Sue Else is the President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, a national advocacy and membership association representing state domestic violence coalitions.

Ms. Else started her work in domestic violence as a volunteer for a battered women’s shelter called Access is Ames, Iowa while she was earning her BA in psychology from Iowa State University.  She soon applied for a volunteer coordinator position (one of two positions) and quickly became the Executive Director.  She then moved to Kansas City, MO and has served as President and CEO of Hope House, an agency that serves battered women and their children.  When she first joined the staff at Hope House, the services provided at Hope House were a “band-aid” approach solving the problems of domestic violence – a safe place, food, clothing, crisis intervention, and limited advocacy.  In her 18 years as President, Ms. Else helped Hope House transform from a revolving-door program into a comprehensive program designed to meet the full spectrum of needs for victims of domestic violence.  Under Ms. Else’s leadership, Hope House established Coordinated Community Councils to Prevent Domestic Violence in the cities of Independence, Lee’s Summit, and Raytown, Missouri.  The agency grew from a $260,000 budget with 13 staff members to a $3.5 million budget with more than 70 staff members.

In 1987, Hope House operated from a dilapidated 50-year-old house with four bedrooms that sheltered 25 women and children.  Ms. Else’s dream was to construct a shelter that would provide privacy and therapeutic healing space for victims of domestic violence.  Under the direction of Ms. Else, Hope House embarked upon a $2.3 million capital campaign in 1993 to establish a new facility and expand service programs for battered women and their children.  The dream became reality in 1995 when Hope House was able to dedicate an 8.3-acre campus in Independence designed specifically to provide therapeutic programming in collaboration with emergency shelter.  The campus includes an emergency shelter with capacity for 55 women and children, more than doubling its prior bed space; an Early Childhood Center with therapeutic curriculum for children who have witnessed and/or experienced domestic violence; an adult therapy center; and a building for prevention education and administrative offices.

Several years later in 2000, Hope House kicked off a $4 million capital campaign under Ms. Else’s direction in order to expand shelter and services to the City of Lee’s Summit.  Construction on the facility in Lee’s Summit was completed in May 2002, and includes an emergency shelter with capacity for 55 women and children, once again doubling Hope House’s bed space; an Early Childhood Center; and a building for adult therapy, prevention education, and administrative offices.

Moreover, Ms. Else participated in a collaborative effort between the six domestic violence agencies in the Kansas City metropolitan area to develop and implement the Healthcare Advocacy Program in hospitals and medical clinics throughout the area.  This program offers training to medical personnel on how to appropriately screen patients for domestic violence, provides on-site advocacy and support to victims, and supports staff within the healthcare fascilities who may be victims themselves. This metro-wide program is only the second of its kind in the United States.

The enhancements in services to victims of domestic violence that Susan Else has initiated during her career contribute significantly to the quality of women’s lives in our communities.  Victims of domestic violence require more than temporary housing and crisis intervention in order to overcome the effects of domestic violence, and Ms. Else has been instrumental in improving services that meet those needs and that break the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence.