Kari Kerr, MA, LPC, serves as vice president of Prevention, Education and Violence Intervention at the Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC), based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Her position oversees major collaborative projects, including the Grand Forks County Coordinated Community Response Project and CVIC’s New Choices program for individuals who have caused harm in their relationships. Additionally, she oversees the education and professional training conducted by CVIC, which is developed through the latest research and best practices in the areas of violence and trauma.

Kerr has proudly served in a variety of roles during her time at CVIC. Her roots are in direct service with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, where she worked as an advocate and supervisor for several years before moving into violence prevention and training work. In addition to serving as an instructor at the North Dakota Law Enforcement Academy and the North Dakota Victim Assistance Academy, Kerr’s knowledge led to her being tapped to provide training at the national level for the National Center for Campus Public Safety, the National Sheriff’s Association, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. She has provided training to professionals in 25 states to date.

During Kerr’s tenure at CVIC, she was appointed to the U.S. Outbound Fellows Program for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative. In support of her role and the program, CVIC hosted two fellows in Grand Forks — one from Malaysia and one from Myanmar. Kerr was then chosen to represent the program in Myanmar, where she spent a life-changing three weeks working directly with local survivors and advocates.

A resident of Grand Forks County most of her life and employee of CVIC for more than 25 years, Kerr holds a master’s degree in counseling from the University of North Dakota and is a licensed professional counselor. The inspirational quote that Kerr carries into her work is, “Do the best you can until you know better, then when you know better, do better.” — Maya Angelou