Nicole Baran, MSW, is the Executive Director and Founder of the Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness. She has been dedicated to the movement to end gender-based violence since 2000, working both as an advocate with survivors of domestic violence and at the policy level for systemic change. Nicole has conducted national trainings and contributed to publications to improve the institutional response to domestic violence since 2001. She has delivered over 350 customized workshops, locally and nationwide, at organizations such as Kaiser Permanente, the San Francisco Bar Association, and California’s State Domestic Violence Coalition.

Nicole has taught in the Feminist Studies Program at Stanford University for 13 years after developing Violence Against Women: Theory, Issues and Prevention. In 2006, she successfully partnered with Stanford University to institutionalize a comprehensive response to gender-based violence on campus. She managed a five-year grant from the USDOJ Office on Violence Against Women and was instrumental in implementing Stanford’s first Office on Sexual Assault and Relationship Abuse. Nicole received her BA and MA in English from Stanford University and a Masters in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, with a specialization in management and a focus on women’s rights.

Nicole Baran is also the Executive Director of the Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation, which creates and supports strategies for eliminating obstacles facing marginalized populations in order to reach gender and racial equity. The foundation focuses on intersectional feminism, improving the lives of women and girls, and promoting educational equality for all community members. She established the infrastructure and direction of the Foundation and became the first Executive Director in 2009.

Read Nicole’s oped in the Stanford Daily, Stanford Drops the Ball on Sexual Assault Case, interviews with Seneca International and Maestro Market or listen to the interview on Stanford Radio KZSU’s “Culture Lens”.