24/7 Hotline: (833)TEL-SAFE
Meet Our Team
Leadership
Christine Kirk
Executive Director
Christine joined TeleSAFE in 2020 and brings nearly two decades of leadership experience to her role, with a career defined by a commitment to service and building a future where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive. Her background spans the public, private, non-profit, and start-up sectors, providing her with a unique perspective on addressing complex challenges and driving systemic change.
As Executive Director, she successfully led the program through restructuring, expansion, and implementation, ultimately establishing it as a national leader in remote sexual assault examination support. She has a proven ability to build strong partnerships and navigate complex systems, improving patient access to care and outcomes.
Christine’s expertise includes strategic design, finance, and operations, and she has a unique talent for using data and thoughtful design to drive program development and innovation. Christine is also deeply invested in colleague development, fostering a culture of growth, and leading with humility, dignity, and compassion to create a more equitable world.
Nancy Harris
NP-C, NYSAFE SANE-A, SANE-P
Co-Founder, Nurse Manager
Nancy’s career in nursing spans nearly 40 years with experience working in pediatrics, neonatal ICU, hospitalist, and emergency services. Nancy co-founded TeleSAFE in 2018 as a leader in her field, having performed nearly 1,800 sexual assault forensic exams over the course of her career. In recognition of her innovative work and dedication to the field of forensic nursing, Nancy received the New York State Children’s Alliance (NYSCA) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 and the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) Distinguished Fellow Award in 2023.
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In addition to her work with TeleSAFE, Nancy has been instrumental in the development of a regional forensic examiner program, including four hospitals and two child advocacy centers (CACs) in New York’s Capital Region. The “Regional CAC Program” has grown to cover 25 counties in New York State – Nancy serves as the program’s Medical Manager. Along with a team of colleagues, Nancy created and provided a free pediatric SANE training for all medical providers in NYS and currently provides a preceptorship program within her Regional CAC locations in NYS. Nancy earned her certification as an adult nurse practitioner from Sage College in Albany, NY.
Tina Bates
BSN, RN, CCRN, SANE-A, SANE-P, NYSAFE, EMT
Nurse Supervisor
Tina has been a registered nurse for 15 years and a forensic nurse examiner for six years. She joined the TeleSAFE team as a provider in 2018, and stepped into clinical leadership of the program in 2023. She holds certifications for SANE-A, SANE-P, IPVNE, CCRN, and EMT.
Through her extensive background as a nurse educator with St. Peter’s Health Partners Forensic Nurse Examiner program, she has taught numerous Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) trainings and elder abuse courses and expanded the St. Peter’s Crime Victim Services SANE training course from 37.5 hours to 50.33-hours. She has presented at both the Rensselaer County SART conference as well as the NYS IAFN Chapter Annual Conference.3ed
Christi Waldron
Director of Partnership Development
Christi comes to TeleSAFE with nearly two decades of experience in the fields of healthcare and victim services. Her career has been dedicated to ensuring survivors have access to quality care after an assault. Christi began her work in 2005 as a counselor/advocate, later managing and overseeing partnerships that directly impact survivors of sexual violence. Christi has collaborated with hospitals, law enforcement, correctional facilities, colleges, and K-12 institutions to ensure compliance with industry best practices to improve outcomes for survivors.
Prior to joining TeleSAFE, Christi’s work included coordinating statewide trainings with the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NYSCASA) to optimize collaborations between advocacy centers and college campuses, among other types of organizations. Additionally, Christi has presented at national conferences on the importance of taking a multi-disciplinary team approach to building partnerships that best serve survivors. Christi believes TeleSAFE will help to expand access to quality care and bridge the gaps so that sexual assault survivors do not fall through the cracks.
Forensic Examiners
TeleSAFE’s team of experienced forensic examiner provides high-quality, trauma-informed services to sexual assault survivors across New York State. Our nurses have an average of 15 years’ experience practicing as forensic examiners. Each nurse is:
A Registered Nurse or Nurse Practitioner in New York State
Hired with a minimum of three years’ experience in the field of forensic nursing
New York State Department of Health NYSAFE-certified
Adult, adolescent, and pediatric trained
Committed to collaborating with fellow NYS providers through the forensic exam process
Partners and Sponsors
St. Peter’s Crime Victim Services operates TeleSAFE, which receives operational support funding through several grants, including but not limited to funding provided through the New York State Office of Victim Services, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
Forensic Examiners
TeleSAFE is always recruiting for experienced and licensed NYSAFE examiners to join our team.
To learn more about employment opportunities, please reach out to us anytime.