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Photograph of 2014 DREAM Award recipient Kristi VanAudenhov
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NNEDV Accepting 2015 DREAM Award Nominees

July 2, 2015

The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) is now accepting nominations for the annual Diane Reese Excellence in Advocacy in the Movement (DREAM) Award. This award seeks to recognize an individual who encapsulates and perpetuates Diane Reese’s profound and transcendent legacy, which continues to shape and inform a collective vision of a world where violence against women no longer exists.

Diane Reese was a founding member of the West Virginia coalition and an integral champion in the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and its subsequent reauthorizations. She was a renowned educator and an ardent national activist with many notable accomplishments. Perhaps her most extraordinary contribution to the movement to end violence emanated from her very essence and endures in her memory: the notion that 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. Furthermore, 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 Diane 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.

NNEDV is currently soliciting nominations to honor an individual who exemplifies the outstanding commitment to human dignity, social justice, and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence which Diane Reese displayed throughout her life. Anyone in the movement is eligible to be nominated.

The DREAM Award will be presented at the 2015 NNEDV Coalition Roundtable Conference in Chicago, Illinois. The recipient will be selected based on the following criteria:

  1. COMMITMENT: A demonstrated commitment to advocacy on behalf of survivors and their children.
  2. LEADERSHIP: Personal qualities which reflect Diane’s vigor and virtue in stimulating ethical, peaceful, and effective work with others.
  3. INNOVATION & IMPETUS: Experience that demonstrates a broad commitment to social justice, through a variety of issues, and creativity in building and perpetuating the domestic violence movement within a social change framework.

To submit a nomination, please complete the nomination survey. Nominations will be accepted until Friday, August 14th, 2015.

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 (Harrisburg, PA)
  • 2007:  Shamita Das Dasgupta, Manavi (New Brunswick, NJ)
  • 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 (Harrisburg, PA)
  • 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)