The board of directors of Safer Society Foundation is proud to announce the promotion of Sarah Haskell to the position of Executive Director.
Sarah will be taking on the duties that Mary Falcon has handled to great effect for 12 years. Mary steered the agency through some rough waters, beginning with the leaner, post-financial crisis years and then the pandemic. In that time, she applied her experience working in the New York publishing world to enhance the agency’s book development program. Safer Society’s Continuing Education Center was established under Mary’s stewardship and, through David Prescott’s expert hand, has become a leading training ground for people in the field. Mary will remain with the agency as a part-time editor for Safer Society Press.
Sarah Haskell was hired in June of 2015 as a part-time customer service associate. But her creative energy had her quickly taking on more responsibility. For the past four years, Sarah has been Safer’s Director of Operations, though she had essentially been doing that job long before that.
“People are often surprised to learn that Safer Society only has four full-time and three part-time employees,” Falcon says. “That’s because we do a lot with just a few people. And no one is more responsible for this than Sarah. She has worked tirelessly to not just keep the agency running smoothly, but also with excellence.”
With a hand in virtually every aspect of the agency, Sarah says her biggest source of pride is the establishment of the Fay Honey Knopp Learning Initiative, a program to raise funding to provide no-cost training to professionals in the field, helping to ensure that financial barriers never stand in the way of those committed to making a difference.
“Fay founded Safer Society to change society’s response to sexual and social violence through knowledge and compassion,” says Sarah. “It’s a true privilege to continue that mission with the rest of the Safer team. Mary has done an amazing job getting us to where we are today, and her leadership has taught me a great deal along the way. I am also happy to be able to say that Mary will continue to work with us to develop future publications.”
“Challenges will always be a part of this work,” Sarah says, “but we have the most talented team and collaborators, and I am confident that Safer Society will continue to be a place where knowledge grows, shared among professionals to foster a safer society for all. I especially want to recognize Steve Zeoli, David Prescott, Michelle Shubert, Michael Britt, Maren Shubert, Seth Wescott, and Katie Gotch for the care, expertise, and commitment they bring to this mission—Fay would be so proud of what we are building together.”