MANHASSET, NEW YORK, JUNE 3, 2020, Dr. CarolAnn Peterson of California City, California has been honored as a Woman of the Month for May 2020 by P.O.W.E.R. (Professional Organization of Women of Excellence Recognized) for her outstanding contributions and achievements in the fields of advocacy and education. Each month P.O.W.E.R. features women to represent their professions and industries due to their expertise and success in their chosen specialty.
ABOUT CAROLANN PETERSON
Dr. CarolAnn Peterson has been an adjunct faculty member with the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work for 14 years and a full time lecturer for the past two years. She teaches courses on domestic violence, leadership, policy and advocacy, diversity, and global violence against women. She advocates against domestic violence and consults. CarolAnn is one of only 60 academics in the U.S. certified as a strangulation expert witness. She has consulted on federal, state and local domestic violence cases and provided testimony on civil child custody and criminal cases. She is an FLETC certified law enforcement trainer and a peer reviewer of state exams, text books and journal articles.
Born March 13, 1949, CarolAnn earned her M.P.A. from Loyola Marymount University and her Ph.D. from Sanctus Theological Institute. She is a former legislative advocate for the California Federation of Business & Professional Women. She was appointed as a member of the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Death Review Team and served as a team advisor/trainer for the California Statewide DV/Medical/Forensic Training Team. She was a consultant to the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Unit, as well as a consultant for the City of Tel Aviv, Israel and the City of Los Angeles joint project on workplace domestic violence. Dr. Peterson was appointed as a member of the Los Angeles Mayor’s Domestic Violence Steering Committee.
After working for 5 years, some of those years working on political campaigns, including Women Running Against Reagan (working for the National Organization for Women on the Mondale/Ferraro campaign), Dr. Peterson became the registered lobbyist for the California Federation of Business and Professional Women. While working for the Federation, she worked with then State Legislator Lucille Roybal-Allard on one of the first spousal rape bills in the country. At the time, no one in Sacramento knew that she was a survivor of abuse. When it came time to bring the legislation to the first committee, CarolAnn volunteered to tell her story. At the end of her testimony, there was one legislator who said he was sorry this happened to her but didn’t believe a husband raped a wife. Dr. Peterson was so livid that when she returned to Los Angeles, she called the Los Angeles County Domestic Violence Council to ask what they did. They had just formed the Legislation Committee and she was asked to chair the committee. Dr. Peterson had the good fortune to chair this committee for 6 years and work with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to pass legislation on behalf of battered women in California. Following this, she worked as a consultant on welfare reform for Los Angeles County. After two years in the position, she was asked by the Family Violence Prevention Fund (now Futures Without Violence) to work on welfare programs for victims of domestic violence at both the state and national level. CarolAnn was privileged to work on this issue for 6 years. As the issue and contract was coming to an end, California passed legislation making it mandatory to have domestic violence classes in graduate schools of social work and psychology.
Dr. Peterson’s memberships include the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, California State Task Force, appointed member of the Los Angeles County Family Violence Task Force, and she was appointed member of the California Senate Task Force on Family Relations Court.
Dr. CarolAnn Peterson has written several articles for prominent journals and recently released her first book, “INTERPERSONAL AGGRESSION: Complexities of Domestic and Intimate Partner Abuse” which is available on amazon.com. In her spare time, CarolAnn enjoys travel, baking, and reading murder mysteries.
For further information, contact www.carolannpeterson.com. Her book can be purchased at this link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Interpersonal-Aggression-Complexities-Domestic-Intimate/dp/1627877053/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=interpersonal%20aggression%20the%20complexities%20of%20domestic%20violence%20carolann%20peterson&qid=1585669750&s=books&sr=1-1.