Catherine Shugrue-Dos Santos

Catherine Shugrue dos Santos, MSW (she/her/hers) is the President and CEO of Shugrue dos Santos Consulting, and currently serves as the Deputy Executive Director for Programs at the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) and a Senior Lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work (CSSW). AVP envisions a world in which all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ), and HIV-affected people are safe, respected, and live free from violence. AVP’s mission is to empower LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities and allies to end all forms of violence through organizing and education, and support survivors through counseling and advocacy. Cat identifies as an anti-racist liberation social worker, Queer/Bi activist, and an educator, with over 35 years in the intersecting fields of public health, anti-violence, anti-oppression, reproductive and economic justice work. Cat teaches several classes at CSSW, including: Decolonizing Social Work Practice (Foundations), Decolonizing Mezzo and Macro Social Work Practice (Advocacy), and Social Work Practice with LGBTQIA+ People and Communities. Through organizational leadership, innovative program development, policy advocacy, direct services, training, and education, all through a trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, harm reduction approach, Cat has dedicated her career to addressing intersecting issues of power, privilege, and oppression, and promoting social justice and equity for people who identify as queer, trans, and non-binary, HIV affected, people of color, women, immigrants, and youth. Cat speaks locally and nationally at conferences, has contributed articles to the Domestic Violence Report and Huffington Post, and is a leading voice in many local and statewide coalitions, including serving as: Chair of the Coalition on Working with Abusive Partners (CoWAP) and founder of Justice Speaks, a language access initiative for immigrant survivors of trauma, and the Task Force on Domestic Violence and Economic Justice (DVEJ), as well as membership in key coalitions and advisory bodies, including the Advisory Council to the New York State Office of Victim Services, the Mayor’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee, the New York State LGBTQ Domestic Violence Network, and the Mayor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence. Cat lives just outside of New York City with her husband, daughter, and the family dog.