Sandra Harrell

(she/her)
Director, Field and Capacity Building at Activating Change

Sandra began her tenure with the Vera Institute of Justice in 2006 and is a Project Director in Vera Institute of Justice’s Center on Victimization and Safety. She oversees a variety of projects, including a federally-funded program that helps communities across the United States improve their response to people with disabilities and Deaf people who have experienced domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking. Additionally, Sandra leads our efforts to address sexual abuse of children with disabilities and Deaf children, and serves as an internal advisor to all projects focused on the intersection of disability and violence.

Sandra’s professional life has focused almost exclusively on addressing domestic and sexual violence. She began working in the anti-violence against women movement in 1990 working on her local crisis line and volunteering at the local domestic violence shelter. She pursued her Master’s degree in Women’s Studies to more fully explore gender-based violence and attained her degree from Goddard College in 2000. She was the Project Director for Vanderbilt University’s Grant to Reduce Violence Crimes Against Women on Campuses and worked at California Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s Project Access, an initiative that introduced her to complex barriers faced by survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors.

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