Patricia Teffenhart | Executive Director
pteffenhart@njcasa.org

Patricia Teffenhart is a graduate of Douglass College, the women’s college of Rutgers University. She began her career with the New Jersey Women and AIDS Network, where she utilized her passion for female-focused programming to provide critical health information to New Jersey women living with HIV/AIDS. Following her time at NJWAN, Patricia was the Director of Regional Programs for the National Latina Health Network for seven years, where she advanced the national health promotion infrastructure in support of Latinas and their families. Prior to joining NJCASA, she served as the Assistant Executive Director of Woman Aware, the state-designated domestic violence organization serving Middlesex County. Patricia has a Masters in Public Administration and was a 2013 Alice Paul Equality Award recipient. Patricia has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to improving the treatment and status of women, and works diligently with NJCASA’s stakeholders to elevate New Jersey’s public discourse on sexual violence.

Robert Baran | Assistant Director
rbaran@njcasa.org

A graduate of Rutgers University, Robert began his career providing direct client services in the behavioral healthcare setting. During his 10 years working with clients in this capacity, Robert witnessed the impact of trauma experienced by survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. In 2010, Robert joined Women Aware, Inc., Middlesex County’s lead domestic violence agency. For five years, Robert has been committed to enhancing safety for those impacted by domestic violence through coordination and supervision of services for both survivors and perpetrators. Robert is committed to continuing efforts to improve the systemic and societal response to sexual assault to ensure survivors are supported and perpetrators are held accountable.

Jyoti Venketraman | Special Initiatives Manager
jvenketraman@njcasa.org

Jyoti oversees special initiatives for NJCASA. Jyoti has over 7 years of experience in women’s health issues, especially in the area of reproductive health and health policy analysis for women of color and is committed to a social justice frame for ending violence. She holds a Masters in Public Administration from NYU Robert Wagner School of Public Service in Health Policy and Management, and a BS in microbiology from the University of Pune, India. She has experience in program management, research, data collection and analysis, managing data systems, qualitative and quantitative outcomes, and environmental scans.

Liz Zadnik | Statewide Capacity Manager
lzadnik@njcasa.org

Liz has long been a part of the violence prevention and reproductive justice movements as a community educator and organizer. She has her master’s in community psychology and social change from the Pennsylvania State University, concentrating on community diversity and gender issues. Her work focuses on supporting, developing, and measuring the impact of community-based projects working toward social change and eliminating or addressing sexual violence.

Sarah Bear | Training and Outreach Coordinator
sbear@njcasa.org

Sarah Bear is responsible for maintaining and enhancing NJCASA’s Training Institute as well as increasing the agency’s visibility via its social media presence and outreach initiatives.  She initially began her work with the sexual violence movement in 2010 as an intern for NJCASA while she worked toward her B.A. in Gender Studies and Digital Media at Albright College in Reading, PA. After graduating, she served at CONTACT of Burlington County as their AmeriCorps Member for two years before taking a position with the same agency as a Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator. Sarah came full circle once she eagerly joined NJCASA as their Training and Outreach Coordinator in September 2015.

Marissa Marzano | Communications Specialist
mmarzano@njcasa.org

Marissa has spent her career in nonprofit communications, and is excited to be a part of the NJCASA team as their Communications Specialist. In her role, she amplifies NJCASA’s work through digital and traditional outlets, coordinates design and production of Coalition materials, and helps execute the organization’s communications strategy. Marissa is passionate about sexual violence prevention, and began her career doing development and communications work for the Clery Center for Security On Campus, where she supported their work to prevent campus violence. She later worked at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, coordinating communications and media opportunities for the Center’s democracy and voting rights work. She holds a B.A. in English and Communications Studies from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA.

Member of the media? Contact pteffenhart@njcasa.org.