Anna Alden-Tirrill

Overview

Ms. Anna Alden-Tirrill brings a rich combination of professional and personal experience to the writing of these books. Unlike many writers, Anna was part of the on-line dating scene from its early days in the late 1990s. She was also the victim of a Romance Scam Artist before there were any writings or websites out there to warn Internet users of the dangers.

Education

When Anna was young, she was educated in both France and Germany, and as a result, is fluent in French and near-fluent in Spanish. After returning to the United States, she attended The American University in Washington, D.C., where she earned her Bachelor's Degree from their College of Arts and Sciences in Languages and Linguistics with a minor in Cultural Anthropology. She was awarded a Teaching Fellowship and taught classes while pursuing a Master's Degree in Languages and International Studies, specializing in Africa and Western Europe.

Crisis Intervention / Women's Health Advocate

After Anna finished her academic training, she served as the director of various grassroots and governmental non-profit social service agencies and programs in the area of victimology, counseling and crisis intervention. During this time, she was a regular guest on various television and radio talk shows. As the Director of the Crisis Hot-line for the City of Alexandria, Virginia and later as the Women's Health and Safety Director for the City, she trained volunteers to provide valuable services to victims in crisis. She also developed a series of workshops for City residents on a wide array of women's health and mental health issues.

Crime Victim Advocate

Anna also chaired a task force comprised of the Commonwealth (State) Attorney, law enforcement officials, along with representatives from various social service and healthcare agencies. In addition, she was an active member of the Virginia Committee on Sexual Assault Reform (COSAR) which lobbied for and reformed Virginia's sexual assault statutes. These reforms served as a model as other states reformed their sexual assault statutes. Anna also trained all City employees regarding the City's policies and procedures for Sexual Harassment in the workplace. Anna also worked with the Mayor's staff to set up a Health Fair for City employees and residents of the community.

Victimology Professor

Anna's accomplishments with COSAR and the City of Alexandria came to the attention of her alma mater. They asked her to come back and teach as an Adjunct Professor. She developed and taught a pioneering course on victimization and counseling. Her students included police officers and students studying to become service providing professionals. She also developed and facilitated a university conference on the topic of Women's Health.

Newspaper Editor and Investigative Journalist

Following this, Anna worked as an investigative journalist for a regional newspaper. After three years as the Managing Editor, she launched her own international newspaper. For six years, she and her staff investigated various hot issues and controversial subjects of interest to people around the world. Anna passed on January 7, 2015 after a five-year bought with breat cancer.