Worldwide Who's Who Names Joanne L. Tosti-Vasey, Ph.D. Professional of the Year in Nonprofit Organization Management

    BELLEFONTE, PA, November 19, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Joanne L. Tosti-Vasey, Ph.D., the former president of Pennsylvania NOW, Inc., has been named a Worldwide Who's Who Professional of the Year in nonprofit organization management. While inclusion in Worldwide Who's Who is an honor, only a small selection of members in each discipline are 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 Who's Who membership.

After graduating from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a bachelor's degree in clothing and textiles and a master's degree in family counseling, Dr. Tosti-Vasey went on to earn a Ph.D. in human development and family studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Eager to cultivate her skills in policy analysis and advocate for equal rights for women, Dr. Tosti-Vasey became involved with several political and advocacy organizations whose overarching goals matched her own.

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 first of this year, after completing a six- year term, Dr. Tosti-Vasey became the immediate past president 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 for two years at the national level of NOW in the mid-1990's as a leader on the National NOW Board of Directors. In May 2012, she was once again elected to the National NOW Board of Directors and returned to the Board in July. Additionally, she served on the NOW Destigmatizing Abortion ad hoc Committee that was established in May 2011, 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 is also represented by the County Chair and a member of the Democratic National Committee. She is also treasurer of the PA Democratic State Committee Women's Caucus, a position which she has held for the past 16 years. In this capacity, she is responsible for handling the financial records for the Caucus and organizing the annual statewide Democratic Candidates' Forum in conjunction with the PA Democratic Party's Endorsement meeting.

Working with Pennsylvania NOW, Dr. Tosti-Vasey has successfully advocated for the creation of anti-discrimination ordinances in State College, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County, lobbied for civil rights bills and helped to change policies and procedures in a number of institutions. In response to the allegations of child sexual abuse against former PSU football coach Jerry Sandusky in 2011, she worked on calling for the university to review their policies and reporting methods of campus violence and to include all forms of campus violence in both the investigation and upgrading of policies and reporting. In 2007, she worked with the City of Pittsburgh to craft a zero-tolerance, police-perpetrated domestic violence ordinance and provided testimony to the PA's Independent Regulatory Review Board regarding the proposed regulation for sexual assault services in emergency rooms. Hospitals must now post signs if they refuse to provide emergency contraception to rape victims, additionally providing transportation to facilities where this service is available.

In 2010, Dr. Tosti-Vasey and Philadelphia NOW assisted the PA Prison Society and Senator Daylin Leach in passing the state law that prohibits the shackling of incarcerated pregnant women in their 2nd and 3rd trimesters. The next year, she worked with State College Borough to create one of the most comprehensive sets of anti-discrimination fair housing and accommodations and employment ordinances in the country. On a related note, Dr. Tosti-Vasey testified against "National Security Begins at Home" anti-immigration bills and their effect on children in low-income families and on victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Amendments to these bills are currently being proposed thanks to her efforts and those of Pennsylvania NOW.

Dr. Tosti-Vasey attributes her more than two decades of success to having a genuine concern for people and a desire to see that civil rights are being upheld. She also credits her public speaking and writing skills, as well as her devotion to lobbying and accomplishing goals as a member of numerous administrative boards. Dr. Tosti-Vasey makes it a point to stay up to date with current events in her community and beyond through memberships with the National Association of Professional Women, Concerned Voters of Centre County, and the Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association. She also volunteers with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to monitor tension, acts of bias and potential hate crimes as a member of both the Pennsylvania Tension Task Force and the Centre County Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. In addition, she serves as a member of the Health Care for All PA Board of Directors which advocates for a comprehensive single-payer healthcare system for every citizen of Pennsylvania.

Looking forward, Dr. Tosti-Vasey intends to continue assisting with efforts to provide equal rights for women by obtaining a position related to civil rights, women's rights, community organizing and/or policy analysis. In her free time, she enjoys scrapbooking, reading and photography.

For more information about Joanne Tosti-Vasey and Pennsylvania NOW, Inc., be sure to visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/joannetv, http://pennsylvanianow.blogspot.com and http://www.panow.org.

About Worldwide Who's Who
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Contact:
Ellen Campbell
Director, Media Relations
[email protected]

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