Darcy Olsen

Darcy Ann Olsen was born in Bennington, Vermont. Olsen attended high school in St. George, Utah, where she was active in student groups.[2] In 1993, Olsen earned a B.S. degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.[3] Then she enrolled in graduate school at New York University. She earned a master's degree in international education.[4]

Olsen founded the Center for the Rights of Abused Children (formerly known as Gen Justice) in 2017.[5] Its mission is to "protect children, change laws and inspire people – to ensure every abused child has a bright future". The organization provides reform blueprints and public interest litigation services to extend constitutional rights to abused children nationwide.[6][7] The Center also has a Pro Bono Children’s Law Clinic that serves children and teens in foster care at its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona.[8] The Center for the Rights of Abused Children is a 501(c)3 organization and a Qualifying Foster Care Charitable Organization.[9] GuideStar has awarded the Center for the Rights of Abused Children its Platinum Seal of Transparency.[10]

From 2001 - 2017, she served as CEO of the Goldwater Institute. There, she wrote “The Right to Try,” that resulted in a national law giving people with terminal illnesses the right to try investigational medicines.[11][12]

In 2023, readers of the Arizona Capitol Times voted Olsen as Arizona’s Best Non-Profit Leader, and the newspaper named her a Leader of the Year in Public Policy.[13][14] In 2022, the Arizona Capitol Times named Olsen a Leader of the Year[15] for improving the quality of life for abused children. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services honored Olsen with its Adoption Excellence Award[16] for helping children get adopted. In 2020, she was named an Angel in Adoption by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute,[17] and she was recognized by the Arizona Capitol Times for her leadership during the pandemic.[18] In 2019, Olsen was the first winner of the Gregor G. Peterson Prize in Venture Philanthropy. [19]

She was named one of Arizona's top Women in Public Policy[20] and one of the Phoenix Business Journal's Power Players in 2006,[21] and one of Phoenix's Forty Under 40 in 2009.[22] She also received the Roe Award,[23] offered by the State Policy Network for outstanding achievements. In 2014, she received the Bradley Prize,[24] awarded each year by the Bradley Foundation.

• Center for the Rights of Abused Children
• Appearances on C-SPAN