Meet the Team - SAFE & Domestic Violence Program

Laura Clary is a Registered Nurse, Forensic Nurse Examiner and Director of the GBMC SAFE, Domestic Violence & Child Protection Program. In 2010 she completed her Forensic Nursing training at Greater Baltimore Medical Center and joined the GBMC SAFE Program. She is certified to care for patients across the lifespan that have been victims of sexual assault, rape, child abuse/ neglect, intimate partner violence and human trafficking. She holds a Master’s Degree in Nursing Management & Organizational Leadership from Post University. Mrs. Clary also has obtained National professional certification as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE-A) and SANE-Pediatrics from the International Association of Forensic Nurses.

In addition to her work with patients in the hospital, community education is very important to her. Mrs. Clary lectures at high schools, colleges, and other organizations throughout Baltimore County and surrounding areas on healthy relationships, boundaries, internet safety and the services offered at GBMC. She travels across the United States and teaches other professionals about Neurobiology of Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care. She is a Board of Nursing approved Forensic Nurse Examiner Instructor in the State of Maryland and has taught and precepted registered nurses and physicians from all over the country. She has extensive experience in Emergency and trauma Nursing. She is an active member of the International Association of Forensic Nurses, as well as the Maryland Child Abuse Medical Providers (CHAMP), GBMC Child Protection Team, and is Chair of the Baltimore County Sexual Assault Response team.

She has received numerous awards locally and nationally for her work with victims of sexual and domestic violence.

Ms. Truax joined the GBMC SAFE and DV team as the Community Outreach Coordinator in September of 2018. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Mount Saint Mary's University. She was born and raised in Baltimore County and has very strong ties with the Baltimore County Community.

Her professional experience started at John Hopkins Bayview Center for Addiction and Pregnancy as the Intake/Outreach Coordinator with a focus on domestic violence treatment and health comorbidities, in addition to providing services to children who attended the program with their mother. Mrs.Truax has been involved in the school systems throughout Baltimore County for numerous years. She has coached girls’ soccer and lacrosse at both Dulaney High School, as well as Eastern Technical High School, was a Life Skills Instructor in the Special Education Department at Chesapeake High School and a science teacher at The Arrow School. More recently, she was working at Service Coordination Inc. Her role included providing support to adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities by connecting them with much needed resources and services within their immediate communities. 

In addition to her work experience, Kelly worked closely with the GBMC SAFE & Domestic Violence Program for many years. She is an approved instructor for the GBMC 40-Hour Forensic Nurse Examiner Course, educating aspiring Forensic Nurses on the topic of “Sexual Assault and Individuals with Disabilities” and “Disability Awareness and Rights”. She also presented at the GBMC Critical Care Nursing Conference, and the GBMC Neurobiology of Trauma Conference which was attended by numerous nurses, law enforcement officers, social workers and prosecutors from the Baltimore County community.

Since joining the team Kelly has completed the 40-hour Child Exploitation Course through the Baltimore County Police Department, is a certified application assistant through Safe At Home and a certified Victim Advocate. She was a Compassionate Caregiver Top Five Finalist in 2021 and 2022 and was recognized by The Daily Record as Top Outreach Program Team in 2023 and Top Individual Outreach Coordinator in 2024. 

Kelly currently lives in Baltimore County with her daughter and two cats, John Lennon and Yoko. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, refinishing furniture, watching her nephews play baseball, and spending time with her family and friends.

