Joanne L. Tosti-Vasey, Ph.D., Named Professional of the Year

    BELLEFONTE, PA, March 16, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Joanne L. Tosti-Vasey, Ph.D., the former president of Pennsylvania NOW, Inc., has been named a Worldwide Branding Professional of the Year in Nonprofit Social Services. While inclusion in Worldwide Branding is an honor, only a small selection of members in each discipline is chosen for this distinction. These special honorees are distinguished based on their professional accomplishments, academic achievements, leadership abilities, years of service, and the credentials they have provided in association with their Worldwide Branding membership.

Following a 12 year engagement as treasurer of Pennsylvania NOW, Dr. Tosti-Vasey began her term as president of the organization in January 2006 in conjunction with a position as a commissioner of the Pennsylvania Commission for Women, which she held until mid 2011. As of January 1, 2012, after completing a six-year term, Dr. Tosti-Vasey became president emerita of Pennsylvania NOW, Inc., the Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund and the Pennsylvania NOW PAC. Taking on the role of an at-large member on the Executive Committee of Pennsylvania NOW, Dr. Tosti-Vasey intends to continue her leadership as an advocate for women's equality while working in the areas of economic justice, reproductive rights, promoting diversity and ending racism, LGBT rights, stopping violence against women and putting an end to sex discrimination.

Dr. Tosti-Vasey also served at the national level of NOW as a leader on the National NOW Board of Directors; she served her first term from 1996-1998 and was elected to serve a second two-year term in 2012. Additionally, she served on the NOW Destigmatizing Abortion ad hoc Committee that from May 2011 when it was established through May 2014, and she has continued her service to the NOW Disability Rights ad hoc Committee since 1992. Currently, Dr. Tosti-Vasey is one of three representatives who were elected in June 2010 to serve on the Centre County Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee, which she also represented from 1994 through 1998. She is separated from her peers because she is an optimist and thinks that in the civil rights field, one oftentimes runs up against barriers. She is flexible and willing to look for a different way to achieve goals, which helps in the movement toward equality.

Dr. Tosti-Vasey received a Ph.D. in human development and family studies from The Pennsylvania State University in 1987, a master's degree in family counseling from the Department of Management, Housing, and Family Development at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1977, and a Bachelor of Science in Clothing and Textiles from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1974. To remain connected with members of her community, she became a member of Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association, Concerned Voters of Centre County and the Centre County Advisory Council of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission which she has chaired since March 2013.

Dr. Tosti-Vasey has been blogging on civil rights issues since December 2012 on her blog entitled Civil Rights Advocacy. Her two most popular articles deal with why she supports universal single-payer health care and information on voting rights for people who have been convicted of a felony.

Dr. Tosti-Vasey has been recognized by numerous organizations for her professional excellence, including Biltmore Who's Who, the National Association of Professional Women, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare and the World's Who's Who of Women. She was also one of the first six awardees of Pennsylvania NOW's "Fabulous Feminist Award;" the 2014 awardees included community activists and state legislators working for improvement in women's and families' lives. In years to come, Dr. Tosti-Vasey hopes to continue the efforts toward equal rights for all.

For more information about Dr. Tosti-Vasey, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/joannetv. To view her blog on Civil Rights Advocacy, please visit http://civilrightsadvocacy.net.

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