Kirsten Rowe Phillips

Kirsten Rowe Phillips currently serves as Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). In this capacity, she supports the Director as liaison between the Department of Justice and Federal, State and International governments on the crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. She also is responsible for handling the Department’s legal and policy issues regarding the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act.

Prior to her appointment in November, 2006 as Principal Deputy Director, Ms. Phillips served as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ). As the principal advisor to the NIJ Director, she directly oversaw the management, budget and administration of NIJ and worked closely with the Director to develop and implement research, policy, and programs for the agency. This included oversight for NIJ’s various research subject matter portfolios including the President’s DNA Initiative – Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology, and priority initiatives related to violence and victimization, human trafficking, justice systems and law enforcement technologies.

Ms. Phillips is an experienced lawyer and federal government executive combining legal experience in regulatory affairs and legislative policy, political experience in grassroots advocacy and public affairs experience in coordinating state, local and national outreach strategies. Additionally, she has experience in community involvement, having served on the boards of directors of various non-profit associations. Through her own personal experiences with and professional legal involvement in domestic violence cases, Ms. Phillips has become a recognized and dedicated supporter of providing assistance to victims of domestic violence and abuse.

Before joining the Department of Justice, Ms. Phillips was nominated and selected by the city council of Charles Town, West Virginia to serve as its Municipal Judge. As Municipal Judge, Ms. Phillips worked with Charles Town’s mayor, chief of police and city council to prosecute municipal ordinance violations. During the ten years she served on the bench, Ms. Phillips heard and rendered judgments on criminal misdemeanors, including assault and battery cases, was on “24-hour call” to issue arraignment orders, and supervised the court’s docket clerks and bailiffs.

Ms. Phillips received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College and her law degree from Tulane University. She is a member of the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia bars.

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