WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Newtown native was honored last month by the Department of Justice for her work assisting the DOJ’s Criminal Division as well as her expertise on working with the most vulnerable victims protected by the department.

Nicole Borrello received the department’s prestigious Lois B. Bundy Exceptional Service Award for Administrative Support during an awards ceremony in Washington on January 19.

The award recognizes a DOJ Criminal Division employee whose administrative support has made a lasting contribution by best exemplifying the commitment, dedication, interpersonal skills, sensitivity, keen judgment, and enthusiasm that the award’s namesake consistently displayed during her distinguished 34 years of service.

“I could hardly believe they were talking about me!” Borrello said via email February 6. “When I started my federal career ten years ago, I never would have imagined being where I am today. In my dual-hatted role, I not only assist the Criminal Division at large, but I also have become a subject matter expert on working with the most vulnerable: victims of child exploitation and trafficking. It’s a ‘job’ doing what I love, working alongside some of the most amazing people and most importantly ensuring that crime victims are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

“I am not only honored to receive this award, but I am also humbled by the recognition,” she added.

Borrello has been the DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Victim Witness Program Administrator (VWPA) for eight years. She has, according to information shared by the DOJ, led the division’s efforts in ensuring that crime victims and witnesses are treated with dignity and respect, their needs are met, and their rights scrupulously observed.

Upon her appointment as the VWPA, Borrello undertook a comprehensive top to bottom review of the Division’s Victim Witness Program, updating it so that all victim/witness policies, practices, and procedures aligned with Department policies and priorities regarding victim/witness management and service provision.

Shortly thereafter, she updated and published a comprehensive manual covering all aspects of the program and created and implemented a division-wide training program on the Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance and the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. Borrello leads the Division’s efforts by overseeing the collateral-duty Victim Witness Liaisons throughout sections and offices of the Division and manages and oversees hundreds of witness travel requests for trials across the United States.

According to the write-up included in the awards ceremony handout, Borrello “has always prioritized a victim-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive approach, and is part of the team developing the Learning Agenda Questions for the Department’s Strategic Action Plan, specific to victims and underserved populations.

“Generous with her advice and time, regardless of what time she is needed, Nicole is also a point of contact for all Assistant US Attorneys and Department attorneys for unique victim issues that arise in Project Safe Childhood cases.

“As an expert on a broad array of sensitive and important issues, Nicole has conducted innumerable trainings, locally, nationally, and internationally, on unique child victim issues, crime victims’ rights, child development, child trauma, communicating with child victims, vicarious trauma, and working as part of a multidisciplinary team,” according to the award notes.

Borrello had an integral role in developing the Restitution Database. She maintains this system of over $73 million of restitution orders ordered for “known” victims of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) images trafficked in by federal defendants.

She was also instrumental in the creation of, and continues to manage, the Victim Impact Statement Application (VISA), from which CSAM victim impact statements can be obtained in an automated, secure, reliable, and efficient way for use in federal, state, and military cases. Since the VISA’s inception, more than 100,000 victim impact statements have been disseminated, a vast improvement in the efficiency by which victim impact statements are distributed to the field, ensuring these victims can be heard at sentencing.

Borrello graduated from Newtown High School in 1993. She then earned a Bachelor of Science-Criminology at the University of Miami, and a Master of Science, Justice, Law & Society at American University. She has been with the Department of Justice since 2012. Her parents, Barbara and Nick Borrello, still live in Newtown.