WANDA SWAN

SUMMARY
National award-winning thought leader on building and sustaining diverse and inclusive
community amidst violence with more than a decade of demonstrated commitment to
unraveling the mechanics of oppression within higher education. Change-agent trainer who
specializes in creating systems for identifying and dismantling institutional barriers and
tactics promoting violence and exclusion. Sought-after expert consultant who has partnered
with the Department of Education and CDC, among others, to create resources for those in
higher education violence prevention and equity-based professions. Community activist with
experience building coalitions within and across institutions that are working through
historical trauma.

EDUCATION
MA Mississippi State University, English December 2009
Concentration: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Minor: Women and Gender Studies

BA Mississippi State University, Broadcast Communications May 2006

Minor: Theatre

HIGHER EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION EXPERIENCE

Emory University, Atlanta, GA June 2016-Present
Director, The Office of Respect
As a highly valued member of Emory Campus Life senior staff, I lead the university’s central
hub for interpersonal violence prevention and survivor resiliency. With “We End Violence
by Ending Oppression” as our tag line, we cultivate evidence-based strategic partnerships
across nine schools to grow and support the university’s comprehensive interpersonal
violence prevention approach. Additional responsibilities include managing a 24-hour crisis
hotline; supervising prevention strategists and on-call advocacy staff; developing annual and
signature trainings; and reviewing policies, procedures, programs, and services regarding
response to sexual assault, interpersonal violence, stalking, and identity-based harassment
across the enterprise.

Major Accomplishments:
 Developed and executed a two-year strategic plan to elevate the Respect Program to a
free-standing office in keeping with recommendations in the campus climate survey
to prioritize violence prevention education across the enterprise
 Expanded the department’s service scope from solely sexual violence prevention to
all forms of interpersonal violence prevention and survivor resiliency in order to
provide a more effective approach to supporting campus community members who
experience oppression at the intersections

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  Created and implemented a revised on-call policy invoking a trauma-informed care
approach, prioritizing elevation of crisis services for survivors of trauma and
removing the university’s Office of Title IX as an on-call crisis contact
 Secured over $130,000 in human and support resources funding to expand the
university’s prevention education and survivor advocacy efforts

Emory University, Atlanta, GA February 2015-July 2016

Associate Director of Advocacy, The Respect Program
Office of Health Promotion
As one half of the university’s team for prevention and advocacy, I was responsible for the
administration of programmatic endeavors which include crisis response, hospital and court
accompaniment and the coordination and supervision of program activities with student and
volunteer leaders. I served as a departmental representative in multi-disciplinary teams that
ensure a coordinated community response to violence. Lastly, I supported the vision and
leadership to ensure quality service provision and coordination of services to clients.

Major Accomplishments
 Collaborated with key stakeholders/leaders on campus to develop a coordinated,
multidisciplinary approach to reducing sexual assault and assisting survivors
 Trained university faculty, staff, and student responders, including Title IX
investigators and hearing board members and Student Intervention Service team
members, on creating survivor-centered communities of support
 Supervised and co-created a bystander intervention curricula developed specifically
for rising high school seniors that has since been adopted by two area high schools
 Co-Chaired the University Senate Committee’s Sexual Violence Prevention
Programming subcommittee

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN July 2014-January 2015

Prevention Educator/Victim Resource Specialist
Reporting to the Director of the Project Safe Center for Sexual Misconduct Prevention and
Response, I provided prevention education programs as well as resource coordination for
victims of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating and
domestic violence, sexual exploitation, and stalking. As lead advocate and Green Dot
facilitator of our bystander intervention training, I collaborated with campus entities to align
the department’s mission of being a central resource for those impacted by power-based
personal violence.

Major Accomplishments
 Created initial proposal that brought about the creation of the Project Safe
Center from the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center as the campus’s first
stand-alone independent center dedicated to violence prevention and advocacy.
 Developed internal Standards of Care forms (resources, safety planning, etc.)
when working with victims to help create safety strategies while on or off
campus
 Lead provider of on-call response, crisis intervention, on-going case
management and resource referral as a private resource of power-based personal
violence intervention to the entire Vanderbilt working and living community
 Assist victims in ways that are culturally competent and sensitive to race,
gender, culture, religion, ability, and sexual orientation

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Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN August 2012-July 2014
Victim Assistant, Project Safe
Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center
As an integral member of one of the campus’s first identity-based centers, I served as a direct
support resource for survivors of power-based personal violence, which includes sexual
violence, harassment, stalking and identity-based targeting. I served as a strong collaborator
with the university’s gender studies department and our own program coordinator on gender
matters to increase programmatic efforts that allow for nuanced conversations on race,
gender, sex, difference, access and equity.

