District Attorney appoints director of Victim Witness Assistance Center

After the conclusion of a nationwide recruitment, District Attorney Dan Dow has announced the selection of Jessica Yates as the Director of the Christopher G. Money Victim Witness Assistance Center. 

 Established in 1977 as one of only two centers at the time in California, the Victim Witness Assistance Center serves all victims of crime who reside in San Luis Obispo County.

The director oversees a staff of 21 personnel including interns, victim advocates, witness coordinators, claims representatives, and support staff. The assistance center staff collectively assists between 10,000 to 14,000 crime victims annually including those who are victims of physical violence, theft, and property crimes.

“We are extremely pleased with Jessica Yates’ selection as Director because of her qualifications and her passionate desire to make our community safer by assisting those who have been severely impacted by crime,” said District Attorney Dan Dow. “Director Yates has instantly become a highly valued member of our District Attorney management team.”

Jessica holds a master’s degree in Business Administration with specialization in financial management from National University, La Jolla and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of California, Irvine.

Jessica most recently worked for the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office where she served as the Business Systems Analyst. There she led the County’s Stepping Up initiative, a national program helping to advance efforts by county governments to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders in jails. In her lead role, she collaborated with County department heads, the CAO, and other county staff who comprise the executive steering committee. Jessica developed and authored a comprehensive three-year strategic plan for San Luis Obispo County’s Stepping Up program.

Additionally, Jessica partnered with the Sheriff’s community action team to provide Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for law enforcement and other agencies throughout San Luis Obispo County. Director Yates has conducted numerous presentations to various agencies, county and city governments, and other stakeholders. Jessica has experience researching grant opportunities, writing grant proposals, and managing budgets for awarded grants. In addition, she has several years of experience in the private sector where she served as a marketing manager and a regional vice president with an investment services company.

“We also thank outgoing Victim Witness Director Tim Murphy for his outstanding service over the past two years,” said District Attorney Dow. “Tim’s work of implementing our mass victimization advocate program, creating our courthouse dog program, and overseeing the assistance center throughout the pandemic was superb.”

Director Murphy assumed a new role as a Senior Investigator in the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation.

For a copy of Jessica Yates' photo, click here

Please contact Chief Deputy District Attorney Jerret Grant at 805-781-5801 with any questions.