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

  • Karen Leikert – Wells Fargo – Board Chair
  • Kim Bentley – JM Family Enterprises – 1st Vice Chair
  • Billie Grieb – Community Volunteer- 2nd Vice Chair
  • Krista Kennedy – Deloitte Tax LLP- Treasurer
  • Anne B. Chervony – BFC Financial – Secretary
  • Phyllis Thomas  – The Thomas Family Foundation – Immediate Past Chair
  • Kathleen Grace – United Capital Partners – At-Large Member
  • Marla Schaefer – MSW Capital, LLC- At-Large Member
  • Mary Riedel – Women In Distress – President & CEO

Board of Directors

  • Felicia Alvaro – Ultimate Software
  • Stephanie Coker – Broward Sheriff’s Office
  • Michael Farver – Farver Family Foundation
  • Karen Grosby – NOVA Southeastern University
  • Bacardi Jackson – Southern Poverty Law Center
  • Craig Jaffe – United Capital
  • Manju Kalidindi – Attorney at Law
  • Carol Molnar – Community Volunteer
  • Leslie Nixon – Miami Dolphins, Ltd.
  • Lynne Pincek – Sprint 
  • Michael Ryan – Krupnick Campbell Malone 
  • Tami Clemenza-Wilson- Morrison, Brown, Arguiz & Farra, LLC

Honorary Board Member

  • Janet A. Boyle, In Memoriam

Board OF TRUSTEES

  • Carla Albano – Community Volunteer
  • Shanna Benson – Benson’s Bakeshop
  • Richard Bernstein – Broward College
  • Jennifer Bullock – Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
  • Betsy Castenir – Community Volunteer
  • Maria Delegal – Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza
  • Joanne Gaines – Centennial Bank
  • Linda Garrett – Community Volunteer
  • Cynthia Imperato – CGT Consultants
  • Emily Jaffe – Rewards Network
  • Wendy Lieber – Content Bacon
  • Silvia Mansons – Community Volunteer 
  • Beatriz Martinez-Prillaman – Sotheby’s International Realty
  • Lynne Prescott – Cancer Treatment Centers of America
  • John Primeau – Centennial Bank
  • Karen Sylvester – JM Family Enterprises
  • Judith Thiel – Philanthropist
  • Josette Van Putten – Community Volunteer 
  • 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