Board of Directors
Heidi Goldstein
Joel Levin
Esther Warkov
Karen Truszkowski
Meghan Joyce Tozer
Heidi Goldstein - Board Chair
Heidi Goldstein, Executive Consultant, Human Resources, Berkeley CA
My passion for changing societal attitudes, practices and accountability around incidents of sexual harassment and assault was sparked by the experiences of my children and their peers as they progressed through middle and high school. The need for student awareness and education about their rights to a safe learning environment, and how they can act to influence school culture around harassment, is compelling. The obligation of schools – boards, administrators, teachers and staff — to build the capability and capacity to support students who have experienced sexual harassment, enact prompt and equitable remedies, and implement policies and practices to improve school climate for all students, is urgent. I have joined with Stop Sexual Assault in Schools to build on the momentum that has put the issue of sexual harassment at the forefront of the national discourse; and to foster collaborations to make meaningful change in the way K-12 schools understand and execute on their responsibility to ensure access to a full range of educational resources for all students.
Heidi Goldstein’s professional and personal advocacy work is centered in creating environments, systems and processes that support people in recognizing and pursuing their full potential. She is a vigorous advocate for gender and economic equity. In 2014 she collaborated with students at Berkeley (CA) High School to establish the grassroots advocacy group BHS Stop Harassing (BHSSH), whose work to support targets of sexual harassment, state and local policy change, and education and empowerment of students to improve school climate has been recognized by awards and grants from national organizations including Equal Rights Advocates and Futures Without Violence. In addition to serving as an Adult Advisor to BHSSH, she has been an active member of the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) Sexual Harassment Advisory Committee since 2014 and was appointed by the CA Superintendent for Public Instruction in 2016 to serve as the neutral appointee to the BUSD Personnel Commission.
Her perspectives appear in numerous local and national media reports. Her human capital development consulting practice includes pro bono support for youth-oriented and social justice organizations.
Joel Levin - Director of Programs
Joel Levin, Ph.D, Director of Programs, and Co-Founder of Stop Sexual Assault in Schools
I learned first-hand about the devastating effects of sexual assault on families when our daughter was sexually assaulted on a high school field trip. In the aftermath of the assault, shock turned to frustration and anger at the school district’s lack of fairness, respect, and compassion toward our daughter, and its ignorance of its Title IX obligations that effectively ruined her high school education.
The more I’ve learned of the plight of other families in similar circumstances, the more I recognize the urgent need for educating students, families, educators, and administrators about honoring and protecting the rights of all students to an education free from sexual violence.Dr. Joel Levin (Ph.D in Education, University of Washington) is an education and learning consultant with over 25 years’ experience analyzing, designing, and developing curricula and educational programs with positive, lasting impact. He has been engaged in all facets of education and training design, development, delivery, and evaluation for large and small organizations in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. He has extensive experience with learning needs analysis, and developing e-learning, classroom-based training, and virtual classroom support materials. His background also includes video and audio media development, broadcast documentary production, and marketing copywriting. After Dr. Levin’s daughter was sexually assaulted on a school field trip, he relentlessly held the Seattle School District accountable by authoring numerous complaints at the district, state, and federal levels, and through interviews with media outlets. As Director of Programs for SSAIS, Dr. Levin designs resources for national distribution to address sexual assault in schools for students, parents, and K-12 school staff.
Esther Warkov - Executive Director
Esther Warkov, Ph.D, Executive Director, and Co-Founder of Stop Sexual Assault in Schools
It’s difficult to acknowledge that K-12 students are routinely sexually harassed, sexually assaulted, or discriminated against for reasons of gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, immigration status, or if parenting. Even more shocking is that the sexual harassment and assault frequently occur on school property or during a school-sponsored activity. Students who witness or hear about the sexual harassment feel anxious or unsafe. This is a community problem unknown to most parents, until it happens to their family.
Regardless of where the violation occurred or by whom, when the survivor wishes to return to school, the school must protect the student from a hostile environment under the federal civil rights law, Title IX. More likely than not, a school will regard the victim as an adversary rather than a valued student entitled to an equal education. The nightmare of sexual harassment and assault is magnified when a school district employs tactics to shut down the complaint and deny the student’s federally mandated civil rights.