GBMC’s SAFE & DV Victim Advocacy Coordinator, Dani Imbragulio, started her career in Crisis Intervention at 18 years old. Dani started at the YWCA of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County working at the Domestic Violence non-disclosure SAFE House, answering hotline calls and being a hospital responder for DV/SA cases while obtaining her certification for Substance Abuse Counseling and her degrees in Human Services and Substance Abuse Counseling. Dani continued with the YWCA until she took on a position as a Substance Abuse Aftercare Coordinator for one of the largest parcel service carriers in the world before being promoted to the Case Manager for the west coast division of the parcel service. Dani continued working there until a position with the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Telecommunications at BWI/TM airport was offered to her. Dani thoroughly enjoyed working hand in hand with the police department, fire department and BWI airfield operations team to assist patrons and staff alike. Dani eventually moved up to Telecommunications Operator II and assisted the police department with academy training practicals, active shooter training, mock aircraft alert training and began assisting with the training process for new hires. Dani then transitioned to The DOVE Program at Northwest Hospital where she worked as a law enforcement advocate. Dani partnered with the Domestic Violence Coordinator in Baltimore County Police Precincts 1-4. Dani would partner with the officers to complete High Danger & Non-High Danger home visits to assist victims of intimate partner violence receive assistance. Dani also worked closely with the victims to obtain protection orders and would provide additional options for safety. Dani has now taken the role of Advocacy Coordinator at GBMC. She enjoys giving presentations, training new PRN interventionalists and traveling to workshops, but enjoys being an advocate for patients first and foremost.

In her free time, Dani is a dog mom to Rocky, a German Shepard and Nyx, a Dutch Shepard. She loves live music: local talent to big names, she will be front row!

Ally graduated Villa Julie College with a BSN and later an MSN from University of Maryland with concentrations in Nursing Education and Health Policy. She then joined the GBMC family as a Nurse Educator and Clinical Nurse Specialist for Outpatient Surgery. She also was an Instructor several semesters to nursing students at Stevenson University. Ally has stayed close to her perioperative and education roots, but always had an interest in forensics. Raising 2 teenage children made her particularly interested in being a Forensic Nurse and doing educational outreach in our community. She has been part of the SAFE Program since 2016 and is certified to care for patients across the lifespan. Outside of work Ally enjoys running both with and without her dogs.

Ashley has been a nurse with GBMC since 2012 and became a member of the SAFE program in 2014. She holds certifications as an FNE-A and FNE-P through the Maryland Board of Nursing, national certification as a SANE-A through the International Association of Forensic Nursing and is certified to care for patients across the lifespan. In 2018, Ashley was awarded the Nancy J. Petrarca Compassionate Caregiver of the Year Award for her work with human trafficking victims. In 2021, she was named Nurse of the Year and one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by The Daily Record. In 2021, Ashley received an Executive Citation from the Baltimore County Executive’s Office for her work focusing on human trafficking. In her spare time, Ashley enjoys music, reading, and spending time with family and friends. Ashley lives in Baltimore County with her husband, daughters, and silver lab Cora.

Carolyn has over 13 years of experience at GBMC and has been a nurse since 2013. Her past nursing experience includes working as a Medical-Psychiatric RN at GBMC and PRN through the Baltimore County Department of Health. A few years into her experience, she advanced in leadership roles on Unit 36, and then in 2016 accepted the Nurse Manager position for the unit, which is now known as Unit 47 – Integrative Care. Carolyn has been dedicated in her career to Behavioral Health patients at GBMC and leads many important initiatives/committees to serve our patients and staff such as Workplace Violence Committee, Restraint Committee, Behavioral Support Team, and the CARES program. Carolyn is also the system administrator for scheduling software for the hospital, ShiftWizard. In addition to her FNE-A certification, Carolyn holds a Master’s in Nursing Leadership & Management and an NE-BC (Nurse Executive – Board Certified) certification. Carolyn has been very passionate about using her experience and clinical abilities as part of the SAFE Team and serving some of our most vulnerable patients. In her free time, Carolyn enjoys singing and does many live performances in the area. Carolyn has many years of musical theatre experience and has also done some film work.

Evette: Evette has been a Registered Nurse for 5 years. She works on a busy med-surg unit in the roles of staff RN, Charge RN, unit education council representative, & preceptor. Evette is a veteran of the U.S. Military & has previous careers in management, teaching, as well as an on-air radio/podcast co-producer & co-host. Three of the important goals she likes to provide for her patients are clarity, compassion, and a sense of autonomy & trustworthiness. Evette enjoys spending time with her kid, traveling, laughing at all things, and anywhere there is music, you will find her singing & dancing, even at work, with her patients & colleagues.

