Meet the Advocates

Lisa M. Leavitt, Ph.D., Manager/Advocate

Personal
Lisa was born in Calgary, Alberta Canada. At the age of 3 her family moved to London, England, where she lived until graduating from high school. Lisa has lived in London and Calgary as an adult, but has called Provo home for the past 28 years. Lisa loves to spend her time with family, which typically involves cooking together, lots of laughter and fun conversation. Lisa also enjoys traveling, especially road trips, in the quest for learning about, and experiencing new places and cultures.

Professional
Lisa’s background is in psychology and most of her career has been focused in that arena. Lisa worked as a therapist at BYU CAPS for many years prior to becoming the first Survivor Advocate at BYU in January of 2017. Lisa has also had a private psychology practice in the community for the past 20 years, focusing on trauma recovery, women’s issues, children and adolescents. Lisa is passionate in providing education to others about mental health in general, but more particularly around the issues of sexual assault, and has done many presentations on these issues

Qualifications
Lisa has a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from the U of U, a master's in School Counseling and Psychology from BYU and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from BYU. She has completed training and been certified with the Utah State Sexual Assault Advocacy training program. In addition, she has attended multiple conferences and workshops focusing on trauma and sexual assault.

Jackie Nunez, M. ED., Advocate

Personal
Jackie was born in El Salvador and moved to San Fernando Valley, California at the age of 5. At 18, she moved to Utah to attend BYU. She now calls Utah home and loves being surrounded by mountains. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends going on hikes, camping, enjoying scenic drives, exploring new places or gathering for great food and music.

Professional
Prior to working at BYU, Jackie worked in various government and non-profit agencies advocating for individuals from diverse academic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds, including working as a Victim Advocate for law enforcement. She also worked at UVU as a Coordinator and Academic Counselor serving prospective and first-year students. Jackie is passionate about helping others achieve their greatest potential and providing individuals with the tools and resources they need to be successful. She has been at BYU since October 2020.

Qualifications
Jackie earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from BYU. She is also certified as a Global Career Development Facilitator. She completed the Victim Assistance Academy through the Office of Victims of Crime and Rape Crisis Training through The Refuge. She has also completed the Sexual Assault Counselor Training through UCASA.

Laura Jones, LCSW, Advocate

Personal
Laura has lived in Colorado, California, Indiana and Utah. She has been married 15 years and has three wild boys. She spends most of her free time driving them around to soccer, Kungfu, basketball, and piano. She served a mission in Poland, and loves traveling to Europe, southern Utah, and to visit family in California and Oregon. Her favorite pastimes are walking her standard poodle and golden doodle, listening to true crime podcasts, and reading novels. Her favorite food is Nutella.

Professional
Laura’s background is in working as a therapist (14 years) and before that as a case manager (3 years). Her work includes being a therapist at several agencies that treat mental illness, substance abuse, individual and couples therapy, case management and group counseling. She has experience working with high-risk adult populations, domestic violence, substance abuse, teens, couples, mental illness, and sexual/other trauma. She is passionate about trauma recovery, EMDR, DBT skills, running process groups, and teaching. She is also working on a podcast about DBT as a side project. She is excited about being an advocate for sexual assault.

Qualifications
Laura has a Bachelor of Social Work from BYU Provo and a Master of Social Work from the University of Utah. She has been practicing as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for 12 years. She is heavily trained in DBT, EMDR, and EXRP.