Who We Are

Women In Distress

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 experts, law enforcement, government officials, financial professionals, and high-profile community philanthropists. 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

  • Phyllis Thomas  – The Thomas Family Foundation – Chair
  • Karen Leikert – Wells Fargo – 1st Vice Chair
  • Michael Farver – Farver Family Foundation – 2nd Vice Chair
  • Krista Kennedy – The ADT Corporation -Treasurer
  • Anne B. Chervony – BFC Financial – Secretary
  • Anjali Besley – Bank of America – Immediate Past Chair
  • Kathleen Grace – United Capital Partners – At-Large Member
  • Mary Riedel – Women In Distress – President & CEO

Board of Directors

  • Kim Bentley – JM Family Enterprises
  • Angelo Castillo – Broward Sheriff’s Office
  • Stephanie Coker – Broward Sheriff’s Office
  • Howard C. Forman – Clerk of Courts
  • Billie Grieb – Community Volunteer
  • Karen Grosby – NOVA Southeastern University
  • Felicia Alvaro-Kennedy– Ultimate Software
  • Patricia Maczko – Comerica
  • Leslie Nixon – Miami Dolphins, Ltd.
  • Steve Pomeranz – United Capital Partners
  • Audrey Ring – Community Volunteer
  • Marla Schaefer – MSW Capital, LLC
  • Andrew Scott – Scott Roberts & Associates, LLC
  • Tami Clemenza-Wilson – Morrison, Brown Argiz & Farra, LLC

Honorary Board Member

  • Janet A. Boyle, In Memoriam

Board of Trustees

  • Carla Albano – Community Volunteer
  • Richard Bernstein – Broward College
  • Cindy Bibliowicz – Strategic Marketing Contractor
  • Jennifer Saltz Bullock – Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
  • Maria Delegal – Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza
  • Joanne Gaines – Centennial Bank
  • Linda Garrett – Community Volunteer
  • Billie Grieb – Community Volunteer
  • Hal Herman – Worth International
  • Cynthia Imperato – CGT Consultants
  • Wendy Lieber – Content Bacon
  • Silvia Mansons – Community Volunteer 
  • Beatriz Martinez-Prillaman – Sotheby’s International Realty
  • Kim Miller – Ink Link Marketing
  • Carol Molnar – Comerica Bank
  • Lynne Prescott – Cancer Treatment Centers of America
  • John Primeau – Centennial Bank
  • Karen Sylvester – JM Family Enterprises
  • Judith Thiel – Philanthropist
  • Keriann Worley – CBS Radio

Women In Distress Staff

Women In Distress employs over 75 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 privileged 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.

Management Team