EXECUTIVE STAFF:
Angela Rose
Founder & Executive Director
In response to her abduction and sexual assault Angela Rose turned a suburban community into a group of proactive citizens at the age of seventeen. After banning together with her perpetrator’s other victims and their families, Angela spearheaded the movement that culminated with the passage of the 1998 Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act in Illinois. This act enables the State to hold a sexually violent person in custody under psychiatric care if the person has been convicted of a previous sexually violent offense, exhibits a mental disorder and is seen as a threat. Nearly 200 convicted sex offenders have been committed as Sexually Violent Persons in Illinois since 1998.
As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Angela began to intimately understand how silence cloaks the prevalence of sexual assault. Instead of retreating in the face of adversity, Angela rose to the challenge to voice what is often left unsaid. In 2000, the UW Associated Students of Madison appointed Angela Campus Safety Coordinator.
Empowered by her experiences on campus, Angela founded PAVE (Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment) in 2001 – a community-based organization that uses social, educational and legislative tactics to shatter the silence of sexual violence. That same year, Angela was appointed the UW Women’s Issues Diversity Liaison, where she successfully initiated a dialogue on sexual assault within diverse cultural communities. In 2001, Angela was elected the President of the WI Chapter of the National Organization for Women.
Through PAVE, Angela has trained thousands in sexual assault prevention, produced a documentary entitled “Transition to Survivor” and founded Men Opposing Sexual Assault, a student group that highlights the importance of men in the anti-sexual assault movement.
In 2009, Angela was elected as an Executive Committee member of the NPEIV: National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan. NPEIV is an overarching network of state, regional, and national organizations, agencies, and coalitions that embraces a multi-disciplinary and multicultural commitment to violence prevention across the lifespan. The organization is committed to reducing interpersonal violence and its consequences by linking science, practice, policy, and advocacy. www.NPEIV.org
Now a non-profit with over 35 chapters and affiliates, PAVE is committed to ending sexual violence through education and empowerment. Angela continues to serve as the organization’s Executive Director, and she inspires others to join the movement to end sexual assault by traveling the country and abroad. Audiences across the country have benefited from her passion, her experience, and her ability to turn tragedy into community action.
She has been awarded many accolades for her work including “Forward Under 40” by her alma mater University of Wisconsin-Madison, “The Inspiration Award” from Today’s Chicago Woman magazine, and the “Promise Award” from the YWCA. www.AngelaRoseInfo.com
Amanda Green
Associate Executive Director
Amanda started working with PAVE five years ago as the Finance Director of PAVE’s founding chapter at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. While working with UW-Madison PAVE she became a peer educator and developed a deep passion for raising awareness about sexual assault and domestic violence. After undergrad she moved to Portland, OR to organize for a national public interest organization and was thrilled to be brought on board the National PAVE project in August of 2009 as the Finance Director. Since then she has been working with the dedicated National team to bolster the organization and shatter the silence nation wide. She is currently completing her Masters in Public Administration (emphasizing nonprofit management, development and finance) at Portland State University and working as a graduate assistant to the PSU Office of Government Relations. She is also an active advocate for SA/DV issues in the Oregon political scene and holds a seat on the Prevention and Education Committee of the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force.
Malissa Davis
Administrative Director
Malissa was a co-worker with Angela Rose when she learned about Roses’ abduction and assault. In support, Malissa attended the sentencing of the perpetrator in Roses’ case. Sitting with the perpetrator’s previous victims and seeing Angela’s passion and activism, Malissa decided to get involved in the movement to end sexual violence. Malissa avidly tracks coverage of sexual assault cases and PAVE’s education and activism in the media. Additionally, she currently is involved with WEAVE (Women Escaping a Violent Environment) while working as a photographer in Sacramento, California.
J.R. Spencer
Director of Technology
J.R. Spencer is a technologist, social media expert, and entrepreneur with an extensive background in Internet and enterprise technology having worked at Yahoo, Kintera, IBM, Oracle and several technology startups. Additionally, J.R is equally passionate about helping to make the world a better place and believes passionately in the power and effectiveness that technology can have in transforming the lives of people by providing them tools and platforms to work, organize, and educate themselves.
Christopher Watson
Programs Director
For the past 13 years, Christopher has worked to address men’s roles in ending gender-based violence. A native of Austin, TX, Christopher brings his experience as a grassroots campus and community organizer, his skills as a trainer and educator, and his commitment to combating violence against women and girls to his role with PAVE. He began his work as a founding member of the Men Against Violence chapter at Texas State University – San Marcos. After working as the Sexual Assault Prevention Education Coordinator at the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center, he became a Field Organizer with Amnesty International USA in its Midwest Regional Office in Chicago, IL. As an organizer, Christopher was responsible for working with activists throughout the Midwest, helping to monitor human rights violations and abuses within the region, and acting as the office spokesperson for the Stop Violence Against Women campaign. Most recently, Christopher worked as the Adult/Youth Program Manager with RAVEN Non-Violence Education Program in St Louis, MO, the third oldest batterer intervention program in the country. He currently resides in Oakland, CA and hopes to begin work toward a MA in Leadership next year.
