FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Diverse Backgrounds and Experiences to Further Mission:
New Chairs for the 2010 Board of Directors and Foundation Board
Austin, TX , April 22, 2010 – SafePlace, the Travis County nonprofit dedicated to providing services to survivors and ending sexual and domestic violence, announced the 2010 slate of Board of Directors and the Foundation Board. Monique “Nicki” Tyler and John Jones will act as Board of Directors Chair and Foundation Board Chair, respectively. Included in the 2010 Board of Directors and the Foundation Board are five new members.
"The addition of these new chairs and members of the Board of Directors ensures SafePlace will continue to benefit from a variety of diverse backgrounds and experiences furthering our mission to end sexual and domestic violence. All are passionate about our mission and fantastic leaders in our community," said Executive Director Julia Spann.
Nicki Tyler, the new Board of Directors Chair, has been a SafePlace Board member since 2008. She made a career as an executive in Austin banking for 18 years and then in the title industry for 16 years. She and her husband Ronnie own Travis Tiles Sales, a local tile distributorship. Nicki, a proud mother of two, has served on numerous boards over her 34 years of business in Austin and always stresses the importance of giving back to the community.
John Jones, Foundation Board Chair, has a long history with SafePlace. First elected to the Board of Directors in 2002, he served as Interim Executive Director in 2005 and was the Chair of the Board in 2006, remaining on the Board through 2007. He joined the Foundation Board in 2008. As a graduate of The University of Texas with a BS in Advertising, and an MBA, he spent more than 20 years working in newspaper, television and radio in both sales and management. He has since left media and now manages real estate and investment properties, along with a family owned ranch.
About the new Board of Directors:
Betty Dunkerley, former Austin City Council Member and Mayor Pro Tem. Ms. Dunkerley has served on several local boards including HAAM and the Geriatric Society. She was the CFO for the City of Austin.
Marylu De Hoyos, a survivor of domestic violence and former SafePlace client. Ms. De Hoyos emigrated from Mexico to escape family violence before receiving her Ph.D. in Education. She is currently employed with Texas Initiatives at Region XIII, Education Service Center as a data analyst.
Lori Freedman, and her husband Rabbi Alan Freedman are the rabbinic family of Temple Beth Shalom. She serves on the Boards of the Jewish Community Association of Austin and University of Texas Hillel. Mrs. Freedman is a risk management consultant in the insurance industry.
Sherry Marlatt, a SafePlace Volunteer Legal Advocate, is a very active volunteer who has worked directly with SafePlace clients. She is currently training as a volunteer for the SafePlace speaker’s bureau and served on the SafePlace Personnel Committee. She is a retired Vice President of Human Resources for Mars, Inc.
Laura Bosworth, a member of the SafePlace Finance Committee, community volunteer and Executive Director for EDCO Ventures. She currently sits on the board of Texas Alliance for Minority Engineers and is involved in the Women in Engineering program at the University of Texas and at GirlStart. She also volunteers as a Spanish language interpreter at Volunteer Health Clinic.
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About SafePlace
SafePlace is ending sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing and prevention for individuals, families and our community. With more than 35-years experience working with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in Austin/Travis County, SafePlace is an internationally recognized leader for its innovative and valuable programs.
Sharing Talents to Make a Difference in the Community
Maridy Dandeneau receives Frankie Fowler Volunteer of the Year Award
Austin, TX – April 20, 2010, SafePlace volunteers commit their time and skills to supporting survivors, mentoring children and educating the community about sexual and domestic violence. The survivors the agency serves benefit from the knowledge that people do value and want to help them be safe and build lives free of interpersonal violence.
Each April, during National Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 18-24, 2010), SafePlace recognizes one volunteer with the Frankie Fowler Volunteer of the Year Award. The award recognizes the efforts and dedication of one volunteer who has made a commitment to the agency and the community it serves that has strongly impacted survivors’ lives During the SafePlace Field Day & Festival, SafePlace honored one of the agency’s 800 plus volunteers, Maridy Dandeneau.
Ms. Dandeneau’s work with shelter residents directly impacts the lives of the women during a time when they have made the most important decision survivors of domestic violence can make: to leave their homes and change their lives. Many survivors enter the emergency shelter without jobs or the confidence to believe they can find a way to support themselves or their families. Ms. Dandeneau, working side-by-side with these women, helps them identify their skills and abilities. She then helps them to write a resume and apply for jobs. The process of identifying their skills gives these survivors the ability to feel more confident they will one day have a better future, free of the violence they have experienced.
“We have had many survivors we serve say they felt more self-confident as a result of how good their resumes looked after the work Maridy did with them,” said Melinda Cantu, Emergency Shelter Director. “It is an honor and pleasure to let her know how much her work means to the residents by recognizing her with this award.”
For more than 35 years, the role of volunteers working in support of ending sexual and domestic violence has been pivotal to providing safety and compassion to survivors. In 2009 SafePlace volunteers provided more than 27,000 hours of service to the agency, roughly translating to more than half a million dollars in savings to the agency.
“Three years ago I learned what SafePlace was about and was impressed by the dedication and commitment of the staff,” Ms. Dandeneau stated moments before accepting her award. “I realized I had some talents to share and tried to see what I could do to support the staff and survivors to do their jobs.”
National Volunteer Week embodies the energy and power individuals can bring to our community. SafePlace’s Frankie Fowler Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes the volunteers who lead by example and motivate others to participate in making a difference in their communities.
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About SafePlace
SafePlace is ending sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing and prevention for individuals, families and our community. With more than 35-years experience working with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in Austin/Travis County, SafePlace is an internationally recognized leader for its innovative and valuable programs.