Anita Ahuja

Anita Ahuja serves as Manager for Mass Violence Response and Ombudsperson for Crime Victims with the California Victim Compensation Board in Sacramento. She is currently focused on mass violence emergency response planning and assisting with meeting the short and long-term needs of victims of mass violence in California.

Her experience includes managing federal crisis response grants, support groups and victim services for September 11th victims in California. She worked extensively with the California September 11th victims for several years, facilitating support groups in Northern and Southern California and coordinating resources nationwide. She also manages federal grants from the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program in the federal Office for Victims of Crime to assist the victims of the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino and the victims of the 2017 shooting in Las Vegas. Anita is currently working with Ventura County to assist the victims of the Borderline Bar shooting in Thousand Oaks and Santa Clara County to assist with the response to the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.  Since 2015, Ms. Ahuja has partnered with law enforcement to present the Leave No Victim Behind conference series which provides training on best practices for responding to mass violence incidents and effective community partnerships for assisting underserved victims. Ms. Ahuja is certified in advanced crisis response, critical incident stress management and has served as a Community Chaplain.

Ms. Ahuja has served in management roles in Public Affairs and Policy and Training at the California Victim Compensation Board. Her background includes working for the United States Senate, the California State Senate and the California Governor’s Office.  She currently serves on the Board for the Winters Theatre Company, a non-profit organization in Winters, California, where she performs in and directs theatrical productions. Her production of SEVEN, which she directed, received three ELLY nominations and one award from the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance. SEVEN profiles the lives of seven real life female human rights activists around the world who have struggled with domestic violence, human trafficking, poverty, gang rape, gun violence, gender equity and refugee camps.

Ms. Ahuja’s credentials include an M.A. in Counseling Psychology and a B.A. in Political Science and Rhetoric.