Maria Blanchard

For nearly 20 years, Maria Blanchard has been advocating and serving victims of violent crime. Maria is proud to have been the first Victim Advocate at the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and to have been in the early stages of implementing the Utah County Family Justice Center. Many opportunities have been afforded to Maria, professionally, to include private practitioner, Utah Valley University adjunct faculty, and courtesy caseworker/therapist for Nova Scotia Youth Services. Maria’s involvement with the legal system reaches back to 1995, as a youth working at a Personal Injury and Wrongful Death law firm. Currently, Maria is enjoying coordinating and providing services for victims and families at the Family Justice Center and North County Children’s Justice Center in American Fork, as well as overseeing and providing virtual group therapy through the Utah Homicide Survivors organization for victims of homicide. While Maria enjoys working individually with clients, her passion is serving victims of crime and advocating for better, more comprehensive and trauma informed services.

Maria has rediscovered her love for skiing recently since she and her husband’s four children are getting old enough to keep up with their Mom. Maria loves naps, Friends tv show, and the Nightmare Before Christmas. Maria received her BSW from Brigham Young University and her MSW from Arizona State University in 2008.