Staff

Robyn Mazur, Executive Director

Robyn Mazur is a seasoned non-profit executive with over twenty years of professional experience in gender and family justice. Prior to joining the Joyful Heart Foundation, Robyn was the Senior Director of National Training and Technical Assistance at the Center for Justice Innovation where she specialized in strategic program planning and implementation, partnership cultivation, relationship management and development of complex, large-scale programs such as the national domestic violence homicide prevention resource center. Robyn worked with legal stakeholders and communities who were interested in enhancing their responses to gender-based violence and provided training across the U.S. and internationally on the issues of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. Robyn is an attorney and prior to joining the Center, she worked at the National Network to End Domestic Violence in Washington, DC and the House of Ruth in Baltimore, MD.

Leslie Hewitt, Chief Financial Officer

Leslie Hewitt leads the Joyful Heart Foundation’s business operations, including finance, legal, human resources, facilities, and administrative operations. She has more than 15 years of leadership experience in financial management positions, including six years as an Audit Manager at Buchbinder Tunick & Co. and eight years in various roles, including Controller and CFO at CAMBA, a $110 million New York City-based human services agency. Leslie is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Ilse Knecht, Director of Policy & Advocacy

Ilse has 20 years invested in victim advocacy and is a nationally recognized expert on the rape kit backlog. She leads Joyful Heart’s End The Backlog campaign, which is at the forefront of identifying untested rape kits across the country, appealing for laws and policies to improve criminal justice responses to sexual violence; and working with jurisdictions to assist them to develop and implement survivor-centered reforms. Previously, Ilse spent 16 years at the National Center for Victims of Crime, where she created the DNA Resource Center and led the center’s efforts to reform policies and practices related to testing rape kits. She credits her mother with instilling a duty in her to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

Mateo Cello, Policy Implementation Associate

Mateo comes to Joyful Heart from the New York City Mayor’s Office, where he worked on the ground to create awareness about domestic violence, direct victims to services, and inform about relevant resources. Mateo also has experience in academic research, both in assisting and leading projects of his own. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Torcuato Di Tella University in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Laura Rubeli, Program Associate

Born and raised in New York, Laura Rubeli comes to Joyful Heart Foundation with over 30 years of professional experience. She recently relocated back to New York from Las Vegas, Nevada, where she held the position of cold case sexual assault victim advocate at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Laura worked in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General’s statewide efforts to submit previously untested sexual assault kits for testing and eliminate Nevada’s rape kit backlog. Laura is dedicated to providing a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach to reengage sexual assault victims back into the criminal justice system. 

Burcu Sagiroglu, MPP, Policy and Advocacy Associate 

Burcu Sagiroglu provides high level support to the Foundation in formulating and implementing strategies to advance its policy and advocacy goals. She comes to Joyful Heart from completing her master’s in public policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. Through academic research, consulting projects, and internships, she worked on access to resources and rights for vulnerable groups, including street children with disabilities in India, human trafficking survivors in Maryland and Peru, and refugees in the U.S. and West Asia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Colby College, ME.