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Elise Scioscia: Director of Penn Violence Prevention

caption: Elise SciosciaAssociate Vice Provost for University Life Sharon Smith has announced that Elise Scioscia has joined University Life as the new director of Penn Violence Prevention.

Ms. Scioscia joins Penn from Women Against Abuse, Pennsylvania’s largest provider of services for people experiencing domestic violence, where she served for the past 11 years, most recently as the chief of staff. Ms. Scioscia’s work at Women Against Abuse was expansive and included organizational strategic planning, operational management, and public policy and prevention education work. In addition to her role as the chief of staff, Ms. Scioscia has also served as a member of the organization’s Racial Equity Audit Task Force, working to unearth and correct for institutional racism and bias that exists in the workplace. 

While at Women Against Abuse, Ms. Scioscia managed the development of Shared Safety: Philadelphia’s Response to Relational Violence, which was awarded the 2017 Barry and Marie Lipman Family Prize at the University of Pennsylvania—a global prize recognizing organizations innovatively solving problems in the social sector.

Ms. Scioscia earned her master of arts in strategic communication from Villanova University while working in Villanova’s gender and women’s studies program. 

“I am honored to be joining the Penn Violence Prevention team, especially at a time when we are looking ahead to what University life looks like post-pandemic and as more members of our community return to campus—it is more critical than ever to promote safety and support in our environment,” said Ms. Scioscia. “Penn Violence Prevention is well-poised to continue its survivor-centered, collaborative programming while investigating new opportunities to engage the full Penn community in deeper violence prevention strategies. I look forward to working with the PVP team, all our many partners, and each member of our campus community in our shared commitment to preventing interpersonal violence.”

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