Press Release
Joan Cole Duffell Leads Committee for Children
Seattle, WA—Joan Cole Duffell has been named executive director of Committee for Children, Debra Boyer, PhD, board president announced.
A nonprofit leader in the field of social and emotional learning, Committee for Children publishes SECOND STEP: A Violence Prevention Curriculum and three other programs that advance the social, intellectual and physical well-being of children. These evidence-based prevention programs reach 7 million children in 21 countries and 25,000 schools around the world.
Formed nearly 30 years ago, the organization is a founding sponsor of the upcoming Seeds of Compassion event in Seattle, which will feature His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Duffell, who speaks throughout the country on social and emotional learning, will speak at the event on Monday, April 14. Duffell will also be a keynote speaker at the April 8-11 National Safe Environment Leadership Conference sponsored by the Seattle Archdiocese.
Duffell joined Committee for Children in 1983 as volunteer coordinator, and has held a variety of positions, including director of marketing and community education, and, most recently, director of partnership development, a role she held since September 2005.
In recent years, Duffell has developed partnerships with 13 education and research organizations in countries across Europe and Asia, thereby bringing Committee for Children’s translated and culturally adapted versions of social and emotional learning programs to children and families around the globe.
“Joan is a respected leader in the fields of child abuse prevention and social and emotional learning,” board president Boyer said. “She has been a national advocate for our mission and a key player in building Committee for Children’s worldwide presence. We are confident her leadership will strengthen the work we do to achieve our vision of safe children thriving in a peaceful world.”