Major Accomplishments
 Provided programmatic outreach and training on the prevention of power-based
personal violence through perspectives that included intersections of gender, race,
sexual orientation and other significant aspects of individual and cultural identity
 Partnered with social equity and diversity-focused campus partners to design,
implement, and assess prevention programming that is responsive to diversity
including, but not limited to, LGBTQI Life, Office of Intercultural Affairs, Office of
the University Chaplain and Religious Life, Office of International Student and
Scholar Support, Office of Student Leadership and Development, Office of the
Dean of the Ingram Commons, Psychological and Counseling Center, Office of
Housing and Residential Education
 Assisted in the development, implementation and dissemination of a mandatory
online tutorial aimed at educating Vanderbilt University’s campus community
about power-based personal violence
 Co-developed a research investigation evaluating Vanderbilt University’s Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI) community’s
expectations for accessing care and filing reports following incidents of intimate
partner and power-based personal violence to be disseminated to the Vanderbilt
LGBTQI student community and first responders

Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS January 2011-August 2012

Program Coordinator/Student Support
Office of Outreach and Sexual Assault Services
I supported the departmental efforts of the office and served as grant manager of the Office
of Violence against Women (OVW) Campus Grant. As a full-time staff member hired under
the grant, I collaborated with state and local resources to provide technical assistance to the
campus on the topics of response, campus adjudication, healthy relationships and prevention
programming that is culturally relevant to the diverse campus population.

Major Accomplishments
 Created and maintained campus, local, state, and national partnerships to ensure
consistency in the university’s creation of a safe and supportive campus environment
for students, faculty and staff
 Developed C.A.R.E. Packages Initiative (Crisis and Response Essentials) to provide
toiletry items to survivors of assault presenting at Student Health

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  Coordinated educational and environmental strategies aimed at the prevention of
interpersonal violence

Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS May 2010-December 2010

Student Coordinator
Student Counseling Services
While working in a high-paced clinical environment as a non-clinical graduate employee, I
managed the office’s victim services program and engaged student input on issues of policy
review, diversity, prevention education and curriculum development.

Major Accomplishments
 Secured $300,000 in federal funding for what would soon become the office of
Outreach and Sexual Assault Services
 Co-Developed and served as a member of MSU’s Sexual Assault Response Team
(SART)
 Liaised with the Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MSCASA) and served
as a member of the coalition’s Women of Color Caucus for the state of Mississippi
 Served as Media Representative with campus and surrounding news outlets for
various outreach programs for Student Counseling Services and Sexual Assault
Services

EXPERT CONSULTANCIES
I provide evidence-informed strategic management and planning expertise on topics that
include risk management, diversity, developing anti-oppressive communities and peer-
leadership pipelines, and bystander intervention. I also perform content development and
review of online courses and compliance-based trainings. My clients include College of Saint
Scholastica; North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault; Camp Possibilities; Culture of
Respect; Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence; EverFi; Tennessee State University
Office of Title IX, Behavioral Science Technologies, LLC.

SELECT PUBLICATIONS, WRITING CREDITS, AND WORKS IN PROGRESS

Nationally-Distributed Curricula
Salazar, L., Schipani-McLaughlin, A., Stewart, P., Swan, W. (2018) RealConsent for female-
identified students. RealConsent is an online training program for sexual assault prevention
aimed at educating college-aged women. The program is modeled after the previous version
for college-aged men and Alan Berkowitz’s Men’s Workshop. It was converted to an online
format and evaluated through a CDC-funded initiative.

Journal Publication
Swan, W., “On the Road to Revolution I Stopped to Pick Flowers,” The Notebook: A
Progressive Journal for Women and Girls with Rural and Small Town Roots, vol. 4-
Difference, 2015, pp.68-73.

Works in Progress
Palma, S., Swan, W. Untitled fairy tale podcast (in production). Six episodes of an as-yet
untitled podcast on fairy tales and how they contribute to or are engaged with to disrupt

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 social norms around gender and sexuality. A production of Agnes Scott College’s Graduate
Program in Writing and Digital Communication. Series scheduled to launch October 2018.

Swan, W. Coleman, R. (2017) Stop trying to make fetch happen: Self-Care is a hustle.

Klein, L. Ahmad-Kahloon, Z. Bossong, M. Rizzo, A., Seshadri, M., Swan, W. (2017)

Leveraging partnerships between faculty and staff to transform rape culture on campus.

Swan, W. (2016) The iceberg of oppression framework for applying a multifaceted approach
to the prioritization of all forms of violence.

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL GRANTS AND ONGOING FUNDRAISING

Grants
Swan, W., Tanner, C. (2018) The Good Guise Alliance ($30,000). Emory Campus Life
Bridge Funding Committee. Project: develop a peer-led masculinity cohort to combat toxic
masculinity. Co-Lead Project Manager.

