Rosenthal appointed to advisor post in Obama White House



By Doug Blackburn
DEMOCRAT senior WRITER, Tallahassee.com

Domestic-violence prevention advocates in the Big Bend are championing the appointment of one of their own to a prominent position in the White House.

Lynn Rosenthal, a former executive director of Refuge House as well as past director of Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, has been named the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. The announcement of the newly created position was made Friday.

Rosenthal served as executive director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence from 2000-2006, where she met and worked closely with then-Sen. Joe Biden, now the vice president.

“There is not a better selection to advise the White House on this issue than Lynn,” said Tiffany Carr, who worked with Rosenthal at the coalition and succeeded her as director of the statewide association for shelters. “She is an expert on the issue.

“Because she is so knowledgeable on the issue, she generates a credibility that folks listen to her.”

In 1999, Rosenthal received the Florida Governor’s Peace at Home Award for making a difference in the lives of battered women and their children. She has also received a number of national awards for her work.

For the past two years Rosenthal has been executive director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Kelly Otte, who became executive director of Refuge House in 1996 when Rosenthal moved to the Florida coalition, said domestic-violence prevention advocates across the country are celebrating Rosenthal’s appointment.

“She’s a tenacious advocate,” Otte said. “For somebody local to go to Washington on this issue is something we should all be proud of.

“More than anything, what people are saying is it makes a strong statement about the president and vice president’s position as far as looking at the issues of domestic violence.”

 To read the New York Times editorial on this subject, titled An Advocate for Women, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/opinion/01wed4.html?_r=1&ref=opinion