Darkness to Light is pleased to announce that two new members have been welcomed to their board of directors. This announcement comes on the heels of the recent hire of Katelyn Brewer as CEO. Anton Gunn and Gareth Hedges were nominated and voted onto the board for terms beginning in September 2016. The appointments demonstrate Darkness to Light’s commitment to child sexual abuse prevention policy and advocacy, and firmly establishes the organization as a national leader on the issue.
“The addition of Anton Gunn and Gareth Hedges to our board of directors provides two unique perspectives on child sexual abuse prevention on a national scale,” said board chair Jamie Tozzi. “From Anton’s experience with implementing national healthcare reform, to Gareth’s experience with corporate prevention policies, their voices will help us create a national call to action for all adults to be trained in child sexual abuse prevention.”
Anton Gunn’s background mobilizing grassroots campaigns both locally and nationally parallels Darkness to Light’s model of community-based prevention and will prove invaluable to the organization’s mission. As Chief Diversity Officer and Executive Director of Community Health Innovation at the Medical University of South Carolina, his experience working in the community in which Darkness to Light is headquartered will provide a relevant local perspective to community activation. Through his instrumental involvement in increasing engagement on the sign up for the Affordable Care Act, Darkness to Light will benefit from his experience on how to nationally mobilize action around a health issue.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the board of directors of Darkness to Light. I look forward to bringing my experience with public policy to the organization,” said Gunn. “Through advocating for more child protective policies, Darkness to Light has the ability to affect real change, transform lives, and move the needle.”
Gunn recently completed a semester as a resident fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics and before that served as a senior official with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, won election to the South Carolina House of Representatives, and earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of South Carolina. Anton resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his wife Tiffany, and daughter Ashley.
Gareth Hedges is Chief Claims Officer for The Redwoods Group. Prior to this position, Gareth served as General Counsel, Director of Consulting, and as a Risk Management Specialist focused on aquatic and child safety. He is deeply committed to the issue of child sexual abuse prevention and to Darkness to Light as an organization. Both he and his wife are authorized facilitators of Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children® child sexual abuse prevention training, a training which Hedges took for the first time on his family vacation in 2006. Having worked on countless child sexual abuse cases, he brings a unique perspective on the direct impact of child sexual abuse on the corporate sector and thus the need for corporations to establish a child protective policy from the outset.
“Being on the front lines and seeing the devastation that child sexual abuse causes, I look forward to working with fellow board members on creating national prevention policy and seeing Stewards of Children training implemented across the United States,” said Hedges.
Gareth received a BS in Public Policy from Georgia Tech in 2003, and a JD from Albany Law School in 2009. He lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife Nicole and daughter Eleanor.
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