Since earning her law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1999, Jennifer Stolarski has focused her legal career on working to end domestic violence. As a result, she has a gained deep, practical experience with both the criminal and civil justice systems. Currently, she is a Chief Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney in the metro-Atlanta area. In this role, Jennifer has oversight over and set policies for the Victim-Witness Advocacy Program and the Special Victims Division which prosecutes domestic violence and sexual assault, elder abuse, crimes against children and human trafficking cases. During her tenure as a prosecutor, she has worked on domestic violence-related legislation, created initiatives to better serve and protect survivors and prosecuted high-risk domestic violence cases.
As a former staff attorney with Georgia Legal Services, Jennifer’s prior experience includes representing low-income domestic violence survivors in a wide variety of civil matters including domestic relations, housing and public benefits. Additionally, as the Director of the Domestic Violence Project with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF), Jennifer developed and managed a pro bono legal assistance program for survivors of domestic violence. She founded the Safe Families Office which is a survivor-centered, lawyer-staffed center providing legal and support services to survivors at the Fulton County Courthouse. Now in its tenth year, the Safe Families Office has been described by the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault as a “model best practices program”.
Jennifer is an Adjunct Professor at Emory University School of Law where she teaches an upper-level course on the U.S. Legal System’s Response to Domestic Violence. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation and is an active member of the DeKalb County Domestic Violence Task Force. She co-chairs the national Association of Prosecuting Attorneys’ Domestic Violence Committee. Jennifer is a prior recipient of the DeKalb County Task Force’s “Deborah C. McDorman Flame” Award and the International Women’s House “Hope for Tomorrow” Award for her work towards ending intimate partner violence.