Undaunted by such tactics, we brought a federal investigation of the Seattle school district through the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. After hearing from numerous families nationwide how their experiences mirrored ours we created SSAIS
Having attended high school and college in the 1960s and ‘70s, I witnessed many instances of sexual harassment by men in positions of power. Middle and high school teachers crossed boundaries with students, a university staff MD showed up on my doorstep, and professors openly had sexual encounters with students. While working as an ethnomusicologist in the Middle East, I experienced firsthand the ways in which women are harassed, even in the academic environment. Still, these experiences pale by comparison with the treatment our family received by the school district after reporting the sexual assault. Students and families must realize that no family is immune from institutional betrayal. We must take proactive steps to both prevent sexual harassment and assault and compel schools to act responsibly and compassionately.
Esther Warkov, Ph.D, is the Cofounder and Executive Director of Stop Sexual Assault in Schools. She tenaciously demanded accountability from the Seattle School District after negligent chaperoning permitted an environment that resulted in sexual violence. She meticulously documented the district’s responses at each juncture for the benefit of other families. Her unrelenting campaign for media and public awareness of the Seattle School District’s systemic failures compelled the district to comply with Title IX. She then continued raising awareness of widespread sexual harassment and assault in K-12 schools nationally and has built a national network of stakeholders dedicated to the mission of Stop Sexual Assault in Schools. Prior to this advocacy work, Dr. Warkov worked as an educator and ethnomusicologist, having received several awards including a Fulbright-Hays grant for original research in Wales, a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts to study the performance of Middle Eastern music, and dissertation grants to research Arab and Jewish musicians in the Middle East. Dr. Warkov’s experience with students, professional musicians from a variety of socio-economic groups, and her passion for education combine to create a unique foundation for her advocacy work.
Karen Truszkowski
Karen Truszkowski, JD, President and Senior Counsel of Temperance Legal Group, PLLC
After leaving a law-school teaching career, I received a phone call that changed the course of my law practice. The call came from a mother whose daughter had been sexually assaulted at school. The school had suspended the daughter for the non-consensual sexual activity. Although the mother tried everything she could to get her daughter back into school, no one listened. By the time she eventually returned to school, it was too late: the damage had been done. Feeling as if no one would ever believe her, she engaged in high-risk behavior and self -harm.
After my experience with this family, I decided to dedicate my practice to helping students and their families address the aftermath of sexual harassment and assault at school. Now, more than ever, we must stand by our children and their families in the wake of rampant violations of students’ civil rights.Karen Truszkowski is President and Senior Counsel of Temperance Legal Group, PLLC. Her practice focuses solely on Title IX cases at the secondary and post-secondary levels. The media have most recently reported on the successful cases she has settled for survivors at MSU and Holland Christian Schools, among several others. Karen began her career as a staff attorney for the United Auto Workers (UAW) Legal Services. Thereafter, she went into private practice where she handled personal injury matters, other civil litigation, and municipal defense for the City of Flint, MI. Her teaching career began in 1999 immediately following graduation from law school; her focus was Elder Law at the graduate school level. Karen achieved her dream of becoming a faculty supervisor in the Sixty Plus Elderlaw Clinic at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School where she had interned as a law student. In addition, Karen served as a District Court Magistrate in Oakland County, MI. In addition to holding schools accountable to Title IX, Karen continues her advocacy work in elder law and elder abuse prevention.
Meghan Joyce Tozer
Megan Joyce Tozer, Ph.D, CA
In the spring of 2013, I was completing graduate coursework and getting ready to start my Ph.D. dissertation when I came across a disturbing news story. Rehtaeh Parsons, a teenager in Nova Scotia who’d been sexually assaulted by four of her classmates, had died by suicide after her community failed to support her. It wasn’t the first international news story about the death of a high school or middle school student who’d been sexually assaulted and subsequently let down by the adults around her; Audrie Pott and Felicia Garcia died as the result of similar circumstances the year before, in 2012. These tragedies and others like them struck me personally since I, too, had been sexually assaulted by my classmates, beginning when I was eleven years old in 1997. As a middle school student, I’d lacked support or understanding from the adults in my life, and I’d seriously considered suicide as a way to end the shame and isolation of being labeled the “school slut.” During that time, from about 1997 to 2001, I’d kept a detailed diary. After learning about Rehtaeh’s death, I decided to post that middle school diary, word-for-word, with added commentary to provide perspective. I wanted to reach girls who were currently suffering in similar circumstances, to let them know things could get better, and also to reach those in a position to work with students to prevent future tragedies. As soon as I shared my personal story, I began hearing from countless girls and women who’d survived similar experiences of sexual assault and subsequent bullying, wanting to speak about it for the first time. I founded The UnSlut Project and in the years leading up to the viral #MeToo movement, it became my mission to demonstrate through personal story sharing how sexually abusive behavior often starts as early as elementary school, and how it thrives there unless the entire community is involved in preventing it. As a soprano and musicologist, I’ve witnessed the ways Title IX protections are often ignored in academia and the conservatory, where sexual abuse is pervasive. Unfortunately, for younger students with fewer resources, the nightmare that follows sexual abuse can be even more overwhelming. Over the past decade, I’ve had the privilege to partner with Stop Sexual Assault in Schools on various campaigns to spread our common goals, and it’s an honor to join the board. The work of this organization is not only dear to my heart, but crucial for our nation’s future.
