Crime Victims Rights Week: The late Jennifer Selders receives lifetime achievement award

COSHOCTON − Recognizing those who need help helping themselves was the focus of a recent luncheon for Crime Victims Rights Week.

Honored at the event for their work in the community were Coshocton County Assistant Prosecutor Chrishana Carroll, the late Jennifer Selders, Tammy Smith of the Coshocton Public Health District, Cpl. Robert "Buddy" Hill of the Coshocton County Sheriff's Office and the SANE program of Genesis Hospital.

The special guest speaker was Alexis Albro, a certified trauma informed coach, advocate, and survivor of sexual assault. She said her goal is to create a space where victims and survivors don't have to hide what they've been through out of shame or embarrassment. It's important they feel safe and comfortable to explore healing without judgement. That's also the goal of those who were honored at the luncheon.

"It really allows those people to feel seen and heard for exactly who they are, despite what they've been through. It makes them know they're believed and it shows other survivors they can come forward, because they will be believed as well," Albro said of the importance of the awareness week. "When you have allies, you have that support system. You start by believing and you're literally saving people's lives."

Posthumously receiving the lifetime achievement award was the late Jennifer Selders , who died in June 2022 of pancreatic cancer. She started work at children services with Coshocton County Job and Family Services in April 1999.

The award was accepted by Selders' mother, Becky, her daughter, Brittany, and granddaughter, Jennifer. It was presented by longtime co-worker and friend, Kathy Art. Selders served as a case worker, family meeting facilitator, supervisor and more for children services.

"Jenn had the ability to develop a relationship with everyone. She was able to meet people where they were and help them to build from there," said Art. "Jenn truly believed in partnership, caring about her clients and investing in them. Jenn had a passion for her job and worked tirelessly to help children and their families."

Other honorees:

● Tammy Smith is director of nursing and the maternal and child health center for the Coshocton Public Health District. She's been a registered nurse for 26 years with experience in critical, emergency, cardiac stress lab and dialysis care. She's been in public health the past 13 years. Smith received her nursing degree from Ohio University. She's chair of the Coshocton County Child Fatality Review Board and is a member of the Central Ohio Technical College's health technology advisory committee.

● Cpl. Robert "Buddy" Hill is a 2005 graduate of Coshocton High School and a 2016 graduate of the police academy at Central Ohio Technical College. He decided to enter law enforcement after the closure of the WestRock papermill. Hill started out as a part-time officer with the Newcomerstown Police Department and transferred to the Coshocton County Sheriff's Office in May 2017. He's also a member of the Three Rivers Fire District.

● Chrishana Carroll was raised in Adams County and moved to Coshocton in February 2022. She obtained her law degree from the Chase Law School at Northern Kentucky University. She worked as a paralegal and assistant prosecutor in Adams County, handling the municipal court and juvenile docket. In private practice, she specialized in family and probate law, guardian ad litem services and assisting families with Department of Developmental Disabilities services.

● Program Coordinator Katie Zgonc and Genesis Coshocton Medical Center Operational Manager Candy Wentz accepted the recognition for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program through Genesis Hospital. SANE nurses have completed specialized education and clinical preparation in the medical forensic care of patients who have experienced sexual assault or abuse. The program started with Genesis in 2015 and came to Coshocton with the opening of the new hospital last year. The SANE program often collaborates with others in the community providing services to sexual assault and abuse victims.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Crime Victims Rights Week: The late Jennifer Selders receives lifetime achievement award