firm’s Victims’ Rights practice group and provides a trauma-informed approach to all of our clients. She is litigating hundreds of cases on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse and assault against several institutions – both public and private – in the wake of the passage of New York and New Jersey’s revival statutes allowing once time-barred claims to be heard.  Ms. Nappi has successfully resolved these sexual abuse cases prior to trial, resulting in millions of dollars in recovery for survivors.  Ms. Nappi is also representing plaintiffs across the county in §1983 actions and has secured recoveries as a result of their discrimination.

Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Nappi spent nine years working at the law offices of Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP.  While in law school, Ms. Nappi worked as a legal assistant/paralegal to the firm’s Chairman, David Boies. After her admission to the bar, Ms. Nappi was promoted to Staff Attorney. As a Staff Attorney, Ms. Nappi was on the trial team assigned to work on Starr International v. The United States, No. 1:11-cv-00779-TCW. At the time, the case was the largest ever filed against the United States Government, alleging that the Government’s acquisition of AIG equity and subsequent actions relating to a reverse stock split were unlawful. Ms. Nappi later joined a boutique litigation firm in Westchester County, where she honed her trial skills in criminal defense, commercial litigation, family law, and estate litigation.

Ms. Nappi is admitted to the Bars of the states of New York and New Jersey and to the United States District Court for the Southern, Eastern, Western, and Northern Districts of New York and District of New Jersey but has successfully been admitted pro hac vice to practice in other states including Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi.

Ms. Nappi earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Pace University’s Pleasantville Campus. Ms. Nappi later received her Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law (now the Elisabeth Haub School of Law).

KATHLEEN K ROGNESS, ESQ.

Kathleen K Rogness, better known as Kay Rogness, recently retired after 17 years as Executive Director of the FRVBC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that supported amateur team sports, and Executive Director of the Front Range Volleyball Club, an organization that provided teams and instruction primarily for junior high and high school age girls in the Denver, Colorado area. During her tenure at the Foundation, Kay grew a local tournament known as the Colorado Crossroads from an event of 116 teams into a highly acclaimed national and international event annually hosting 1500 teams and 58,000 attendees with a revenue stream of more than $3,000,000. Crossroads was one of America’s largest indoorvolleyball tournaments, attracting teams from as far away as China and Brazil. It’s economic impact on the Denver area was estimated by the city to be in excess of $28,000,000 yearly. Prior to relocating to Colorado from Illinois, Kay had turned her original post-college career as a Montessori pre-school teacher into an abiding interest in sports participation as a means of assisting young girls advance to high levels of competition in the USA Volleyball program and to obtain college scholarships for playing the sport just as the impact of Title IX was coming into focus. She helped found a volleyball organization in Illinois that she later discovered employed a coach who was a serial abuser of young girls, one of whom was her own daughter. She worked for years with a group of survivors from that organization to obtain justice for them. One of these survivors subsequently won the Whistleblower Award from CHILD USA in 2022.

During this time, Kay, who had resigned from volleyball, went to law school at the University of Denver. Her primary goal was to develop the legal skills to enact change in the culture and the laws to protect children from abusers. She returned to Illinois where she practiced civil litigation before relocating permanently to Colorado, all the while working with the abuse victims she knew to effect change at national volleyball organizations such as USA Volleyball and AAU Volleyball specifically and junior sports in general. Kay was born and raised in Pennsylvania. She has two daughters and three grandchildren.

SUSANNA L. SOUTHWORTH, ESQ.

