Corporate America is not immune to the impact of domestic violence. With over 70 million women in the workforce and 1-in-4 women experiencing abuse in the home most workplaces in America employ someone living in an abusive relationship. In this episode, we discuss the need for a "coordinated corporate response" to domestic violence, one that includes organization-wide and cross-departmental engagement, employee training, and occupational safety in order to nimbly address the needs of employees who experience domestic violence. Ruth Guerreiro, Senior Director of Clinical Services at Genesis Women's Shelter & Support, and Effie Dennison, Executive Vice President, Director of Community Development and Corporate Responsibility for Texas Capital Bank join the conversation to expand on how corporations can be the catalyst for change when an employee turns to their employer for support.
Ruth Guerreiro is the Senior Director of Clinical and Non-Residential Services at Genesis Women's Shelter & Support (GWSS). For the past 10 years, Ms. Guerreiro has been advocating for and providing cutting-edge therapeutic services to women and children who have experienced domestic violence. She supervises and trains clinicians across all locations to guarantee that GWSS is providing best-practice therapies for clients. Ms. Guerreiro seeks out, develops, oversees and integrates trauma-informed programs to ensure the organization and staff continue to be thought leaders in the movement to end domestic violence. She is EMDR certified, an EMDRIA Consultant, an LCSW licensing supervisor, and a CPT provider, in addition to providing expert testimony in court on behalf of survivors. Ms. Guerreiro has provided individual and group therapy to over 1,000 survivors.
Effie Dennison is Executive Vice President, Director of Community Development and Corporate Responsibility for Texas Capital Bank (TCB) and is responsible for the bank’s strategic investment and community relations activities across all TCB Texas markets. Responsibilities include fulfillment of the banks’ philanthropic giving, employee engagement and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Ms. Dennison is also President of Texas Capital Community Development Corporation (CDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the bank that provides commercial loans for development and revitalization of economically distressed areas. The CDC also makes long-term investments in various funds that provide equity for small and mid-size businesses. Dennison has over 28 years of experience in financial services. Prior to joining Texas Capital Bank, Dennison served in executive roles as Director of Sales and Marketing for Vendor Resource Management, Fannie Mae North Texas and Senior Vice President of Community Development for Wells Fargo Bank-Texas.