Artika Roller selected as executive director of Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault

Artika Roller was chosen to lead the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA), the organization’s board of directors recently announced. She will take the reins as executive director in early December, replacing Hannah Laniado, who has served as MNCASA’s interim executive director for the last 10 months.

Roller brings 20 years of direct service experience serving women and children in the fields of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and sexual violence. She holds a BSW from Metropolitan State University and a CPMSW from the University of Minnesota.

Additionally, she is a graduate of the Executive Leadership Institute from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Schools of Business and Social Work. She also completed the Minnesota Victim Assistance Academy, through the Minnesota Office of Justice Programs and St. Cloud State University.

As the former program director of Women’s Advocates Shelter and the PRIDE (From Trafficking to Promise, Recovery, Independence Dignity and Equality) Program, Roller played a key role in public policy advocacy and helped lead the legislative advocacy for the Safe Harbor “No Wrong Door” model for minor victims of sex trafficking and the current “Safe Harbor for All” policy advocacy.

Roller was most recently employed with Hennepin County Department of Health and Human Services, where she led the development and strategic planning for their child, youth, and community well-being engagement efforts.

— Information provided by MNCASA.