Barry University associate professor of sociology and criminology Laura Finley, PhD, was recently named the Domestic Violence Volunteer of the Year by the Broward County Domestic Violence Council and the Broward County Victims’ Rights Council. Finley received the award at the Broward County Domestic Violence Council’s 22nd Annual Domestic Violence Training and Awards Luncheon on Friday, October 24.
Finley has long been a community activist, serving with several non-profits to provide services to victims of domestic violence and essential human rights. Her current work is focused on peace education on college campuses. She is an integral member of a team that hosts the College Brides Walk, an event meant to bring awareness to the problems of domestic dating violence.
Finley has authored and co-authored seven books and has published numerous articles on social justice topics. She regularly presents at professional conferences on issues related to peace, human rights, and social justice.
This is the second time Finley has been cited for her efforts related to domestic violence awareness. In 2013, she was named the PeaceVoice Public Peace Intellectual of the year.
The Broward Domestic Violence Council was created to further the communicative and collaborative efforts of the agencies in the Domestic Violence community. Organizations part of the Council include community investigation, law enforcement investigation, child protection, religious groups, non-profit groups, domestic shelters, civil legal, criminal prosecution, clerk’s office, probation office, batterer’s intervention programs, and educational institutions.