Joan Duffell Named to National Nonprofit Board of Directors

Washington, DC, June 10, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Joan Cole Duffell, Executive Director of the Committee for Children, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Character Education Partnership (CEP), a national nonprofit based in Washington, DC. CEP works with schools across the nation to develop strategies that reinforce academic excellence and foster respect, responsibility, honesty, diligence, service and citizenship.

“For over 30 years Joan has been a leading advocate for positive outcomes for children,” CEP Board member Linda McKay, who nominated Duffell, said, “She has been at the forefront on expanding national and global partnerships to create a better world for all children. Joan will be an asset to CEP’s board. She is wonderful to work with and especially effective bringing diverse groups to work together.”

In her position at the Committee for Children, Duffell has led the organization to place an emphasis on integrating program offerings, focusing on promoting children's social and emotional skills and the prevention of child abuse, bullying, and other forms of violence collaboration among colleagues, and higher-level issue advocacy in order to advance commonly shared goals.

She is particularly passionate about Committee for Children “walking the talk” of social-emotional learning in its internal workings and its advocacy and partnership among colleague organizations, in order to fully realize the organization’s vision: “Safe Children Thriving in a Peaceful World.”

Following her years teaching in a therapeutic program for abused children, Duffell led Committee for Children’s US marketing and outreach efforts from 1983 to 2002. During this time she developed partnerships with organizations across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, in order to bring culturally adapted editions of the Second Step program to children and families across the globe. She also advised numerous Catholic dioceses and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in their efforts to implement research-based sexual abuse prevention programs in order to establish safe environments for children in their care. After 2002, her work focused primarily on expanding national and global partnerships. She has been executive director since 2007.

“Joan has taught and modeled character at home, at work and on the world stage for decades,” said Mark Hyatt, CEP President and CEO. “She’s a natural to help CEP influence young people everywhere they go.”

Duffell serves on the board of directors of several nonprofits focused on education, early learning, and child well-being, and was co-chair of the Collaborative for Academic, Social & Emotional Learning’s (CASEL) Program Provider Council.

“I hope that I will be a helpful asset to CEP, an organization I have long admired,” Duffell said. “I feel very privileged to serve.”

Her first board meeting will be June 27 in Washington, DC.

About CEP
Character Education Partnership (CEP) is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition of organizations and individuals based in Washington, DC. It is led by business and educational leaders who are dedicated to the advancement of quality character development in all schools as a key component of positive school transformation, improved academic achievement, responsible citizenship and the pursuit of one’s best work in school and life.