Diane Reese Excellence in Advocacy in the Movement (DREAM) Award

The annual Diane Reese Excellence in Advocacy in the Movement (DREAM) Award seeks to recognize someone who encapsulates and perpetuates Ms. Reese’s profound and transcendent legacy that continues to shape and inform a collective vision of a world in which violence against women no longer exists.

Diane Reese was a founding member of the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence and an integral champion in the passage of the Violence Against Women Act and its subsequent reauthorizations.  She was a renowned educator and an ardent national activist with many accomplishments.  Perhaps her most extraordinary contribution to the movement to end violence was that which emanated from her very essence and endures in her memory.  True advocacy is more than activism, duty, or responsibility.  True advocacy was a way of life for Diane Reese.  It was intrinsic to her very nature and apparent in her every action. What is more, Diane Reese possessed the incredible capacity to instill that advocacy spirit in others, to inspire camaraderie and turn a movement into a community.

The DREAM Award honors an individual who incorporates and demonstrates the spirit and promise of true advocacy in all aspects of life—one who emulates Ms. Reese’s commitment to clear and ethical communication, (her) eagerness to collaborate in the spirit of true partnership, and (her) deep respect for the dignity, worth, and humanity in each one of us.

Past recipients of the Diane Reese Award are:

• 2004:  Sue Julian, West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Charleston, WV
• 2005:  Cynthia Cline, Women Helping Women, Wailuku, Maui, HI
• 2006:  Anne Menard, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
• 2007:  Shamita Das Dasgupta
• 2008:  Marilyn Smith, Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services, Seattle, WA
• 2009:  Colleen Coble, CEO, Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Jefferson City, MO
• 2010:  Tonya Lovelace, Coordinator, Women of Color Network
• 2011:  Sarah Kenney, Associate Director of Public Policy, Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Montpelier, VT
• 2014:  Kristi VanAudenhove, Executive Director, Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, Richmond, VA
• 2015: Carol Post, Executive Director, Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Wilmington, DE