Who is Repaving Waverly?
Activist, public speaker and artist Marnie Goodfriend has become a construction worker of sorts. For over a decade she’s given her voice, words, and counseling to several sexual assault and violence intervention programs. Just two months after Marnie and her roommate were sexually assaulted in their New York City apartment, she received two grants to fund a mixed media installation so people could “see”rape. Marnie found a mentor in RAINN’s former Executive Director, Debbie Andrews, who taught her how to use her voice to engage and inspire others. A photography graduate from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Marnie has donated photography and art work to several benefits and silent auctions across the country. In 2003, she became an on-call ER advocate for survivors of sexual assault for Mount Sinai’s Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention (SAVI) program. Today she has spoken to DA’s, doctors, detectives, social workers, advocates, survivors, high school and college students, produced fundraisers, and assisted with community healing and safety. She also co-produces public service announcements and consults TV and films with rape story lines.
What does Repaving Waverly do?
Marnie speaks across the country, works with other advocacy groups on their efforts, and produces events and fundraisers. Her message is to educate, inspire and urge both men and women to recognize and re-define our cultural definition of rape as not just a women’s issue, but a human crisis. She believes that education and inspiration are the keys to unlocking the activist in all of us.
Who needs Repaving Waverly? Everyone. Sexual assault has affected you or someone that you love. We need to learn how to change cultural behavior, protect and change our current condition, educate and strengthen necessary laws that will assist survivors and stop rapes from occurring.
