ABOUT WOCN
Mission
The mission of the Women of Color Network (WOCN) is to provide and enhance leadership capacity and resources that promote the activities of women of color advocates and activists within the Sovereign Nations, the United States and U.S. Territories to address the elimination of violence against women and families.
History
In 1997, a group of women of color from across the country gathered to establish an entity to address the unique challenges facing women of color advocates and activists within the violence against women movement.  Since that time, the Women of Color Network has created a national medium where women of color can dialogue, network, organize, and obtain resources to support their efforts. WOCN has accomplished this by:
1. Providing women of color access to information that they might not otherwise receive through:
  • Leadership Training on such topics as fundraising, program development, and public policy.
  • Mentor Project with approximately 100 mentors and close to 300 mentees across the United States and territories.
  • Mentor Listserv to facilitate immediate, electronic access to technical assistance and resources to mentors to be disseminated to their mentees.

2. Challenging systems and institutions that create barriers for women of color and their communities in their work to achieve violence-free lives through:
  • Regional Forums in partnership with National Network to End Domestic Violence bringing together women of color from local domestic violence and community-based programs as well as the Executive Directors and other state coalition staff to develop state plans for effecting change.
  • Partnerships and Collaboration with such entities as Coalition Advocates and Attorneys Network, Domestic Violence Resource Network, and Building Comprehensive Solutions Institute to examine public policy as it relates to communities of color and to conduct women of color roundtable discussions and networking sessions.

3. Promoting the development of independent, women of color led initiatives that are more likely to reach and effectively serve communities of color through:
  • WOCN Resource Guide Update listing over 200 women of color activists and 60 culturally-specific programs across the country.
  • Mentor Site Visits to highlight and provide on-site technical assistance to women of color led programs and initiatives.

4. Examining local, state, federal and tribal policies and provide opportunities for women of color to organize and exercise their voice regarding issues that effect their personal and professional lives through:
  • Focus groups to discuss child welfare systems as it relates to communities of color and domestic violence leading to the publication of a report.
  • WOCN National conference in fall 2003 entitled “Moving Beyond Emergency Services: Increasing Economic Security for Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Assault”.
  • Strategy meetings alongside national, tribal, and immigration-based domestic violence and sexual assault organizations, and culturally-specific institutes such as Asian Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence and Alianza on matters related to state and national policy.

WOCN Advisors
While a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, WOCN is nationally regarded as a women of color led initiative because:
  • WOCN leadership, staff, and WOCN Advisors are made up exclusively of women of color.
  • WOCN programming and issue areas come directly from its women of color constituency as a part of continuous dialogues conducted around the country.
WOCN Staff:  WOCN is currently comprised of two staff members and several nationally-known women of color consultants.
  • Tonya Lovelace, MA, WOCN Project Manager
     Tonya draws upon two graduate degrees, a former role as adjunct instructor for several accredited universities, and years of direct service, systems change, project coordination, and national, state, and local anti-oppression and cultural competency training experience to lead the overall development and growth of the WOCN Project. She also oversees the national training, technical assistance and support provided to WOCN constituents and colleagues by staff, Advisors, Mentor Project, and consultants across the country.
  • Angela Sutton, JD, WOCN Project Specialist
    Angela assists in the development and implementation of the Women of Color Network projects and resources. Her responsibilities include public policy, writing and editing WOCN publications, and providing comprehensive support to outreach and membership activities. As WOCN Project Specialist, Angela will help plan and execute initiatives on campus-based violence, reproductive health issues, and national organizing around young women of color and leadership.
  • Jody Rogers, WOCN Project Assistant
    Jody draws upon 10 years of experience in her former role as the Administrative Assistant for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) to serve in her new role as WOCN Project Assistant. Her duties includes coordinating the daily operations of the WOCN office, serving as the first point of contact for technical assistance inquiries, helping to coordinate national trainings, and providing support and assistance to WOCN membership, constituents and colleagues.
WOCN Advisors: The WOCN Advisors is comprised of 16 women of color members from diverse ethnicities, localities, and professions who represent the broad membership of WOCN. The purpose of the WOCN Advisors is to define the work and support the growth of the WOCN Project.
  • Lead Advisor Desiree Allen-Cruz, Domestic Violence Services Coordinator for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon
  • Lead Advisor Alice Lynch, Director of Black, Indian, Hispanic, and Asian Women in Action (BIHA) in Minnesota
  • Myrna Rivera, Case Counselor for the El Dorado County site for the Washoe Tribe TANF Program in California
  • C. Hermanex, Founder of Directions, Int. in California, is a consultant, presenter, and promoter of leadership opportunities for Consumer-Survivors.
  • Yolanda Gotier, Consultant/meeting facilitator currently serving as Executive Director for Alternatives to Family Violence, Inc. in Denver, Colorado.
  • Ali-Sha P. Alleman, Founder and Executive Director of Ramona’s Way, a program for survivors of emotional, physical and sexual trauma struggling with substance abuse, in Washington, D.C.
  • Cathy Maxfield-Coleman, Specialist in Outreach to Underserved Populations at Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance in Richmond, Virginia.
  • Ho-Thanh Nguyen, Founder and President of Pennsylvania Immigrant and Refugee Women's Network (PAIRWN)
  • Rose Pulliam, Hotline President of the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH)
  • Nicole Sengkhammee, Coordinator for the South East Asian Families and School Together (SEAFAST) program in Green Bay, Wisconsin and serves on the Board of Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
  • Jacqueline Torres, Statewide Project Coordinator for Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence in East Hartford, Connecticut.
  • Z. Ruby White-Starr, Program Manager in the Family Violence Department of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) where she directs the operation of the Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody and the Safe Havens Project. In this position, she researches and establishes new collaborative partners in the community to address domestic violence in the underserved population.
  • Bonnie Glover, Director of Domestic Violence Services of Lancaster County and a current member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
  • Vashti Bledsoe, Medical Counselor/Advocate for Lutheran Settlement House’s Bilingual Domestic Violence Program (LSH BDVP) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and chair of the Women of Color Caucus of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
  • Gretta Gardner, Director, National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH)
  • Sumayya Coleman, Founder of such projects as Ujima House, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, and previous Director of CONNECT Program, a project of the Urban Justice Center in Brooklyn, New York, and is a consultant and trainer in Laurel, Maryland.

Women of Color Network

6400 Flank Drive, Suite 1300

Harrisburg, PA 17112

800-537-2238, ext 137

717-545-9456 (fax)

WOCN is a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence