Joyce Bilyeu is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Sacramento Regional Family

Justice Center (SRFJC), where she leads a comprehensive, multidisciplinary model serving

survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, child abuse, and elder abuse.

Under her leadership, SRFJC provides integrated services including legal assistance, case

management, housing support, Camp HOPE America, child therapy, and human trafficking

response.

With more than 40 years of experience in victim advocacy and direct service, Joyce is a

nationally recognized expert in high-risk domestic violence, strangulation assessment, and

coordinated community response. She has trained thousands of professionals, including law

enforcement, healthcare providers, prosecutors, and advocates, on identifying and responding to

near-fatal violence and high-risk cases.

Joyce played a pivotal role in establishing the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center and

was instrumental in developing Sacramento County’s first countywide strangulation prevention

protocol and Domestic Violence High-Risk Team. She has contributed to the California

Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), helping to strengthen domestic

violence training standards for law enforcement statewide. In 2020, she testified before the

Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, offering

recommendations to improve responses to domestic violence and prevent homicides.

She is a graduate of the Advanced Strangulation Prevention Training and the Master’s Summit

through the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention and has also attended the Alliance for

HOPE International’s Hidden Homicide trainings, strengthening her expertise in identifying

domestic violence-related deaths. Joyce took an active role in advocating for Joanna’s Law (SB

989), legislation aimed at improving the identification and review of suspicious deaths linked to

domestic violence to ensure warning signs are not overlooked and accountability is strengthened.

Joyce serves as a national trainer for Alliance for HOPE International, the California District

Attorneys Association, and the California Forensic Medical Institute, and she co-chairs the

National Advocacy Committee for Alliance for HOPE International.

Locally, Joyce is an active leader in collaborative system change efforts. She serves on the

Sacramento County Domestic Violence Prevention Collaborative, the Domestic Violence Death

Review Team, and the District Attorney’s Voices for Victims Coalition. She has trained

international delegations on best practices in addressing domestic violence and child abuse and

was featured in the documentary We Made It Through the Rain, highlighting survivor resilience

and hope.

A survivor of domestic violence and gun violence herself, Joyce brings both professional

expertise and lived experience to her work. She is deeply committed to ensuring that every

survivor has access to safety, support, and a pathway to healing.