The Board of Directors of Steps to End Domestic Violence (Steps) is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Kubon, MSW, as the organization’s Executive Director. Interim Executive Director Ana Burke will be rejoining the Board of Directors after helming Steps for the past six months. Steps offers hotline services, shelter and transitional housing services, legal advocacy, and economic justice services to survivors of domestic violence in Chittenden County, Vermont.
Nicole has most recently served as Director of Program Services at Steps, where she oversaw direct service delivery across the organization; hired and supervised direct service staff; and developed and monitored program budgets.
“Nicole’s strong foundation and experience in anti-violence work and prevention-focused advocacy across populations and social issues has prepared her to lead our organization,” reports Susan Gordon, Chair of Steps’ Board of Directors. “Coming from inside Steps, she is familiar with the values and drive of the organization. She is committed to updating and improving our systems and policies.”
Nicole is coming on board as Executive Director just as the organization is meeting the challenge of the coronavirus lockdown. Nicole reports, “There are so many ways that the coronavirus pandemic is affecting and will continue to affect our communities at large and vulnerable folks in particular. For folks experiencing intimate partner violence, these impacts are compounded by the experience of trying to survive in unsafe environments and circumstances. We will continue to do everything we can to meet the needs of survivors and think proactively about how to fill service gaps. I feel confident that we will come out stronger and more connected than we were before. The real challenge is in the unknown: the unknown duration, the unknown impacts, the unknown losses. My commitment is to being a steady and reliable source of support and guidance through this unknown, for the survivors we serve, for our staff, and for our community.”
Nicole gained experience working with households experiencing homelessness or housing instability as the Housing Resource Center Coordinator at the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) in Burlington, Vermont, working with families, single adults, veteran populations, and residents of the agency’s transitional and permanent housing programs. There she supported the development of the agency’s strategic planning, translating appropriate goals into operational plans and models. In that position, she gained experience developing collaborative relationships with community partners, state funders, landlords, school liaisons, and other COTS programs.
Her social justice background includes a stint as Program Director at Queens Community House in Queens, New York, where she supervised the Generation Q Program, an after-school drop-in program for LGBTQ youth ages 13-19 and created a 16-week social justice youth training program. Her antiviolence background includes working as a Sexual Assault Advocate/Counselor at Wayne County S.A.F.E. Program in Detroit, Michigan. There she was responsible for planning and implementation of The 400 Project, a federal grant created to audit the backlog of unsubmitted/unprocessed rape kits in Detroit; provided counseling and case management for sexual assault survivors; and provided legal, housing, education, and medical advocacy.
Nicole explains, “I have always been a helper and a strong believer in the power of collective community. As I pursued my undergraduate degree, I learned about how deeply trauma impacts the quality of people's lives and then how significant an impact social services and connected community members can have on the lives of folks who experience trauma. I have always been particularly drawn to supporting people in their efforts to heal from abusive or otherwise damaging relationships, to try to break the cycle that pushes us away from each other in an effort to protect ourselves from further harm.”
Nicole holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan, where she majored in women's studies and sociology; and a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan School of Social Work, with concentrations in interpersonal practice and mental health.
About Steps to End Domestic Violence
Steps to End Domestic Violence is a 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. The mission of Steps to End Domestic Violence is to assist in the transition to a safe, independent life for all those who have been affected physically, sexually, emotionally, or economically by domestic abuse and to promote a culture that fosters justice, equity, and safety. Through Steps, survivors of domestic violence can access trauma-informed, culturally competent services such as emergency housing, transitional housing, employment training, financial literacy education, counseling, and other services.