Quick Escape

Staff

Deborah DeBare, Executive Director 
Deborah DeBare has served as the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence for fifteen years. Before being hired by the Coalition in 1995, Ms. DeBare had served for five years as the Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County (DVRCSC), one of the member agencies of the RICADV.  Prior to her position at the DVRCSC, Ms. DeBare was the Policy and Information Associate for the Rhode Island Division of Mental Health and Community Services.  She received a Master’s Degree from the Heller School at Brandeis University and a BA degree from Brown University.

Cheryl Delekta, Finance Director

Anayra Garcia, Office Manager/ Training Coordinator

Lucy Rios, Director of Prevention
Lucy Rios is the Director of Prevention at the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence. At the Coalition, Lucy facilitates training for advocates, criminal justice personnel, service providers, and other allied professionals on the dynamics of domestic violence and related topics such children who witness, teen dating violence prevention, etc.  Since 2003, Lucy has been coordinating RI’s Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement Leadership through Alliances (DELTA) Project funded by the Centers for Disease Control.  Through DELTA, Lucy provides technical assistance to state and community stakeholders on primary prevention of domestic violence and has led a statewide strategic planning process for primary prevention.  Lucy also represents the RICADV on several statewide networks like the Sexual Violence Prevention Steering Council and the Healthy Kids Rhode Island Coalition.

Zulma Garcia, Director of Policy

Rachel Orsinger, Legislative Coordinator

Rachel Orsinger is the RICADV’s Legislative Coordinator. She received a BA from Brown and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, where she taught classes in basis legal issues to young mothers in shelters and represented teens in the court system. Before law school, she served as an AmeriCorps member at the Providence Children's Museum and worked for Citizen Schools in Boston.

Carmen Recalde-Russo, SOAR Coordinator

Carmen Recalde-Russo is the Coordinator of SOAR (Sisters Overcoming Abusive Relationships). She joined RICADV in 2007. Prior to joining the Coalition, Carmen worked for Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center as the Latino Advocate.  She holds a Law Degree in Paraguay, South America, her country of origin. In Paraguay she represented victims of domestic violence in Family Court cases. She also represented and provided legal assistance to worker’s and farmer’s cooperatives.

Shannon Cordeiro, SOAR Organizer
As SOAR Organizer, Shannon focuses directly on building relationships and working closely with SOAR members on different projects and events. Many of these projects and events incorporate a balance between SOAR efforts and community involvement. Shannon's job is to create, build and maintain essential relationships with community organizations to promote member training and improve community education on domestic violence. Shannon worked at the Coalition as a Communications Intern from August 2009 through March 2010. She recently received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Providence College, and is currently pursuing her Masters of Business Administration, also from PC. 

Chris Wilhite, Director of Development & Public Relations
Chris Wilhite is the Director of Development and Public Relations at the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence. His team works proactively with news media to frame domestic violence as a social problem and to identify its root causes. He also helps the Coalition to define the primary message for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and currently serves on the Domestic Violence Awareness Project Advisory Committee. Before working for the Coalition, Wilhite worked in public communications as an organizer for various environmental campaigns. He currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island with his partner and two children.

Sara Molinaro, Communications Coordinator
Sara Molinaro is the Communications Coordinator of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She works on coordinating media outreach projects, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and new media platforms to promote the Coalition's efforts to end domestic violence. She also coordinates the internship program. Prior to being hired by the Coalition in March 2010, Sara worked on a New York mayoral campaign as communications staff. She graduated from Brown University in 2009 with a BA in Public Policy, after having served as an intern to the Rhode Island Public Defender and as an editor of the Brown Daily Herald, an independent student newspaper.