Joyful Heart Foundation Board Member Bios Mariska Hargitay (Founder and President) As an actress, activist, and victims advocate, Mariska Hargitay has dedicated her time, talent and resources to be an inspiration and force for change. Putting to use her passion for healing, education and community involvement, Ms. Hargitay works to help not only survivors of sexual assault but causes she is passionate about. Through her role as detective Olivia Benson on the NBC series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Ms. Hargitay has become more conscious of just how difficult the healing process can be after a sexual assault. Trained as a rape crisis counselor, she has seen first hand how an assault of this nature destroys one's soul. Ms. Hargitay sits on the board of the Mount Sinai SAVI (Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention) program and has done public service announcements (PSA's) for NBC's "The More You Know" campaign, as well as for Safe Horizon, a national program whose mission is to provide support, prevent violence, and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families and communities. Ms. Hargitay has lent her time and voice to these and other worthy organizations, such as The Santa Monica Rape Crisis Center, in hopes of raising awareness and much needed financial support for their programs. Her dedication to providing assistance to sexual assault and domestic violence survivors speaks to her depth of character and generosity of spirit. Committed to ending sexual violence and caring for those who have survived it, Ms. Hargitay spends as much time on screen dealing with these crimes as she does off. In 2002, Ms. Hargitay took her commitment to a higher and more personal level by founding The Joyful Heart Foundation. By working hand-in-hand with rape crisis centers and counselors as well as dolphin experts, the Joyful Heart Foundation synthesizes all of the components of the healing process (mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental) into one therapeutic experience.The Joyful Heart Foundation is dedicated to introducing dolphin-human therapy to survivors of sexual assault. In addition to her work with crisis center's and advocates on both coasts, Ms. Hargitay has also lent her time, talent and resources to many other worthy organizations including: The Girl Scouts of America, for whom she provided talks for young women; Project ALS; and The James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness (JRI), for which she hosted the JRI 2003 event, "An evening of Music, Laughter, Inspiration and Awareness" in Los Angeles. In 2004, Ms. Hargitay was nominated for both an Emmy and SAG Award and was the recipient of the Gracie Allen Award from American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) for her role as Detective Benson. In addition, Mariska was honored with The Good Sister Award for Advocacy at The Children's Advocacy Center of Manhattan's "100 Women Against Child Abuse" Gala Benefit. In 2005, Ms. Hargitay won the 2005 Golden Globe award for best actress in a drama series and received the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault Special Ally Award for her public support of rape crises programs and their work. Most recently, Ms. Hargitay was nominated for an Emmy for the second time. Ms. Hargitay is married to actor Peter Hermann and lives in New York City. << BACK