Diana Riser
Research Director (Currently on maternity leave, please direct any research questions to info@ShatteringTheSilence.org)
Diana graduated with a B.A. in Psychology & Philosophy from the University of Alabama – Huntsville. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, she immediately followed her passion of working with survivors of sexual abuse and took a job with Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC) as an educator and then manager of education from 2003 to 2007. At SPARCC, Diana coordinated and provided education on domestic violence, dating violence, rape, child sexual abuse and sexual harassment, as well as provided counseling to teenage and adult survivors of sexual abuse. Currently, Diana is pursuing her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on risk, resilience, trauma in child and adolescent development, and on pedophilia. Diana hopes to provide greater insight into the occurrence of sexual abuse and subsequent recovery of victims, support for survivors, intervention for offenders and the overall prevention of sexual abuse.
Barb Carter
Perpetrator Intervention Director
Since 1982 Barb has provided treatment and intervention for perpetrators of sexual and domestic violence in a variety of settings, from outpatient mental health clinics to county jail environments. Her philosophy on perpetrator accountability is that violence is a choice and not caused by a mental health, medical, addiction, or anger management diagnosis is a passion. Such a belief leads her to hold offenders immediately accountable for their use of negative power and control demonstrated in violence toward others. Currently Barb is a doctorial candidate at XXX beginning her research on “Uncovering Systemic Inconsistencies in Legal Systems that Collude with Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence When the Legal Supervision is Less Strict than for Equally Dangerous Sexual Offenders.” Her educational background includes a B.S. in Business Administration and Human Resource Management, a Master in Management and Criminal Justice, and an Oregon State Alcohol and Drug Counseling Certification (CADC II). As the Assistant Program Director at a Domestic Violence Intervention Program she provides intervention that maintains victim and community safety as a priority. She provides information, education and intervention that is supported by evidence-based practices, contributes to staff training and development, and promotes community education. As part of her community education Barb emphasizes that a key to ending violence is raising awareness about Institutional Violence in the form of our society’s collusion with perpetrators. When an individual or group knowingly or supports offender attitudes and behavior through silence, excuse making, use of verbal and written language, body language, agreement, and/or victim blaming comments; victim risk in increased. She is currently active on a task force that addresses human trafficking and leads a subcommittee focusing on transferring immediate accountability from victims to perpetrators of human trafficking.
PAVE is Recruiting!
Development Director
Pave is recruiting to fill the position of our development director. Do you have ample fundraising experience in the sexual violence field? If so, please contact our Administrative Director at admin@ShatteringTheSilence.org to state your interest in applying.
Niki Bird
Policy Director (Currently on a leave of absence to run for Governor of Louisiana)
Niki Bird is a national advocate, speaker and a policy adviser on the issue of sexual violence. She serves as the National Policy Director for PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment and she is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At age 13, Niki was date raped. Her behavior almost immediately got out-of-control. After several suicide attempts and run-ins with the law, Niki was involuntarily removed from
her parents’ custody. While in a maximum security juvenile detention center, Niki suffered a brutal attack by a fellow inmate which was facilitated by staff. After years of healing, Niki has moved from survivor to thriver. She is passionately focused on Shattering the
Silence of Sexual Violence, particularly for adolescents and prisoners. No matter what crimes have been committed, no one should be subjective to sexual assault while serving time. Because of her
personal life experience, she has been engaged as an adviser to the Office of Juvenile Justice in regards to PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act).In 2001, she earned a Bachelor of Science in International Trade and Finance from Louisiana State University. While an undergrad, she worked at various state agencies including LSU Alumni Association, LA Ethics Administration and LSU Agricultural Center. She served as the LSU AgCenter Legislative Liaison, where she had the opportunity to contribute to the development and passage of legislation for statewide comprehensive water policy. She then went to work for IBM, where she
was instrumental in the formation of a national practice for Public Safety technology solutions. She has also led sales for Unisys Corporation’s National Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety
practice, and worked for Hewlett-Packard as a Public Sector Enterprise Account Manager.Niki will complete her Masters of Public Administration in December. Her focus is on policy reform initiatives to fight sexual assault. She enjoys traveling, and has visited 15 countries on 3 continents.
Jaime A. Gill
International Faith Director
As a rape survivor, Jaime has moved from feeling cursed and victimized to blessed and empowered through her faith work with PAVE. Jaime believes that God allowed her to survive such painful and traumatic experiences to become a witness to other rape/sexual abuse victims around the world. As a sought after public speaker for youth impact and women empowerment, she has shared her own story to encourage victims to begin the healing process. As a experienced Television Producer and videographer, Jaime’s ministry takes her across the country and into Africa, often leading to contact with countless victims who feel silenced, scarred, trapped, insecure and afraid. Whether through media or public speaking, Jaime strives to “pave” the way for survivors through her courage and voice.
With her Removing the M.A.S.K. presentation, Jaime has presented to high schools, colleges, community groups and churches all in efforts to help educate communities, eradicate injustice and to empower victims to live an abundant life through truth and love.
Sarah LaMorte
Public Relations Intern
Sarah started working with PAVE earlier this year after she reached out to Angela in hopes of contributing to her mission to shatter the silence of sexual violence. She became passionate about this cause while attending The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where her volunteer work and studies dealt with awareness and prevention of all power-based violence. She strongly supports bystander intervention because it is an opportunity every individual has to make a difference to end sexual violence. As the PAVE website blogger Sarah wants to spread awareness of sexual violence through sharing stories in the news and promoting discussion about this issue.
