BWJP Board Announces New Executive Director
The Board of the Battered Women’s Justice Project (BWJP) is delighted to announce the appointment of Amy Sanchez as its Executive Director effective September 28, 2020. A thorough national search has resulted in a stellar candidate and we now look forward to supporting her leadership! For the past five years, Amy has served as the Executive Director of Break the Cycle, a national organization that promotes young people to build healthy relationships and create a culture without abuse. Amy began her career as a survivor advocate, and in time, was asked to lead fundraising initiatives and continues today to oversee multiple and diverse development activities. For fourteen years, Amy worked at Casa de Esperanza / National Latina Network where she eventually served as its Co-Director. She worked closely with the Domestic Violence National Resource Network, of which BWJP is an original member. Amy is passionate about social and systemic change. She is engaged with many networks and communities including those that are Latina, LGBTQ, immigrant and African American. Amy brings a background adept in administration, managing a multi-million budget, planning and development. Amy has worked with advocates, counselors, attorneys, schools, the media and many more sectors that intersect with interpersonal, gender-based violence. In accepting the position, Amy shared her vision for BWJP: I am thrilled to join the dynamic team at BWJP, and want to first acknowledge and thank Denise Gamache for her leadership and vision. During her tenure, BWJP has skillfully impacted systems and used its leadership to influence the field of gender-based violence. I am excited to continue this path and work with local, regional and national partners to achieve our mission. We will intentionally center survivors' lived realities and ensure their experiences guide systems reform and increased access for all. The Board wishes to thank our retiring ED, Denise Gamache, who has led BWJP since 1995. She is leaving a strong legacy that demonstrates her leadership skills in building a broad-based and effective national resource center that receives significant and ongoing support from the US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Justice to address the civil and criminal justice systems’ response to violence against women. Through Denise’s guidance, BWJP’s work expanded to include the National Center on Protection Orders and Full Faith and Credit and the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms in addition to many innovative programs like SAFeR, an approach to custody determinations in cases involving intimate partner violence. Denise has won the respect and affection of the BWJP Board, staff and the larger community of colleagues, funders and practitioners in the field of interpersonal gender-based violence. She has earned a well-deserved reputation for her strategic thinking, true spirit of collaboration, tenacity, pragmatic yet visionary approach to all she undertakes and, of course, her sense of humor. We will dearly miss Denise and wish her the best as she undertakes this coming transition. Our best wishes to Amy and Denise as they embark on these exciting new steps in their lives! Joan A. Kuriansky, Esq. BWJP Board Chair
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