FACULTY
Dana R. Cormier, Law Office of Dana R. Cormier / Staunton
Randi S. Lanzafama, VADOC, Community Corrections / Richmond
Erin D. Whealton, Office of the Attorney General / Richmond
COURSE PLANNER & MODERATOR
Seth C. Weston, Law Office of Seth C. Weston, PLC / Roanoke
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Dana R. Cormier, Law Office of Dana R. Cormier / Staunton
Dana Cormier was born in Laconia, N.H. and graduated in 2000 from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, where he served on the Brandeis Law Review and received the Brandeis Writing Award, the International Academy of Trial Attorneys Trial Advocacy Award, and the Edward Post Litigation Skills Award. He graduated cum laude from Middlebury College in 1988 with a B.A in American Literature and then attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before joining the Academy's resident theater company for its 1990-91 season. After attending Columbia University for one semester, he finished his graduate studies at Hunter College with an M.A. in Theater, focusing on Dramatic Literature.
Before opening his solo law office specializing in criminal defense and family law, Mr. Cormier practiced employment and business litigation with a firm in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and served as chairman of the firm's Employment Law Group. He has litigated civil, commercial, and criminal cases in the state, federal, and administrative courts of Virginia, West Virginia, Texas, New York, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. He has represented dozens of respondents in Sexually Violent Predator cases since 2008.
Mr. Cormier lives in Staunton, Virginia, and he is an active member of the Criminal Defense and Family Law Sections of the Virginia State Bar.
Randi S. Lanzafama, VADOC, Community Corrections / Richmond
Randi Lanzafama is the Sex Offender Program Manager for Virginia Department of Corrections/Community Corrections and has been in this position since January, 2007. She is responsible for sex offender programming in the 43 probation and parole districts including, but not limited to, sex offender treatment, polygraph, GPS and conditional release. Ms. Lanzafama holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. She earned her Master of Education in Agency Counseling from Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. Additionally, she is a Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider with the State of Virginia.
Ms. Lanzafama began her career in the criminal justice field as a Senior Case Manager with the Community Diversion Incentive Program, Petersburg, Virginia. After a time in that position, she began working in juvenile corrections and spent six years as a Juvenile Probation and Parole Officer. In 1993, Ms. Lanzafama began working as a Probation and Parole Officer with District 35 Probation and Parole, Manassas, Virginia. In 1996, she was promoted to the first Senior Probation and Parole Officer Sex Offender Specialist position created in Virginia. In that capacity, she helped develop the policies and standards for the supervision of sexual offenders in the Commonwealth of Virginia. She remained in this role until 2005 when she was promoted to Deputy Chief Probation and Parole Officer. Ms. Lanzafama was named Virginia Probation and Parole Association 2001 Line Officer of the Year.
Erin D. Whealton, Office of the Attorney General / Richmond
Erin Dugan Whealton is a Senior Assistant Attorney General working in the Sexually Violent Predators Civil Commitment Section of the Office of the Attorney General. She received her B.A. from the University of Richmond in 1997 and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2001. Before coming to the SVP section in January 2009, she worked as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney prosecuting crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault both in the city of Hampton and then in the county of Gloucester. During her tenure at the Office of the Attorney General, she has provided training on issues involving sexually violent predators to prosecutors, defense attorneys, sex offender treatment providers, probation officers, and victim witness advocates at various programs across the Commonwealth.