The Illinois Coalition to Address Intimate Partner Violence-Induced Brain Injury is led by its co-founders, co-directors, and a multidisciplinary Advisory Council of experts in neuroscience, domestic violence, healthcare, and policy. This page introduces the leadership team driving our mission to address partner-inflicted brain injury.
Co-Founders and Co-Directors
Dorothy Kozlowski
Co-Founder & Neuroscience Chair at DePaul University.
Dr. Dorothy Kozlowski is a Vincent DePaul Professor and Chair of Neuroscience at DePaul University. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Knox College, M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and completed postdoctoral fellowships in Neurosurgery at UCLA and Neurobiology at Northwestern University.
Dr Kozlowski’s teaching and research focus is in neuroscience. Specifically, Dr. Kozlowski’s lab uses animal models to study how the brain tries to repair itself following traumatic brain injury through neuroplasticity and why repeat concussions and subconcussions result in long-term neurological deficits. Her research has been published in a variety of journals and book chapters and has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and the United States Department of Defense. In addition to teaching and research Dr. Kozlowski is also actively working on bringing attention to the role brain injury plays in survivors of intimate partner violence.
Sonya Crabtree-Nelson
Co-Founder & Social Work Professor.
Sonya Crabtree-Nelson, PhD, LCSW is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at DePaul University in Chicago. She received her Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago and her MSW from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Jane Addams College of Social Work. Dr. Crabtree-Nelson has over 20 years of direct practice experience working in the areas of child welfare and domestic violence.
Her research focus relates to gender based violence, trauma, and resilience as well as social justice in social work education. Dr. Crabtree-Nelson believes that research is best when done in collaboration with the community, thus she has strong connections with numerous local organizations. Dr. Crabtree-Nelson has presented at national and international conferences and published articles in peer-reviewed journals on these topics. She also was a guest editor for a two-volume special edition in the Journal of Maltreatment, Trauma, and Aggression on the topic of brain injury in survivors of intimate partner violence. Most recently, Dr. Crabtree-Nelson co-founded the Illinois Coalition to Address Intimate Partner Violence-Induced Brain Injury. She is working on several research projects related to this issue and partners with other like-minded researchers across the country as a member of global Neurological Epidemic in Abusive Trauma (gNEAT).
Mariá Wilburn
Trauma-informed survivor advocacy leader
Mariá Wilburn leads a healthcare-based victim services program spanning across hospitals and outpatient clinical settings aimed at improving the healthcare system’s ability to identify, respond and connect survivors of gender-based violence with options to maximize healing and safety.
Mariá is a certified crisis counselor, advocate, and educator with over a decade of experience. Mariá promotes survivor-centered policies, rooted in the neurobiology of trauma, that emphasize choice and honor the self-determination, lived-experience and the resilience of those impacted by violence.
Throughout her career she has worked closely with statewide coalitions to develop legislative initiatives that have propelled Illinois into becoming one of the states with the strongest protections for survivors. In 2025, Mariá led the development and launch of an innovative trauma-informed primary care clinic. The first of its’ kind, the clinic provides access to trauma-informed family medicine and pelvic health under a multi-disciplinary model designed to improve health outcomes through medicine and advocacy.
Mariá’s work is driven by a deep commitment to create systems that can support survivors on their journey to healing and wholeness. She holds a master’s degree in ethics and offers services in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
