Cindy Dyer is a human rights expert and lawyer with more than 25 years of experience working at the local, national, and international levels to address human rights abuses with a focus on gender-based violence (GBV), domestic and sexual violence, human trafficking, and harmful practices. She recently served on the Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military and is currently a Senior Advisor and Highly Qualified Expert (HQE) at the Department of Defense. For 12 years, she was the Vice President for Human Rights at Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international NGO advancing women’s leadership. During her tenure, she increased the annual Human Rights budget from $250,000 to approximately $10 million, and grew her division from 1 staff member to a staff of 20. In particular, she developed, implemented, and managed a multi-million dollar public-private partnership to prevent and respond to GBV around the world. Additionally, she worked with local governmental and civil society leaders in more than 25 countries throughout Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe to assess, improve, and implement laws and policies to address violence, discrimination, and exploitation of women and other marginalized individuals and communitiesPrior to joining Vital Voices, she was appointed by the United States President and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to be the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women within the U.S. Department of Justice. While Director, she served as the liaison between the Department of Justice and federal, state, tribal, and international governments on matters involving violence against women. She was responsible for developing the department's legal and policy positions regarding the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act and overseeing a budget of nearly $400 million. She began her career at the local level serving as a specialized domestic and sexual violence prosecutor for more than 13 years. During that time, she was a recognized pioneer in pursuing evidence-based, survivor-centered prosecution policies and served on the Public Policy Committee and the Board of Directors for the Texas Council on Family Violence. she was instrumental in establishing the first specialized Domestic Violence Court and first specialized Protective Order Court in the state of Texas. She is known for her direct experience, inclusive leadership style, fundraising skills, financial and strategic planning, and program design expertise.