Advisors
Susan Moen
Cara Tuttle
Otis McGresham
Kate Lehane
Shari Nacson
Jo-Ann Finkelstein
Taryn Gal
Bill Howe
Danica Kilander
Susan Moen
Susan Moen, Executive Director, Jackson County (OR) SART
Susan Moen has worked in the field of sexual assault response and prevention since 1994 as an advocate with the L.A. Commission on Assaults Against Women, founder of the nonprofit Jackson County, OR SART, and Founding Board Member of the You Have Options Program.
As JC SART’s Executive Director she oversees a SANE program, a survivor resource specialist program, sexual assault support groups, a violence prevention education program in local schools and communities, and provides direct advocacy with survivors. In 2010 Susan was awarded the state SART award, and in 2014 received the Jan Hindman Memorial Award for “Outstanding Contributions to Victim Services.” In 2024 she was awarded the NCVLI’s Gail Burns-Smith Excellence in Victim Services Award. She received her AB from Harvard College.
Cara Tuttle
Cara Tuttle, JD, Director of Vanderbilt Univ. Project SAFE Center, TN
I strongly support the efforts of SSAIS. I know from my experience working with college students that it is crucial that we start sooner in addressing the issues of interpersonal violence. The more effectively we can raise awareness of the scope of the problem and reach these younger populations (and their parents and educators) through prevention education and victim advocacy services, the healthier and safer our communities and schools, at every level, will be.”
Cara Tuttle is the Director of Vanderbilt University’s Project Safe Center for Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response. Cara previously served as the Associate Director for Student Accountability, Community Standards, and Academic Integrity at Vanderbilt University and as Director of Programs for the Women’s Center at Northwestern University. Cara holds a JD from Vanderbilt University Law School, Master of Arts in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Louisville, and her Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Ball State University, where she graduated summa cum laude.
Cara was recently named the 2015 recipient of the Mary Jane Werthan Award, which is presented to a member of the Vanderbilt community who has contributed to the advancement of women at Vanderbilt on a systemic level. The award is named in honor of Mary Jane Werthan, the first woman member of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust. Also in 2015, Cara was recognized by Ms. JD, a professional organization for women law students and lawyers, with their Road Less Traveled award, which honors a woman lawyer who has contributed significantly through work in non-traditional legal career path. In 2016, Cara received the K.C. Potter Outstanding Service to Students Award from the Vanderbilt University Office of the Dean of Students. Cara serves as a lecturer in the College of Arts and Science Women’s and Gender Studies Program, for which she teaches the Seminar on Gender and Violence.
Otis McGresham
Otis McGresham, Ed.D, is Assistant Director for Prevention Education at the Vanderbilt University Project Safe Center
I have been working throughout my career to create learning environments that engage students fully and authentically in the learning process. Incidents of sexual assault can decimate a student’s experience and have no place in our communities. By working to connect all members of our communities to the insidious cultural norms that can support violence, minimize survivor support, and normalize abuse, it is my hope that as a collective we can intentionally reshape our communities to reflect individual ideals of safety, respect, and care. Working together as a community, I believe that we can demand the systems and policies in place provide education for all members of our community, protect all members of our community, and actively work to create and maintain educational spaces free from all forms of sexual violence. I am excited about the work of Stop Sexual Assault in Schools and creating this expectation from an early age.”
Otis currently serves as the Assistant Director for Prevention Education in the Vanderbilt University Project Safe Center. He holds a Doctor of Education in Learning Organizations and Strategic Change from Lipscomb university, a Master of Higher Education Administration degree from Texas A&M University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communication from Western Michigan University. Advocacy and education have been a consistent part of Otis’ student affairs career that began in 2003.
