ESTA SOLER

Esta Soler was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1947. She graduated from Simmons College with a B.A. in 1968, then obtained her master's degree in Social Work from the University of Connecticut. Soler is a pioneer who founded Futures Without Violence in 1980 and transformed it into one of the world’s leading violence prevention agencies. With offices in San Francisco, Boston, and Washington, D.C., Futures Without Violence has set the pace for innovative educational programs, public education campaigns, policy development, and leadership training designed to prevent and end violence against women and children worldwide. Under Soler’s direction, Futures Without Violence, then Family Violence Prevention Fund, was a driving force behind passage of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994—the nation’s first comprehensive federal response to the violence that impacts families and communities. Congress reauthorized and expanded the law in 2000, 2005, and 2013. Soler is an advisory board member to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a joint initiative between Duke University and University of California—Los Angeles, and until recently was a trustee for the Blue Shield of California Foundation. She has been a consultant and advisor to numerous public and private agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Soros Justice Fellowship Program, the Ford Foundation/Harvard University Innovations in American Government initiative, the Aspen Institute, and more. Soler’s many awards include a Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Fellowship, a Koret Israel Prize, and a University of California Public Health Heroes Award. 

"I am both a product of the movement and a product of parents who said, "Stand up for what is right.'"