YWCA Welcomes Becca Spielman as new Center for Safety and Empowerment Program Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TOPEKA – YWCA Northeast Kansas is proud to announce and welcome Becca Spielman as the agency’s new Center for Safety and Empowerment (CSE) Program Director. Spielman will oversee all CSE personnel and administrative functions and will play an integral part in furthering YWCA’s overall strategic vision.
Spielman has extensive experience in staff supervision, program development, fund development, grant administration, and community engagement. While Spielman has devoted much of her career to social work advocacy experience in positions at the Willow Domestic Violence Center and Lawrence Anti-Trafficking and Education Association, most recently she worked as a Field Director for Communities in Schools of Mid-America. Spielman holds a Masters of Education in Adult and Higher Education from University of Missouri – Saint Louis and a Masters of Social Work from Washington University in Saint Louis.
"Becca’s track record of servant leadership and commitment to social justice will be a great asset to the greater Topeka community." - Kathleen Marker, YWCA CEO
In addition to her professional endeavors, Spielman has served as a YWCA Northeast Kansas volunteer racial justice facilitator.
“We are very excited to bring Becca’s leadership and expertise on board at the YWCA. Not only does she have a wealth of experience and passion for empowering survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, Becca’s track record of servant leadership and commitment to social justice will be a great asset to the greater Topeka community,” YWCA Northeast Kansas CEO Kathleen Marker said.
“It is always our goal to make sure that our community knows how to appropriately respond to instances of violence and how to support survivors. We recognize that often our agency is meeting with survivors after years of exposure to trauma and isolation when options are limited or may seem obsolete. I look forward to working with our advocates to equip our community with further education and prevention services because we all have a part to play in preventing further exploitation and violence. I am eager to get to work at YWCA Northeast Kansas where we get up and do the work until the world sees women, children, survivors, and people of color the way we do: equal, powerful, and unstoppable”, Spielman said.
"I look forward to working with our advocates to equip our community with further education and prevention services because we all have a part to play in preventing further exploitation and violence." - Becca Spielman, YWCA CSE Program Director
YWCA Northeast Kansas is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all through various programs including the Early Learning Center, the YWCA Center for Safety and Empowerment, the YWCA Leadership Academy, and racial justice and advocacy programming which served over 11,000 women, children, and individuals in Shawnee, Jackson, and Wabaunsee counties in 2019.
The YWCA Center for Safety and Empowerment, formerly the Battered Women Task Force, has provided vitally important services to victims of sexual and domestic violence for over 40 years. Services include a 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency shelter, individual and group counseling, court advocacy, public education, and case management. The organization provides services to thousands of survivors each year.
Find more information on how to donate or get involved. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the 24-hour crisis line: 1-888-822-2983.
###
Contact:
Allison Marker
Resource Development Director
785-233-1750 ext. 222 [email protected]