Along with his passion for serving students, he brings broad professional experience from multiple functional areas of student affairs. Previously, Otis has served as the Assistant Director for Interpersonal Violence Services and Advocacy and the Rape Prevention Education Coordinator in the North Carolina State University Women’s Center and Coordinator of Student Assistance Services and Hall Director at Texas A&M University. Otis’ focus is on creating and maintaining educationally purposeful environments where all students feel safe, empowered, and encouraged to participate fully and authentically in the university experience. Connecting prevention principles to everyday activities, Otis works to empower our entire community to make tangible steps toward violence reduction. (LinkedIn)
Kathryn Leehane
Kathryn Leehane, CA
My advocacy work began in the Fall of 2017 when I inadvertently exposed a sexual abuse scandal at my private high school in San Jose, California. That October, I’d written OpEd for The Washington Post describing the sexual abuse I endured as a student and how it was mishandled by the school administration. Though I hadn’t disclosed any details, dozens of people recognized the teacher and came forward with their own stories of mishandled abuse by him and other instructors. I dedicated the next three years to advocating for strict adherence to mandated reporting laws, permanent changes in school leadership and policy, and accountability and justice for the survivors. During that time, I’ve witnessed the lifetime trauma endured by victims of childhood sexual abuse and the devastating impacts of victim shaming and institutional betrayal. Going up against a Catholic institution and prominent members of my community, I have learned to be creative, LOUD, and relentless.”
Kathryn Leehane is an author, speaker, and victim advocate. In her advocacy role, Kathryn seeks to empower other survivors to find justice, accountability, and a path toward healing. She is also working to change the laws that favor sexual predators—and those who enable them—over the victims themselves.
Shari Nacson
Shari Nacson, OH
An anti-oppressionist, I have dedicated my work to multiple arenas over the years — immigrant justice, reproductive justice, racial justice, criminal justice, economic justice, educational justice. In my educational justice work, I was drawn to a student movement in my local community and offered support to student organizers. From our first Zoom meeting in December 2021, I learned from and assisted this fierce group of Gen Z students and young alums as they fought for improved handling of sexual harassment and assault in their schools. I have been humbled and inspired by the work of these young adults. They achieved more marked change in six months than the years of outraged parents/staff who preceded them.
I first learned of SSAIS when I needed support to navigate my own child’s Title IX case in that same school district. The resources here have made a huge difference for us during this systemic ordeal. Witnessing firsthand the impacts of sexual assault and the subsequent systemic mishandling has broken my heart. Working with allies at SSAIS and other organizations has given me hope. I am honored to be a part of this work.
Shari Nacson is a mother, clinical social worker, freelance editor/writer, and nonprofit consultant. She has edited manuscripts and journal articles about toxic stress, trauma, and related interventions. A public speaker about clinical concepts and child development, she has been invited to present public talks about the impact of trauma on personality development, learning, and functioning; developmentally appropriate school safety protocols; parenting with intention; and the benefits of family volunteerism during early childhood. Her clinical work has included the treatment of highly traumatized children and their parents, as well as forensic evaluation of trauma survivors. Most recently, her activism includes grand jury reform in Cuyahoga County (Ohio); reproductive justice networking; anti-oppression work; and supporting student activists who self-organized to speak-out about mishandled sexual violence in a local K-12 school district.
Since 2013, Shari has been a contributor to Safe and Sound Schools as author, editor, and consultant regarding developmentally mindful school safety programs. Also a writer at 500 Pens: An Anti-Hate News Project; The Heights Observer; and various parenting blogs, Shari enjoys pro bono social work service, public speaking, and organizational development of nonprofit organizations. Sharing her passion for family volunteerism, Shari has been the Board President of Caring Cubs, a Cleveland nonprofit, since 2014.
Prior to her work in Cleveland, Shari had extensive experience with juvenile court and the child welfare system through her role as Program Director of the Denver CASA program. Editorial work has included manuscripts, journal articles, and dissertations.
A graduate of Rutgers College, Shari received her masters degree in social work from Case Western Reserve University in 2002. She has received honors and awards for her scholarly work in the field of children’s mental health. Her post-graduate studies have included four years of didactic studies in child psychoanalysis and three years of study under Dr. Gilbert Kliman in forensic interviewing of traumatized adults and children.
Jo-Ann Finkelstein
Jo-Ann Finkelstein, Ph.D, is a writer and psychologist in private practice in Chicago.
The efforts of SSAIS align with my passion for helping raise awareness about the effects of gender bias, sexism, sexual harassment and abuse on girls’ sense of self. As a psychologist, I too-frequently witness the deleterious effects not just of misogyny, but of the normalizing or victim-blaming that goes hand-in-hand with those attitudes and behaviors. Educators, coaches, and parents are in an ideal position to change a culture that normalizes sexual harassment and rape. A generation that grows up learning about the damaging effects of gender roles and stereotypes, the importance of boundaries, consent, and how to have healthy relationships, will stop accepting and perpetrating much of the inappropriate yet normative behavior that goes on today.
