Leadership Team

	Women In Distress’s Leadership Team is composed of a dedicated Board of Directors and Trustees, as well as an executive staff who together strive to fulfill our mission. The Board of Directors consists of highly dedicated individuals representing our diverse community with various professional backgrounds including executives, domestic violence survivors, legal, law enforcement, political, and financial professionals, and high profile community donors. The Board oversees our President and Chief Executive Officer Mary A. Riedel, APR, ABC who assumed her position on March 31, 2008.

	Board of Directors Executive Committee Arlene Pecora - Signature Grand Anjali Besley – Bank of America Kim Miller – Ink Link Marketing Phyllis Thomas – Community Volunteer Cindy Basham – Holland & Knight, LLP Mary Riedel – Women In Distress Board of Directors Carla Albano – Alternative Home Health Care Marcia Barry-Smith – Bank Atlantic Foundation Janet A. Boyle – Community Volunteer Anne B. Chervony – BFC Financial Corporation Raymond de la Feuilliez – James A. Cummings, Inc. Howard M. Gitten – Edwards Wildman Palmer, LLP Kathleen A. Grace – Excelsior Capital Advisors David Guzman – Wells Fargo Tom Harrington – Ft. Lauderdale Police Department Isabel Hebert – FPL Suzette Maylor – Aldridge, Connors, LLP Steve Pomeranz – Pomeranz Financial Management Dr. Irving Rosenbaum – NOVA Southeastern University Stuart Rosenfeldt – Rosenfeldt & Birken, P.A. Katina Taylor – The Jason Taylor Foundation	Trustees

	Women In Distress Staff Women In Distress employs over 85 full-time and part-time members of the community under the direction and leadership of President & CEO Mary A. Riedel. Prior to working in cultivation and stewardship of major gifts for NSU, Riedel worked in media marketing and community relations for nearly 37 years, including more than 18 years as Community Affairs Manager at the South Florida Sun Sentinel, where she was also Publisher of the newspaper’s weekly Society section. All staff and volunteers are trained and certified according to the Florida statute for “Victim Advocate Privilege” and also maintain an additional 24 hours of training annually. Women In Distress requires all staff and volunteers to go through Core Competency Training, which provides 24 of the 30 training hours required for all domestic violence advocates to be registered for domestic violence victim/advocate privilege pursuant to Florida Statutes 90.5036 and 39.905. Staff, volunteers and interns at Women In Distress also participate in six hours of observational learning. Staff regularly participates in joint agency trainings with other service providers to ensure all participant needs are met without duplication.

	Staff Members Mary Riedel – President and CEO Shannon Rhodes – Director of Programs Barbara Sponder – Director of Human Resources Dwight Fairclough – Director of Finance Danay Pelaez – Director of Development & Operations Miriam Garcia – Residential Manager William Bracht – Women In Distress Thrift Store Manager

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