Jen graduated from Towson University with her Bachelor's in Nursing in 2016. She has been an Emergency Department nurse ever since. She started with GBMC in 2021 as a Forensic Nurse Examiner and is certified to care for patients across the lifespan. In 2023, she graduated from Walden University with her Master's in Nursing and accepted a new role last year as a Professional Development Specialist in the Emergency Department. Jen earned the Excellence in Nursing Award from Baltimore Magazine for her role as a Forensic Nurse Examiner in 2023. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, spending time with family, and going on adventures with her chocolate lab mix, Simba.

Lydia started at GBMC in 2020 and currently works full-time in their Emergency Department. She joined GBMC’s SAFE program in the Fall of 2023 and is certified by the Maryland Board of Nursing to care for adult and adolescent patients as a Forensic Nurse Examiner. Lydia earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Stevenson University. She looks forward to expanding her role in SAFE and obtaining her Pediatric FNE certification. Lydia loves having dual roles at GBMC and enjoys being able to care for SAFE and DV patients both as an ER Nurse and as a SAFE on-call nurse.

Melissa Cross has been a Registered Nurse for 28 years. She obtained her associate degree in nursing at Howard Community College in 1996 and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Maryland School of Nursing in 2021.

Melissa began her career as a nursing student in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) at University of Maryland Medical Center in 1995. In 1996, she continued her employment as a registered nurse at UMMC on the Infectious Disease Med/Surg unit until1998. From 1998-2002 she worked as a staff nurse in the Telemetry/IMC unit then in early 2002 she transferred back to the MICU but this time as a Senior Clinical Nurse. This leadership role allowed Melissa to take part in managerial activities including annual staff performance reviews, staff scheduling, process improvement projects and Charge Nurse in addition to caring for critically ill patients. She transferred from the MICU to the Emergency Department (ED) in 2011 where she continued to perform in the Senior Clinical Nurse role. In addition to caring for patients in the ED, Melissa was the chair of the unit Retention Committee, lead supervisor of the ED Patient Care Technicians, co-chair of the hospital wide Resuscitation Committee, member of the ED Risk Management Team, Interim Nurse Manager and participated and led several process improvement projects. Melissa was also a long-term member of the UMMC Clinical Nurse Professional Advancement Committee in the role of portfolio evaluator and applicant mentor. After 23 years, Melissa left UMMC and took a PRN staff nurse position at the University of Maryland St. Joseph’s Medical Center’s emergency department until 2023.

In 2017, Melissa obtained her Forensic Nurse license at GBMC and was employed in the SAFE/DV Program as a forensic nurse examiner where she continues to be employed. In this role, she performs medical-forensic exams on adolescents and adults reporting sexual assault, intimate partner violence and human trafficking. In 2018, she furthered her Forensic Nurse role to care for child abuse or child sexual abuse pediatric patients under the age of 12.

During her time working in the SAFE/DV Program at GBMC, Melissa teaches a portion of the Forensic Nurse Course offered by GBMC, she has provided sexual assault and domestic violence education to the Emergency Department nursing staff at GBMC and St. Joseph’s Medical Center, she supervises new Forensic nurses and has testified several times in Baltimore County Circuit Court and is certified as an expert witness. She regularly participates in outreach events in the community, collaborates with colleagues with speaking engagements and regularly attends conferences. In 2023, Melissa is one of the Human Trafficking (HT) Liaisons for the SAFE/DV program and performs in the role of interim manager.

While in the HT Liaison role, she has assisted in developing EPIC screening questions for HT and a documentation tool for forensic nurses who are caring for suspected or confirmed HT patients. Melissa has made connections with community partners to provide safe shelter for our patients and assisted in developing a patient shelter protocol for patients cared for by the SAFE/DV program. She has made connections with nursing staff at Urgent care centers in and around Baltimore County to offer HT education and resources. Melissa has assisted in establishing resources for trafficking patients such as gift cards for fast food restaurants & “Go” bags.

Melissa is a member of Emergency Nurses Association, International Association of Forensic Nurses, CHAMP (Child Abuse Medical Providers) and the Baltimore County Human Trafficking Work Group. She has served in the Maryland Medical Reserve Corp since 2020.

