A Message from the Board of Directors, Co-Chairs
We are thrilled to announce that the CEGV Board of Directors voted to hire Amarinthia Torres to the Co-Executive Director – Policy position! The entire Board and staff unanimously and enthusiastically supported this hiring decision. Amarinthia will begin her new position on May 22nd.
As you all know, long-time Executive Director, Merril Cousin, is retiring from her job in June of this year. The members of the Coalition voted to adopt a Co-Executive Director model to more effectively distribute the increasingly complex responsibilities of non-profit executive leadership, and to facilitate more distributed decision-making across the organization.
“Amarinthia’s survivor-centered focus, her deep commitment to the advocacy perspective, and her deep understanding of the role of GBV advocacy services in informing policy and practice specifically in King County is critical to the future direction of the Coalition.
Merril Cousin, Executive Director
As the Co-Executive Director – Policy, Amarinthia will be responsible for coordinating the Coalition’s advocacy efforts for public policy changes across the King County region, ensuring that these efforts are informed by survivor and member input. She will also provide leadership and support of communications strategy and private funding efforts. She will work in close collaboration with the Co-Executive Director – Programs, Lea Aromin.
“I’m beyond thrilled for this opportunity to work with Amarinthia in this new capacity! I’ve had the pleasure of working adjacent to her within the King County GBV community in the past decade and I’m confident that she and I will be able to continue the momentum that Merril and the Coalition has built over the past two decades to address gender-based violence in our community.”
Lea Aromin, Co-Executive Director – Programs
Many of you know Amarinthia Torres from her current role as policy associate here at the Coalition and in member program Northwest Network of Bi, Trans, Lesbian and Gay Survivors of Abuse over the past decade. Her work has included: providing advocacy to survivors of gender-based violence with specific expertise in sexual assault and the LGBTQ community, program management, training, and technical assistance, and policy advocacy.