About Marlesse Jones

Marlesse Jones is the Director of the Victim Services Commission. In this role she facilitates and supports state and community leaders in streamlining, issue spotting, gap filling, and encouraging the evolution of victim services to achieve a higher trauma informed, equality based, inclusive, and comprehensive level. 

Marlesse started in 1992 as a 911 dispatcher and since then has worked as a paralegal and victim advocate.  She earned a bachelors in social work from Weber State University in 2001. Marlesse ran the Layton Victim Services program for 13 years, during which time she responded to crisis calls for domestic and sexual violence, supporting victims in navigating the criminal justice system and accessing resources. Marlesse graduated in 2011 from S.J. Quinney College of Law, U of U, with a law degree. As part of her educational experience, Marlesse participated in the Rocky Mountain Innocence Clinic for two years. She then worked as the City Prosecutor for Layton City, where she practiced in the District Court for over seven years.  Her experience as a victim advocate helped her successfully prosecute cases and support victims in their efforts to be safe and heal. 

In January 2018, Marlesse joined the Utah Prosecution Council team as the Sexual Assault / Domestic Violence Resource Prosecutor.  In this role Marlesse became a resource to law enforcement and prosecutors in successfully investigating and prosecuting cases involving traumatized victims of crime. As one who loves to road trip, Marlesse never said ‘no’ to a police agency, no matter how remotely located.   She provided training to thousands of officers throughout the state and became a subject matter expert on trauma and its impact on survivors of sexual and domestic violence crimes.  Marlesse’s training approach is always practical, insightful, and relatable. 

Over the past three decades, Marlesse has served on the Second District Victim Rights Committee, the Davis County Coalition, the Utah Crime Victims Council, the Sexual Violence Advisory Council, the Domestic Violence Advisory Council, the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee, and the Crime Victims Conference Committee, as well as various other committees as time permitted.