Swan, W. (2010) Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Rape, and Stalking
on Campus ($300,000). U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
(OVW). Lead Project Manager.

Fundraising
Swan, W. (2015-2018). RespectCon: Understanding Sexual Violence through a Social
Justice Lens. Inaugural (and continued) efforts to fund the office’s nationally-awarded
conference for campus survivor advocates, violence prevention professionals, student
activists and community agencies. $78,000 raised thus far.

AWARDS AND HONORS

“The Rape of Recy Taylor” National Brain Trust 2018
Odyssey Films Media
Selected as one of 15 content experts and thought leaders whose work centers the intersecting
lives of marginalized groups impacted by violence and oppression to advise and co-create
curricula to be nationally disseminated to audiences viewing the award-winning documentary
of the woman known as the “Mother of the #MeToo movement.”

Exceptional Victim Advocate Award-Campus Victim Advocacy 2017

National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA)
Recognition from the country’s oldest national victim assistance organization for
“outstanding leadership and tireless efforts” to advance the rights of crime victims.

“Unsung Heroine” 2017

Emory University 100 Years of Women in Excellence Awards
Awarded by Emory University Center for Women for “supporting survivors of interpersonal
violence and leadership in ending multiple forms of oppression at Emory.”

Restorative Justice Listening Session 2016

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 Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education
NASPA-selected victim service representative to meet with the National Association of
College and University Attorneys (NACUA), The American Council on Education (ACE),
and the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA) to discuss the benefits and
consequences of creating an adjudicative infrastructure that includes Restorative Justice
measures.

NASPA Excellence Award (Silver) in Violence Education & Prevention, 2016

Crisis Management, and Campus Safety Category
NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
Recognition of the department’s national conference, RespectCon: Understanding
Sexual Violence through a Social Justice Lens, as a transformative training
component to the field of violence prevention and advocacy.

Campus Partner of the Year 2015

Vanderbilt University Housing and Residential Education Awards Program
Recognition for “stellar delivery of 24/7 concierge crisis response to the campus
community.”

KC Potter Award for Outstanding Service to Students 2014

Vanderbilt University Dean of Students Awards Program
Award named after the institution’s former dean of residential and judicial affairs and tireless
advocate for LGBTQ inclusivity. It is one of the highest awards one can receive from the
Vanderbilt Campus Life community.

Excellence in Membership Development: NPHC 2012

Mississippi State University Ritter Greek Awards

Outstanding Faculty Relations 2012

Mississippi State University Ritter Greek Awards

The Five Pearls Award: Advisor of the Year 2012

Pi Iota Zeta Alumni Chapter, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

SELECT SCHOLARLY/RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

Practice-Based Presentations on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Higher Education
Swan, W. (July 2018). Welcome to woke-kanda: creating a more equitable and diverse
utopia for blackness to safely reside. Keynote address presented at the North Carolina
Coalition against Sexual Assault’s Youth Advocates Institute in Greensboro, NC.

Coleman, R. & Swan, W. (June 2018). We end violence by ending oppression: Addressing
the intersectionality of sexual violence and system injustice. Breakout session presented at
the EverFi Campus Prevention Network Annual Summit, New Orleans, LA.

Swan, W. (November 2017). Melting the iceberg: ending violence by ending oppression.
Breakout session that challenged traditional norms of campus violence programming to

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expand services to be responsive to students experiences racism, sexism, and heterosexism
while also experiencing interpersonal violence. Presented at the Prevention Institute:
Building capacity for social change conference hosted by the Florida Coalition against
Domestic Violence, Jacksonville, FL.

Drew, A., Swan, W., Thatcher, K. (November 2017) Moving the movement: racial justice
and primary prevention conversations. Closing panel discussion on the benefits of applying a
racial justice lens to the work of ending violence. Presented at the Prevention Institute:
Building capacity for social change conference hosted by the Florida Coalition against
Domestic Violence, Jacksonville, FL.

Creighton, J., Jachimiak, T., Swan, W., Ward, L. (September 2017) Title IX Turmoil: Initial
Analysis and Next Steps After the Withdrawal of the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter. Sexual and
Relationship Violence Education webinar presented by NASPA and ASCA.

Swan, W. (August 2017). Trauma-informed care training. 20-hour training presented to

research facilitators within the Rollins School of Public Health. Emory University, Atlanta,
GA

Hong, J., Krause, K., Swan, Wanda. (April 2017). The Development and Evaluation of an
Intersectional Sexual Violence College Curriculum. Poster presented at Emory Research
Symposium on Campus Sustainability, Atlanta, GA.

Coleman, R. & Swan, W. (April 2017). Stop trying to make fetch happen: Self-Care is a
hustle. Program presented at Emory University RespectCon, Atlanta, GA.