Missouri has a Bachelor of Science in Child and Family Studies from Louisiana State University and a Master of Social Work from Baylor University. Missouri is a licensed master social worker (LMSW) in the state of Maryland. Missouri has 7 years of experience working closely with survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence, survivors of sexual assault and survivors of other violent crime. Missouri started with GBMC SAFE & DV as an advocate in May of 2024 and has been with GBMC as a care manager since January 2024. Missouri is married and has two dogs she affectionately calls her babies. Her favorite hobbies are reading, watching football (college and NFL), traveling, and playing with her dogs. 

Pam joined the GBMC SAFE team in 2017. She is certified by the MD Board of Nursing as a Forensic Nurse Examiner to care for patients across the lifespan affected by sexual assault, sexual abuse, intimate partner violence and human trafficking. She is also certified by the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) as a SANE-A and SANE -P which signifies the highest level of competency as a sexual assault forensic examiner for adults, adolescents, and prepubescent children. She is the GBMC SAFE team educator, and part time nursing faculty at American Public University System. She has a special interest in child sexual abuse prevention and care of those affected. She volunteers weekly with her son Johnny at GBMC.

Stephanie is a member of the SAFE team with over 35 years of nursing experience. Stephanie actively provides education and training related to strangulation to Baltimore County Police and is very knowledgeable on topic. She is a faculty instructor for the SAFE RN Adolescent/Adult Course and is very active with community outreach providing information and education on strangulation, safe dating, and sexual assault awareness. Stephanie has been recognized by Baltimore Magazine as A Nursing Excellence winner two years in a row.

Tess graduated from Stevenson University in 2014 with a Bachelor's in Nursing. She learned of forensic nursing when she was in nursing school and knew immediately she wanted to become a forensic nurse. After graduating nursing school, she began working for University of Maryland Medical Center on an Acute Neurocare floor. In 2017 she took the plunge and obtained her certification to be a Forensic Nurse Examiner and began working for GBMC. While working as a Forensic Nurse Examiner Tess was intrigued in the workflow of emergency room nursing and began working as an emergency room nurse in 2019. Tess found a passion for pediatric emergency nursing in 2021 and has remained in pediatrics ever since. Tess is certified to care for patients across the lifespan. While not at work she enjoys reading and spending quality time (like binge watching Netflix) with her husband, daughter, and two pups.

Wendy Lee, a bi-vocational leader with a tenured career in insurance and financial services, began her efforts in the field of domestic violence in 2000 with a primary focus on intervention, safety planning and access to resources for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). For more than two and a half decades, she has provided after-hours crisis response and compassionate advocacy as a member of various teams within and across multiple counties within Maryland, inclusive of Baltimore, Frederick, Carroll, Howard, and Baltimore City. For many years she served as the primary lead for after-hours on-call advocacy for the lethality assessment program (LAP) at Family & Children’s Services of Central Maryland and later expanded her expertise to include hospital-based bedside response for survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking at four area hospitals.

In 2018, she pivoted from her corporate career to a position in government, providing oversight of the Baltimore City Visitation Center. The Visitation Center is a component of a larger community response to IPV and its associated crimes of sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. With direct oversight by the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, the Visitation Center provides a safe space for supervised visits and monitored exchange services to occur in a healthy and supportive environment, while also serving as an access point for additional resources. In 2022, Ms. Lee was invited to serve in her current role as Deputy Chief of IPV Prevention. She leads a team of professionals including the Prevention Coordinator, Prevention Court Liaison, and the Program Director for the Visitation Center.

Ms. Lee is originally from the Bronx, New York. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland (Frances King Carey) School of Law. She is a member of several collaboratives working to end domestic violence including the Baltimore City Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team and the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. She is the chair of the Baltimore City Domestic Violence High-Risk Core Implementation Team and currently serves on the Maryland Domestic Violence Fatality Review Statewide Implementation Team. She is also a board member of the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence.

In 2024, Ms. Lee received the Empowerment Award from Turn Around, Inc. for her thoughtful, innovative and collaborative approach to addressing violence in Baltimore City. In 2022 she received the Henry Gleim Memorial award from the Office of the Governor, Maryland State Board of Victims Services for her dedication to serving victims. Ms. Lee is a 2019 graduate of the Roper Victim Assistance Academy of Maryland. She enjoys stage plays, fine dining, cruising and is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.