Catherine Shugrue-Dos Santos

Catherine Shugrue dos Santos (“Cat”) is a transformational client services executive and social justice activist leading policy change, impactful program development, and strategic alliances to build community and mobilize equity. Cat identifies as an anti-racist liberation social worker, Queer/Bi activist, and an educator, with 40 years in the intersecting movements working to end violence and to build racial, gender, reproductive, and economic justice. Cat currently serves as the President and CEO of Shugrue dos Santos Consulting, providing capacity building and support for non-profit and for-profit organizations, and as Executive Director at Fresh Youth Initiatives, which works with 1,300 immigrant and first-generation children and families in Washington Heights and Inwood each year, providing culturally responsive programs that are built on three pillars: academic success; community wellness; and family strength. FYI uses a whole child, whole family, whole community approach to providing holistic services to support students to become joyful readers and lifelong learners, from cradle to career. For thirty years, FYI has partnered with youth to develop their leadership, nurture their agency, and build their legacy.

 Cat serves as a subject matter expert in violence intervention and prevention, anti-oppression, and trauma-informed programs and organizations. Cat is a Senior Lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work, speaks locally and nationally at conferences, has contributed articles to the Smith College Studies in Social Work Journal, the Domestic Violence Report, and Huffington Post, and is a leading voice in many local, statewide, and national coalitions working to end violence and promote equity. Cat serves on the National Council on Leadership and Innovation for the Joyful Heart Foundation, the Priority and Strategy Council for the Human Services Council and the Policy Committee for the New York State Network for Student Success. Cat is also the Co-Chair of HEARTS: Healing; Equity; Accountability; Restoration; Safety, a unique collaboration among intimate partner violence prevention advocates, survivors, practitioners working with those who cause harm through intimate partner violence, as well as community members, funders, and more, to end violence everywhere. Prior to bringing her talents to FYI, Cat served as the Deputy Executive Directorat the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP), which envisions a world in which all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ), and HIV-affected people are safe, respected, and live free from violence.  Cat believes in radical healing, transformative justice, and the power of poetry, loves sci-fi/fantasy, as well as games and crafts of all kinds. Cat lives just outside of New York City with her husband, adult daughter, and the family dog.