Dr. Finkelstein holds a Masters in Education from Harvard University and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University. She is a writer and psychologist in private practice in Chicago. A passionate advocate for social justice, she has served on the board of the Chicago Chapter of the National Organization for Women, volunteered for Planned Parenthood PAC, and was an organizer for the Chicago Women’s March. Before becoming a psychologist, she worked extensively with adolescents both in clinical and non-clinical settings, addressing high-risk behaviors such as teen pregnancy and substance abuse with girls, and designing programs for youth at risk of dropping out of school. In addition, she spent three years working in a woman’s shelter for victims of domestic violence. Dr. Finkelstein is at work on a book entitled, It’s Not You: Raising Girls in a Sexist World, to be published by Penguin Random House.
Taryn Gal
Taryn Gal, MPH, CPH, MCHES, Executive Director, MOASH
My work has largely focused on youth access to sexual health services and sexual health education. It has shocked me how often consent and sexual violence prevention education is merely an afterthought in these spaces. SSAIS has been a critical resource for raising awareness about 1) the importance of these topics being addressed in school education, and 2) necessary resources being provided to prevent sexual assault and support survivors in school environments.
Taryn Gal (she/her) is the Executive Director at the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH), where she has held various roles since 2011. During her time at MOASH, she has worked alongside youth to break down the siloed approach to adolescent sexual health in order to effectively address all that intersects with sexual and reproductive health among young people in Michigan. Taryn has worked in the world of sexual health for over 20 years and, prior to her work at MOASH, worked as a sexuality educator, HIV test counselor, and research assistant in HIV-prevention curriculum development. Currently, she serves on several sex education advisory boards.
Bill Howe
William A. Howe, Ed.D., State of Connecticut Title IX Coordinator (Retired)
In my years at the CT State Department of Education, I dealt with bullying and harassment complaints amounting to perhaps 6,000 to 7,000 calls, the great majority from parents and guardians seeking help with their children being harassed. School staff seeking technical assistance was the next major category. Teachers and other school personnel themselves, experiencing harassment, were a smaller subset, with rare calls from students directly. The most common request was for information on their rights under the law. This was combined with what could be done to rectify their situation.
Three issues stood out. 1) How relatively ill-informed parents/guardians and students were about their legal rights, 2) How basic procedures on how schools were to handle complaints were not in place or followed, and 3) The importance of understanding the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, religion, and other categories of difference.
On a positive note, I am most proud that the department sends out an annual survey requesting school districts to identify their district and school-level Title IX Coordinators. Their contact information is posted on the CT DOE website. Workshops for Title IX Coordinators are held every fall. Ensuring that there is a trained Title IX Coordinator in every school building has dramatically decreased complaints. These workshops focus on all education laws and on how to properly conduct an investigation.
Dr. Bill Howe has over 40 years of experience as an educator, trainer, consultant, and professional staff developer from elementary grades to higher education in Canada and the United States. He was the State of Connecticut Title IX Coordinator for 18 years where he conducted over 90 workshops for over 4,000 attendees on Title IX and gender equity. His perspectives appear in the New York Times, AP, Christian Science Monitor, Hartford Courant, CampusSafety, among other media.
He is a Founding Member of the Asian Pacific American Coalition of CT (APAC), Past-Chair of the Connecticut Asian Pacific American Commission, and Past-President of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), where he was recognized Multicultural Educator of the Year. Learn more about his many prestigious awards here.
Dr. Howe is the co-author of a textbook on multicultural education, Becoming a multicultural educator: Developing awareness, gaining skills, and taking action, which won the 2013 Philip C. Chinn Multicultural Book Award from the National Association for Multicultural Education. Now in its fourth edition, it is also published in Chinese.
Danica Kilander
Danica Kilander, Consultant, WA
Safety, access, and belonging can seem like such simple things, but when I look at our schools, I see how rare they are. Every student has a right to learn, feel safe, and grow into their whole and beautiful selves, yet schools run rampant with harassment and worse. As a parent, I am committed to doing all I can to cultivate safe spaces and accountability. I am committed to policy change, increased training and resources, and building stronger communities for our children to thrive.
Danica Kilander is a social entrepreneur, social analyst, and systems change consultant who works with organizations and communities to develop leaders and more sustainable systems. She is a community organizer who has received national and international awards, including a city key, for building bridges to address systemic issues. Most recently she has undertaken extensive efforts to address egregious gender and racial inequities in the Burlington-Edison School District and will continue doing so until systemic change occurs.