Our dear friend and Executive Director of The Turning Point Rape Crisis Center, Jennifer Spugnardi, is retiring after 15 years of service. Jennifer has dedicated her professional career to the treatment and prevention of sexual violence. While at The Turning Point, she has provided counseling, legal advocacy and training for criminal justice personnel in sexual assault issues. Jennifer is also a big supporter of Hope Rising and the McKinney Vagina Monologues. We are eternally grateful for her leadership, support, and friendship over the years. Jennifer, you will be missed!

Jennifer is a woman of many talents and one of those talents is writing poems. Below is one of her original writings highlighting the vast impact that women like Jennifer and organizations like The Turning Point are making.

“I am the place where healing begins.  I am a safe space.  I am the calm center at the eye of a turbulent storm.  I am the place where motivation meets inspiration.  I am teamwork .  I am passionate.  I am caring and compassionate.  I am an advocate for justice and a voice for the voiceless.  I am the one who will stand up for you when others cannot.  I am a good listener.  I am a champion for freedom, choice, and human dignity.  I am a defender of rights and equality.  I am righteous anger honed for positive action.  I am driven by a feminist mission.

I am an educator.  I am rooted in respect.  I am EPIC.  I am an activist for change.  I am a community guide, a molder of young minds.  I am a peace builder and a myth buster.  I am a holder of hope.  I am a belief in a better world. 

I am a counselor.  I am a cheerleader for the a-ha moment.  I am a shield in the face of fear.  I am a guardian of privacy and a keeper of confidences.  I am a sentinel over pain and sorrow.  I am a truth-teller, a shame-breaker, a soul-shaper.  I am a support when the burden is too heavy to carry alone.  I am a mender of broken hearts.  I am the answer yes to the question, will I make it through this?  I am transformation.  I am a path to a new life.  I am the light at the end of the journey.  I am empowerment personified.  I am a fighter.  I am a survivor.

I am The Turning Point 

Jennifer, we wish you the best of luck as you embark on this next phase in your life. Thanks for being a shoulder to cry on and for always being quick to tell us a joke when we needed it. You are amazing, and we’re glad that you will only be a phone call away!