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  • Name: Janelle Melohn

    Job Title: Director, Office of Victims of Crime, Victims of Crime Act Center

    Company Name: National Criminal Justice Association

    Bio: Janelle Melohn is the Director of the OVC VOCA Center with the National Criminal Justice Association. The OVC VOCA Center provides no cost training and technical assistance to Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance & Compensation Administrators and their staff on federal grant management and administration through expert consultation, peer-to-peer collaboration, problem-solving, data-analysis, training, and innovation.

    Bio 2: Prior to this position, Ms. Melohn spent 15 years with the Crime Victim Assistance Division (CVAD) in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, the last 10 as Director of the Division. As Director she oversaw a staff of 29 individuals, an annual budget of roughly $45 million, and eight statewide programs aiding victims of crime including Crime Victim Compensation, Sexual Abuse Examination Payment, Victim Services Support grants, IowaVINE a statewide automated victim notification system, the Identity Theft Passport Program, Registrant Watch an automated victim notification partnership with Department of Public Safety, and Training, Outreach, and Anti-Human Trafficking efforts.

    Bio 3: Before joining the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Ms. Melohn worked for the Story County Sheriff’s Office as a detention officer supervisor in the Story County Jail. In her 4.5 years there, she supervised a staff of 8 detention officers and maintained the custody, care, and control of the Iowa state and federal inmate population.

    Bio 4: Ms. Melohn served on the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators for 7 years, (2 as Board President) and has also served as a trustee for the Council on Criminal Justice and as a board or appointed member for the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards, the Iowa Governor’s Criminal Justice Reform Committee, the Friends of Iowa Civil Rights Inc., and the Iowa Sex Offender Research Council.

    Bio 5: Ms. Melohn is a recognized victim services leader. In 2019, Ms. Melohn received the Trailblazer Award from the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault for her work to prioritize funding and services to open doors for historically marginalized communities.

    Bio 6: Ms. Melohn holds a Master of Public Administration from Drake University with an emphasis in executive development and a B.S. in Sociology from Iowa State University.