The Board of Directors at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) is excited to announce that Isa Woldeguiorguis will be named the agency’s permanent executive director, effective October 18, 2023. Isa was selected by the board following a thorough national search, including many leaders with impressive resumes and extensive experience. “We took great care to find the right person to lead us into the next generation,” said Board Chair April Evans. “Isa is the right person for BARCC.”
Isa is well known nationally and in the region, having worked in the anti-violence field for nearly 30 years holding several statewide and national roles in the movement to end sexual and domestic violence. For the past 11 years, Isa has served as the executive director in Lowell at The Center for Hope and Healing.
“We are thrilled to welcome Isa,” said April. “She is a thoughtful, community-oriented, collaborative leader who has spent her career fighting for social justice. Isa brings the experience of building a strong, community-connected, multiracial organization that innovates and centers survivors, particularly those who have been at the margins. She led her previous organization to create an innovative van program and recently to purchase their own building in the community. She is ready to roll up her sleeves and partner with our strong team to lead this next chapter in BARCC’s history.”
“I am looking forward to working with the BARCC team in building our community presence and reaching survivors who historically have not been reached,” said Isa.
In Massachusetts, 17% of women and 7% of men reported experiencing sexual violence in 2021, with Black women, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities experiencing sexual violence at disproportionately high rates. BARCC will continue its efforts to provide trauma-informed services to support the most vulnerable, especially those historically marginalized by criminal justice, legal, and health care systems.
Isa’s immediate priorities include meeting with staff and volunteers, reviewing strategic priorities with the board, engaging in a detailed review of BARCC’s financials, and connecting with key partners and supporters of the organization.
Isa will succeed Duane de Four, former board member and interim executive director. After two successful years of service, Duane will support the organization’s transition to new leadership. “Duane has been such a gift to the organization, working collaboratively and thoughtfully to stabilize BARCC through a challenging time,” said April.
BARCC receives on average 6,000 inquiries on its 24-7 hotline service annually, and provides free counseling sessions for survivors and their families, facilitates trainings on sexual violence prevention, and offers a wealth of case management and legal services to survivors of sexual violence.
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About the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC)
Founded in 1973, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center has a mission to end sexual violence through healing and social change. BARCC provides free, confidential support and services to all survivors of sexual violence ages 12 and up and their families and friends throughout Greater Boston. It works with survivors of all genders and backgrounds, from the immediate crisis after sexual violence to years and decades later, and its goal is to empower survivors to heal and seek justice. BARCC also partners with a variety of organizations and communities, including schools, colleges, and police, to advocate for change and create cultures that prevent sexual violence. Follow BARCC on social media: X (Formerly Twitter) @barcc; Instagram @barccofficial; Facebook /barcc.org.
