Board of Trustees

She works at the local, national and global level to ensure individuals, organizations, and communities have the necessary tools to build empowered lives in the aftermath of traumatic events.

Kate has over fifteen years of experience working in the anti-trafficking field in direct services within the United States, Latin America, West Africa and South Asia. Prior to founding Sanar, she served as the Director of Polaris New Jersey working to expand comprehensive services for individuals impacted by  all forms of human trafficking. Kate has also worked in Central Mexico supporting individuals impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, and exploitation. 

Kate holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies with a focus on human rights in Latin America and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work with a focus on complex trauma. She holds post-graduate training certificates in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and has participated in training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, and Sensory-Based Modalities.

Kate’s work is informed by her own lived experience with complex trauma healing, clinical training, and years of working with hundreds of individuals on their own healing journey. She believes that every individual should have the opportunity to heal in their own way, at their own pace, and have access to the resources that foster resilience, inspire hope, and allow each person to build a life of their choosing.

During her academic journey, Lucia gained valuable experience as an intern at the Sanar Institute, where she contributed significantly to grant writing and submission, collaborated on a Human Trafficking Task Force, and managed various social media platforms. In her current role within Human Resources for an Ashley Furniture licensee, Lucia’s responsibilities encompass employee wellness program management, the development of professional training initiatives, and the oversight of employee rewards, recognition, and feedback programs.

Seamus graduated with a BS in Accounting from Ramapo College of New Jersey. Seamus has expertise in project management with his Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Disciplined Agile Scrum Master, and Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner. He has also received his Certified Fraud Examiner Certification. Seamus is training to be an ICF certified Coach.

She has served in various leadership roles including Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer. These venues have provided exposure to a wide range of clinical opportunities resulting in a broad clinical experience. Currently, she operates her own private practice, specifically geared toward integrative and functional psychiatry, assisting patients in their journey toward health and wholeness. When she is not seeing patients, she enjoys reading, cooking, baking, working out, and most things related to nutrition, wellness, and spiritual growth. But what she enjoys most is doing life and laughing with her tribe of hilarious humans.

The goal of the program is to empower and support Peer Advocates to use their own experience and knowledge to build trusting relationships and connect people to resources.

Nancy previously worked for Breaking Ground as a Social Enterprise Director and for Housing Works, managing their Used Book Cafe in Soho.

She has a Master’s in Organizational Change Management from the Milano School of Policy, Management and Environment. 

After receiving his doctorate from Columbia University in development psychology, he served as the Juvenile Justice Administrator for the City of New York for from 1982 to 1995. In 1993, he was appointed to the American Psychological Association’s Cadre of Experts in Youth Violence.

He subsequently was appointed as the founding Executive Director of the Violence Institute of New Jersey at the University of Medicine and Dentistry (now Rutgers University) at which he was the Principal Investigator on several federal and state grants, including a Department of Justice Children Exposed to Violence grant.

He then founded the Center for the Prevention of Violence at a large not-for-profit in New Jersey.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Prevention Science Coalition and serves as its Chair of the Violence Prevention Task Force. 

He also serves as a founding member of the Youth Advisory Board for Newark, N.J. and on the Advisory Board of New Jersey Child Assault Prevention organization.

In addition, he serves on the Board of the Sanar Wellness Institute and the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern N.J. 

He has written numerous journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews on youth violence, human rights, and positive youth development.

Jenna previously served as Sanar’s Chief Operating Officer where she led the organization through its startup phase and played a central role in its operational development through its first decade. In her capacity as COO, Jenna was a driving force behind shaping the organization’s culture, spearheading operations, and championing program development initiatives. Beyond her strategic leadership, she has supported project development for communities in Peru, Argentina, Ghana, India, and Mexico. These initiatives aimed to provide essential support and empowerment for marginalized communities and to survivors of interpersonal violence, fostering resilience and healing in communities around the world. Jenna holds a BA from Rutgers University in French Cultural Studies and speaks Spanish and French fluently.