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About Us

A Message from
the Founder


Mission, Vision &
Core Values


Board of Directors

Mariska Hargitay
President & Founder


Tom Nunan
Chair


Linda Fairstein
Vice-Chair


Stanley Schneider
Treasurer


Michael King
Secretary


Dr. Neal Baer

Andrea Buchanan

Peter Hermann

Valli Kalei Kanuha

Ashley McDermott

Phil Shawe

Chauncey Parker

Staff

Joyful Heart Video

Our Supporters

Hero of the Heart:
Jane Randel


Events

2010

Michael Stars
Tee Launch Party


2009

LA Healing Event

POV Awards

DCJS Conference


Bon Appétit

Kona Office Blessing

NASDAQ

Joyful Heart Gala

2008

Bon Appétit

Make a Joyful Noise

Joyful Heart Gala

Joyful Tea

Media Center

In the News

Publications

Contact


The Joyful Heart Foundation Board of Directors

Mariska Hargitay, President & Founder,
Joyful Heart Foundation

"My work with the Joyful Heart Foundation has brought me into contact with so many remarkable people over the years, and they continue to reinforce that profound lesson. Now we have an opportunity to apply that lesson together, and embrace the promise of change."

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 her passion for healing, education and community involvement to use, Ms. Hargitay works to help not only survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse but other causes she is passionate about.
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Tom Nunan, Chair

"I am a part of the Joyful Heart Foundation because I believe in and support the vision Mariska shared with me several years ago. I'm proud to be a founding member of Joyful Heart and especially excited by the way it is growing and maturing into a world-class organization, without losing its hands-on, personalized approach to survivors of trauma and assault. Mariska's life force is what made Joyful Heart a reality; the team she attracted to the foundation is what will make it sustain."

Tom Nunan is founding partner of Bull's Eye Entertainment, a leading independent production company responsible for the Academy Award-winning film Crash, The Illusionist, Thumbsucker, the Starz TV adaptation of Crash and many other film and television projects. He is the former President of UPN, President of NBC Studios and Chairman of the Hollywood Radio and TV Society. Mr. Nunan teaches once a year at the graduate school of TV and Film at UCLA and resides in Venice, California.

Linda Fairstein, Vice-Chair

"I am a part of the Joyful Heart Foundation because Mariska's unique vision and inspiration have promised a healthy future to so many survivors without voices, and her grace and courage have brought light - and yes, joy - to the darkest corners of the human spirit.

Linda Fairstein, former prosecutor and best-selling crime novelist, is America's foremost legal expert on crimes of violence against women and children. In addition to her writing, advocacy, and media consulting on legal issues, Ms. Fairstein is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the International Society of Barristers. Ms. Fairstein is married to Justin Feldman, and lives with him in Manhattan and on Martha's Vineyard.

Stanley Schneider, Treasurer

Stanley B. Schneider CPA is a founding partner and partner-in-charge of the Business Management Department for Gursey, Schneider & Co. LLP, one of the largest local CPA firms in California, where he specializes in entertainment, sports real estate, and taxation. Since 1962, he has represented the Autry family and many major performers, actors, directors, producers, and writers as a business manager and accountant. Schneider was one of the original founding officers and members of the Autry Museum Board of Directors along with Gene and Jackie Autry and Monte and Joanne Hale. Schneider has been married to his wife, Mady for over fifty years. They have five children and nine grandchildren.

Michael King, Secretary

"I am part of the Joyful Heart Foundation because of their commitment to restoring hope and joy to those many survivors who might otherwise be left to overcome, alone, tragedies of a most personal and cruel kind, and who, without help, might give in to despair. For all such survivors, Joyful Heart will stand as a beacon of hope for decades to come."

Michael King has recently retired as a partner in the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, a firm that represents primarily corporations and private equity firms in acquisitions and other transactions. He and his wife, Leah, have two daughters, Caroline and Catherine.

Dr. Neal Baer

"I support the work of The Joyful Heart Foundation because I believe it is essential that survivors of sexual assault have access to innovative and comprehensive therapies to help them work through their trauma. I am so proud of Mariska's exemplary work and leadership."

