Featuring Amanda Olivier, MBA, Executive Director SAVA Center
October 2022
Amanda Olivier serves as the Executive Director of The Sexual Assault Victim Advocate (SAVA) Center in Northern Colorado. In this role, she directs SAVA’s work to provide crisis intervention, advocacy, and counseling for individuals who have been affected by sexual violence in Northern Colorado. As Executive Director, Amanda hopes that the people who come to SAVA are able to transform through healing from the trauma they have experienced. She is passionate about helping others and making a difference throughout her community. Amanda believes that knowledge is key to addressing issues such as domestic violence as it better prepares the individual to work to help others.
The Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center offers advocacy, therapy, and prevention services in both Larimer and Weld County. Prevention programs such as community outreach and education are also central to SAVA’s work in Northern Colorado. SAVA operates a rape crisis hotline where an individual who needs immediate help can reach a staff member and receive assistance. Other services include individual advocacy to help survivors understand their rights and options, therapy for those affected by sexual assault, support groups that meet weekly for primary and secondary survivors of sexual assault, and workshops for close loved ones and family members of an individual who has been assaulted.
While providing services to anyone affected by sexual violence is central to SAVA, SAVA is also dedicated to reducing the extent of sexual violence in Colorado through prevention education programs for youth. Through these education programs, SAVA desires to address the root causes of sexual violence, promote healthy relationships, and increase individual leadership skills.
Prior to serving as Executive Director, Amanda served as the Director of Prevention Education and Outreach with SAVA. Before moving to Colorado, she worked with the Domestic Violence Association of Central Kansas as a Campus Advocate and Sexual Assault Victim Advocate. In these roles, she provided direct victim services such as crisis counseling, safety planning, information and referral, as well as medical advocacy. She also facilitated professional trainings, student presentations, awareness campaigns and support groups. In addition, she assisted in the provision of direct services for victims of sexual violence and assisted with office and shelter duties.
Amanda’s educational background prepared her to be such an advocate for victims of violence. She received her B.S. in Criminology from Kansas State University where she focused on understanding gender differences regarding victim and perpetrator traits. In addition, she received a minor certificate in Women’s Studies and later went on to receive her MBA from Kansas Wesleyan University.
Throughout her career, Amanda Olivier has been a dedicated advocate for victims of violence and has continued this dedication in her current role as Executive Director of SAVA in Northern Colorado.