Members & Team Structure

The team’s Project Director is responsible for overseeing the work of the Domestic Fatality Review Team and carries out the mission and objectives set by the Advisory Board. At the end of each review year, the Project Director produces an Annual Report on behalf of the Fourth Judicial District Domestic Fatality Review Team for review and consideration by all agencies, organizations, and communities across the Hennepin County area; the state of Minnesota, and the remaining 86 counties across the state.

In 2022, the Advisory Board appointed Makenzie Nolan to serve as the Domestic Fatality Review Team’s Project Director. Makenzie comes with a background in domestic violence and sexual assault legal advocacy through direct-service work with victim/survivors of violence across Hennepin County communities. Makenzie has served as a liaison between victim/survivors in the Fourth Judicial District Court and across police departments in Hennepin County; she has also led community violence prevention initiatives through the Department of Justice Community-Based Crime Reduction Program to reduce serious and violent crime in the city of Minneapolis.

As the governing body of the Fourth Judicial District Domestic Fatality Review Team, the Advisory Board is responsible for adhering to the Minnesota State Statute and Team Bylaws. The Advisory Board is tasked with upholding the Team’s Code of Ethics; ensuring that the Team operates in a respectful, professional, and confidential manner that adheres to data practices and Team Meeting Guidelines.

The Advisory Board represents a group of elected members who have served on the Team for a minimum of six months and are recommended by an existing Advisory Board member; with the approval of the Board Chair. Advisory Board members serve on a voluntary basis for a two-year term.

The Advisory Board is responsible for identifying, appointing, and overseeing the work of the Domestic Fatality Review Team’s Project Director, and also appoints members to serve on the Domestic Fatality Review Team. The Advisory Board generally meets bi-monthly.

The Domestic Fatality Review Team’s members includes professionals in select roles, often embedded within the system, who are most likely to overlap with perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse. Team members reflect leadership from civic organizations, criminal and civil attorneys and Judicial Officers, probation, law enforcement, mental health professionals, and advocates from across Hennepin County and its respective 45 cities. The Team also strives to have community representatives or members from community organizations with a wide array of backgrounds, who bring knowledge and perspective apart from the professional “systems” vantage point. Team members are appointed by the Advisory Board, with oversight from the Fourth Judicial District Chief Judge. Members serve on a voluntary basis for a two-year term. The Team is supported by the Project Director.