Since 1999, Joan Prittie has served as the Executive Director of Project Safe, an Athens based non-profit organization that is working to end domestic violence through crisis intervention, ongoing supportive services, systems change advocacy and prevention and educational programs. Joan is a graduate of Bradley University and the University of Georgia School of Law, and describes herself as a “recovering attorney.” As a lawyer with the Prisoner Legal Counseling Project, Joan represented indigent inmates in the Georgia state prison system. During that time, she helped develop the Battered Women’s Clemency Project and worked on behalf of 78 women in prison for killing their abusers, securing one sentence commutation and a dozen paroles. Since 2010, Joan has served as editor of of the Georgia Domestic Violence Bench Book—a compendium of state and federal law and law-related information. Joan was the recipient of the 2015 UGA President’s Fulfilling the Dream award for social justice, and the 2014 ATHENA award for professional excellence, community service and leadership development. In 2010, she was one of 15 people nationwide to win the Sunshine Peace award for facilitating social change to end violence against women and children. A board member of Books for Keeps and Elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church, Joan also teaches classes in fundraising and grant proposal writing in the Masters of Non Profits program at UGA. She and her partner of 26 years enjoy traveling the world and spoiling their rescued pit bulls: Sweetie, Earl and Estelle.