Diane Thompson
Co-founder and Director of Operations

Diane says, “I wish I were funnier” and her children couldn’t agree more. She wasn’t trying to be funny when she declined a job offer from a Fortune 100 company after the interviewer was unable to answer her question: “why should I work for you?” She perfected this skill during her undergrad studies at the University of Michigan where she gravitated towards serious professors. She contributes her seriousness on the Board of the Kennedy Center in Connecticut. There are two things that bring Diane infinite joy, her grandkids who think she is funny and, of course, happy customers. (This is the 6th iteration of Diane’s bio, the other 5 were too funny and this one will not be shared with her)

Yolanda Sealy-Ruiz

Before chasing her childhood dream of spending most of her life in schools and writing papers, for 13 years Yolanda worked in managerial marketing positions at The New York Times, Business Week, and NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. At NYU, she started her Ph.D. left the world of marketing, and officially signed on to a lifetime of student loan debt by becoming a full-time student. Yolanda received her Ph.D. in English Education, Curriculum, and Technology from NYU, and now feels she’s finally fulfilled her childhood dream because spends all of her waking hours writing papers, teaching, and advising students at Teachers College, Columbia University where she is an Assistant Professor. At Teachers College, Yolanda teaches courses on Writing, Diversity, and the Teaching of English.

Sheila McMahon

Sheila is currently a Sexual Assault Services and Prevention Specialist at Brandeis. Prior to her current role, she worked at the Center on Violence Against Women and Children at the Rutgers School of Social Work. She spent four years as director of the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) at Boston College, where she built a campus-community coalition to gain support for and implement a campus-wide peer-led bystander intervention program. Sheila also created educational programs, and chaired the WRC Advisory Committee, the Body Confidence Committee and the Sexual Assault Network. She also has several years of experience in social work including individual case management and therapeutic approaches as well as community organization and policy advocacy.

Sheila received her BA in English and women’s studies magna cum laude from Boston College and earned her MDiv at Harvard University. She went on to complete leadership training at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management and her MSW from Rutgers University School of Social Work. She will graduate with her PhD in social work in May 2014, during which she has been a researcher for a grant examining the effectiveness of a bystander education intervention using peer theater for first-year students.

Sharon Zucker

Sharon teaches courses focused on Violence and Abuse in Adulthood and Social Policy at Rutgers School of Social Work. She joined the School of Social Work in 2013 as a Program Coordinator and Instructor at the Center on Violence Against Women and Children.

Sharon also coordinates the MSW Certificate Program on Violence Against Women and Children, which includes approximately 70 MSW students each year. Sharon earned an MPA at the University of Colorado, with a Certificate in Domestic Violence, fueling . focused on domestic violence, and has fueled her passion for working in the VAWC field. Prior to joining the School of Social Work, Sharon worked as Prevention Education Coordinator at the Rutgers Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance.

Ms. Zucker’s research interests include prevention of interpersonal violence, and how policy affects victims and perpetrators of gender based violence.