Esta Soler

An expert on violence against women and children, Esta Soler founded Futures Without Violence over 30 years ago and transformed it into one of the world’s leading violence prevention agencies. 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 her 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 plagues families and communities. Now, Ms. Soler is committed to passage of the International Violence Against Women Act to prevent gender-based violence on a global scale. Ms. Soler’s work to prevent violence against women has been featured on MAKERS, an innovative video and documentary project launched by AOL and PBS to showcase stories from trailblazing women. Recently, she delivered a TEDTalk charting 30 years of tactics and technologies—from the Polaroid camera to social media—that have shaped the movement to end domestic violence. Ms. Soler holds an honorary doctorate from Simmons College in Boston.