March 12, 2019

Koonce appointed to help with state plan for sexual assault prevention

Danielle Koonce

Danielle Koonce, a violence prevention coordinator at Northwest Missouri State University, has joined the Office of Women’s Health (OWH) within the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to assist in establishing the Missouri State Plan for the Prevention of Sexual Violence.

Koonce joins a diverse group of professionals from throughout the state, representing K-12 education, colleges and communities to establish a comprehensive plan for primary prevention strategies and activities. The plan will focus on the community and societal levels of the Socio Ecological Model of public health and follow best practice guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During a span of several months, the team will assess prevention practices throughout the state and identify areas for growth and improvement in alignment with CDC requirements. The team will build a plan and work to establish partnerships to implement the plan state-wide.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity and real privilege to have Northwest Missouri State University represented on the Missouri State Plan for the Prevention of Violence team,” B.K. Taylor, Northwest’s assistant director of wellness services for prevention, outreach and education, said. “It is my continued honor to work with Danielle, and it is exciting to see her contributions across the state.”

Koonce joined the Northwest staff in 2015 and serves as the coordinator of the University’s Green Dot program, a violence prevention initiative focused on reducing violence, including stalking, sexual assault and partner violence. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in public health with an emphasis in health promotion and policy, both from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She also is a member of the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Gamma Eta chapter of Delta Omega, a national honor society for public health.

“Northwest has been continually recognized for implementing innovative violence prevention strategies in innovative and collaborative ways,” Koonce said. “We work with people across campus and community with the goal of supporting survivors and encouraging bystander intervention to stop violence from happening in the first place. I am honored to represent Northwest and Maryville in this state planning process, and I look forward to planning and implementation process.”