Dr. Susanna Southworth is dedicated to ending human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Through her law firm, Restore the Child, PLLC, she represents victims of abuse, online exploitation, child sex abuse material (CSAM), and sex trafficking. Susanna’s mission is for her clients to experience a new beginning, to a life free from the pain of past abuse, while receiving maximum recovery for their harm. Since obtaining her license in 2004 to practice law in Washington State, Susanna has advocated for vulnerable populations. These areas include immigration (removal defense and U visas for victims of abuse), criminal (excluding sex offenses), and guardianships and estate planning. She holds certifications in collaborative law and basic mediation training. Susanna serves survivors of child sex trafficking in her leadership as president of the Rotary Club of the Pacific Northwest Ending Sex Trafficking during the 2022-2023 Rotary year. In addition, she serves on the leadership boards for CHILD USAdvocacy, Compassion Washington, and the Organization for Prostitution Survivors (OPS) to help survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation. Prior to forming Restore the Child, PLLC, Susanna represented survivors in numerous lawsuits against websites and hotel brands for their facilitation of child sex trafficking, including the first case to not be defeated at the motion to dismiss stage and reach global resolution against a well-known website. She brings experience representing survivors of child sex abuse in high stakes litigation to Restore the Child with an unyielding commitment to protect the most vulnerable and fight for justice.

 

Susanna has a heart for mentoring youth and a passion for education. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science with Emphases in Comparative Politics and Public Administration Subfields from The University of Utah; a Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University of Texas Law School; and, a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs, European Studies Emphasis from The University of Colorado at Boulder. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor in Political Science at Pacific Lutheran University and Lecturer for the University of Washington Tacoma. Susanna passionately believes that trafficking prevention education that is trauma-informed is key to ending child sexual exploitation. To this end, she is working toward completion of a Certificate Program in Traumatic Stress Studies with the Trauma Research Foundation. Susanna has presented trainings to government and nonprofit entities across the country to educate on child sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation. Susanna strives to end child sexual exploitation through prevention education, empowering youth in higher education, and powerful but trauma-informed advocacy for her clients.

ELYSSE STOLPE, ESQ.

EMERITUS

CHRISTINE S. EWAN, JD

DR. LESLIE GRIFFIN

Dr. Leslie C. Griffin is the William S. Boyd Professor of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law. Professor Griffin, who teaches constitutional law, is known for her interdisciplinary work in law and religion. Dr. Griffin has written numerous briefs, articles, and book chapters on the religion clauses of the First Amendment.  She holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Yale University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. She has written numerous briefs, articles, and book chapters on the First Amendment’s religion clauses. Dr. Griffin coauthored Law and Religion: Cases and Materials with Andrew Seidel and Practicing Bioethics Law with Joan H. Krause.  Learning Constitutional Law, written with CHILD USA founder and CEO Marci Hamilton, was published in 2022.

KAREN ROONEY

Karen Rooney attended Old Dominion University and worked in Human Resources for Kennedy Health System. Her extensive work with the March of Dimes and other non-profits brings to our organization a wealth of experience in fundraising and event planning.

 

BENJAMIN D. ANDREOZZI, ESQ.

Benjamin D. Andreozzi is a Pennsylvania based lawyer who has spent most of his 20+ year legal career advocating for children. After graduating from the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law, Ben worked for a regional commercial litigation law firm. In search of a purpose driven career, Ben founded the law firm now known as Andreozzi +Foote, which represents survivors of sexual abuse in civil cases across the country. The firm’s core focus is life changing result for victims and their families. Ben has represented survivors in cases that have captured headlines across the country like Penn State/Jerry Sandusky, the Catholic Church, Boy Scouts of America, and many others. He has lectured across the country to lawyers and advocates on issues related to child sexual abuse, and has made appearance on all of the major national networks.

Every day Ben seeks to improve the safety of children by ensuring organizations entrusted with their care and supervision implement the most advanced safety protocols. He takes pride in advocating for survivors not just in the courtroom, but also through policy reform. Ben enjoys warm weather, laughing, and spending as much time as possible with his wife, three young kids, and two golden retrievers (in no particular order).

 

JEFFREY R. PICKERING

Jeffrey R. Pickering is a former catcher, veteran philanthropy executive, and lifelong surfer. He is currently the President and CEO of Indian River Community Foundation in Vero Beach, Florida where he serves as a trusted advisor to some of the country’s most generous philanthropists. Mr. Pickering is a TEDx Speaker and published author of “Better at the Broken Places,” a powerful story he wrote to recover from the trauma of childhood sexual abuse, to help other survivors, and to affect change in systems that continue to protect child sex abusers from prosecution. He is married to Stephanie Brooks Pickering and is father to Colin, Olivia, and Grant.