Dr. Neal Baer is Executive Producer of the NBC television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. During his tenure, the series has won the Shine Award, the Prism Award, and the Media Access Award, and has grown in both critical and popular stature. The series regularly appears among the top ten television dramas in national ratings. Dr. Baer lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Gerrie Smith, who is on the board of the service organization City Hearts, and his son Caleb.

Andrea Buchanan

"I am a part of the Joyful Heart Foundation because I believe that healing a broken spirit is the first step towards healing the collective and creating a world full of possibility."

Andrea Buchanan is a writer, director, producer and activist. Her first book, published by Simon and Schuster in 2009, is entitled "Note to Self: 30 women on hardship, humiliation, heartbreak and overcoming it all." She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Jason and their two dogs.

Peter Hermann

"I am part of the Joyful Heart Foundation because we play an exciting, innovative and important role in the effort to set things right in our society. Giving a person's joy back after it has been taken away does not mean giving that person a gift; rather, we are restoring something in them that was rightfully theirs in the first place. To be a part of that restoration is deeply rewarding."

Peter Hermann is an actor living in New York. He is a graduate of Yale University and was a charter member of the Teach For America Teaching Corps. Peter is also Mariska's very proud husband.

Valli Kalei Kanuha

"I am honored to be associated with the Joyful Heart Foundation because you have chosen to connect healing with the very sacred and special place of my homeland, Hawai'i. The history and traditions of the Hawaiian people are based in values such as caring (mālama), doing what is right (pono), working together (laulima), harmony (lōkahi) and love (aloha). I embark on this journey with Joyful Heart because we share a common belief that healing, education/knowledge and empowerment incorporate these many values, and that all persons, places and things deserve to live in an environment filled with ao (in Hawaiian, ao is the word for light/illumination, but also for enlightened)."


Valli Kalei Kanuha was born and raised in Hilo, Hawai'i, to parents of Japanese American and Native Hawaiian ancestry. She has lived and worked in Minneapolis, Seattle and New York City, but since 1998 has resided in Honolulu where she is a sociology professor at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Kalei has been actively involved in the women's anti-violence movement in the U.S. for almost 35 years as a therapist, advocate, consultant, researcher and trainer. Her current research and community work focuses on using Native Hawaiian cultural values, beliefs and traditions to address intimate partner and family violence in Hawaiian communities. She believes in the power of healing from trauma, oppression and injustice through reclamation and restoration of positive spiritual, cultural and traditional practices, and is dedicated to bringing peace to her own Hawaiian community through knowledge and ally-building with all peoples who love and respect Hawai'i.




Ashley McDermott

"I am a part of the Joyful Heart Foundation because I believe every woman deserves to live a joyful and fearless life."

Ashley McDermott is a committed philanthropist, writer and producer. Currently producing features, she recently founded Running Water Productions. Ashley also sits on the boards of both The Dream Team of Memorial Sloan Kettering and Project ALS.

Phil Shawe

"I am part of the Joyful Heart Foundation because everyone deserves to live their life with a feeling of safety, a sense of dignity, and the hope of a brighter tomorrow. Survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse must walk a long, personal and sometimes dark path on the way to restoring these basic elements of the human spirit. While each survivor must walk this path at their own pace, the work of the Joyful Heart Foundation lights the way."

Phil Shawe is the Co-CEO of TransPerfect Translations, the world's largest, privately-owned language services company. Since founding the company in 1992, Shawe has managed the day-to-day operations of TransPerfect. The company has 57 offices worldwide and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and USA Today.




Chauncey Parker

Chauncey Parker serves as Executive Assistant District Attorney for Crime Prevention Strategies. Mr. Parker is also the Director of the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), a federally-funded program that invests in federal, state and local law enforcement partnerships designed to disrupt the market for illegal drugs. A veteran of more than 23 years in criminal justice, Mr. Parker began his career in the District Attorney's Office, serving for five years in the Trial Division and in the Office of the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor. Mr. Parker next served for 10 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Parker left the Southern District to serve for five years as the Director of Criminal Justice for New York State and Commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, where he oversaw all state criminal justice agencies, including the New York State Police, New York State Department of Correctional Services and New York State Parole. In addition to his role with the Joyful Heart Foundation, Mr. Parker is also a member of the Board of the Police Athletic League and Harlem Day Charter School.

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