Lydia Watts has spent the past 30 years working with survivors of crime, primarily in the Maryland and DC area. Lydia has been at the helm of the ROAR Center since its launch in 2019. As a victims’ rights attorney, advocate, and leader of the ROAR Center, Lydia wishes everyone understood that survivors deserve all the compassion and grace they would want for themselves or their loved ones.
As founder and executive director of Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE), Lydia pioneered a multidisciplinary approach to serving teen and adult victims of domestic violence in Washington, DC, by offering an innovative range of services, including legal, counseling, clinical case management, economic literacy, and empowerment, outreach, and education. The vision of that model has been replicated with Lydia’s assistance at other organizations, including now ROAR. Lydia’s work with crime survivors includes leadership roles at the Network for Victim Recovery (NVRDC) in DC, DC Access to Justice Commission, National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy, and the Victim Rights Law Center. In her spare time, Lydia likes to read, knit, crochet, and spend time in nature, especially with family and friends.
Inspiration: The strength and resilience of people who have experienced so much hardship and still feel love in their hearts.