Coleman, R., Duncan, J., Passonno, M & Swan, W. (January 2017). Connecting to the
movement: A call to foster survivor resiliency. Program presented at University of Georgia
Connect Conference, Athens, GA.

Swan, W. (November 2016). Greek advisor risk management training: hazing and
interpersonal violence. Presentation to NPHC Greek Advisors within the Emory Community.
Emory University, Atlanta, GA.

Coleman, R. & Swan, W. (November 2016). Sexual violence is the tip of the iceberg of
oppression. Program presented at the Georgia College Personnel Association, Macon, GA.

Swan, W. (August 2016). Implicit Bias Training. Presentation to the Office of Student
Conduct’s Peer Review board. Emory University, Atlanta, GA

Coleman, R. & Swan, W. (June 2016). Sexual violence is the tip of the iceberg. Breakaway
Alternative Summer Break Session, Emory University, Atlanta, GA

Bell, C., Korman, A., Swan, W. (January 2015) Customized approaches to campus sexual
assault and violence prevention. NASPA Violence Prevention Conference. National Harbor,
Maryland.

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CAMPUS AND DEPARTMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROJECTS
The Emory University Respect Program Graduate Student Needs Assessment: A formative
assessment. (April 2018) Contracted and co-developed a formative and research program
operations evaluation of that measured awareness and efficacy of services across all graduate
colleges.

The Respect Program: Supporting Survivors through Advocacy evaluation report. (April
2017). Contracted and co-developed a spring assessment of the (then) program’s ongoing
advocacy operations and identification for future programmatic development.

Respect Program Evaluation: Understanding the knowledge of mandated reporting in

regards to sexual assault on Oxford’s campus. (April 2017). Contracted and co-developed an
evaluation that examined knowledge held among faculty and staff on the Oxford College
campus of Emory University on their role as mandated reporters of sexual assault.

Campus Life Assessment Committee. (February 2016). Served as a departmental

representative and assisted in the streamlining of annual assessment templates, annual
review, and training opportunities for the larger division

Student Campus Climate Survey. (October 2015)

Faculty and Staff Campus Climate Survey. (October 2015)
Collaborative development with other members of the University Senate Sub-Committee for
the Prevention of Sexual Violence to gather comprehensive data on the Emory community’s
experience with interpersonal violence, prevention measures and campus resources.

Queer power-based personal violence first responder stakeholder evaluation. (March 2014).
Collaborative research project that examined gaps in service to LGBTQI survivors on
interpersonal violence. Vanderbilt University.

SELECT PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

 Emory University Safe Space Ally Training. July 2018
 From a Privileged Perspective: Exploring How White Students Make Meaning of
Cross-Racial Interaction. Emory Campus Life Professional Development. December
2016
 Racial Justice is Integral to Trauma-Informed Advocacy. Virginia Sexual and
Domestic Violence Action Alliance. National Sexual Assault Conference. August
2016
 Empowering Your Board of Directors through Diversity. Iowa, North Carolina and
Washington Coalitions Against Sexual Assault. National Sexual Assault Conference.
August 2016

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS (CURRENT)

 Black Women’s Blueprint. Donor Member: 2017-present
 NASPA Sexual and Relationship Violence, Prevention, Education, and Response
Knowledge Community. Founding Member and Co-Vice Chair: 2017-present

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  Campus Advocacy and Prevention Professionals Association. Leadership Council
Communications Co-Chair: 2015-Present
 Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Member since 2008

SERVICE AND COLLABORATIONS

Peer Reviewer
 Journal of Interpersonal Violence (June 2016)

Conference Planning and Development

 RespectCon: Understanding Sexual Violence Through a Social Justice Lens, 2017
and 2018
 NASPA: Knowledge Community Planning/Peer Review during Annual Conference,
2017 and 2018

Advisory Boards (current)

 Soulshine Advisory Board, 2018. Support-based network to connect survivors of
trauma to mentorship and resources
 Culture of Respect Advisory Board, 2018. NASPA-based resource that provides a
framework to assess and improve efforts to eliminate sexual violence from college
campuses

Institutional Service
 Social Justice Framework Committee (Anti-Oppression Programming), 2018
 Integrated Wellness Committee Member, 2017
 Hazing and Interpersonal Violence Prevention TaskForce (Co-Chair), 2017-present
 NASPA Strategies Proposal Review Committee Member, 2016
 Campus Advocacy and Prevention Professionals Association: Co-Founder, 2015
 Emory University, University Senate Committee for Sexual Violence Prevention,
Member & Chair of Subcommittee for Prevention Planning, 2015
 National Safety Council, Emory Safety Alliance: Safe Communities America, 2015-
present
 Emory University, Intimate Partner Violence Working Group (Chair), 2015-present
 Emory Risk Management Committee Member, 2016
 Creating Emory: New Student Orientation, 2015-2017

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