PROVIDENCE – Peg Langhammer, who has led Day One as its executive director for 44 years and, through the nonprofit, an advocate for victims of sexual violence and bringing those issues to Rhode Island’s forefront, will step down from her role in September, the organization announced Monday.
Langhammer will still remain connected with Day One as an advocate at the Statehouse and assist the nonprofit’s fundraising goals and initiatives. Day One officials say the board of trustees will handle the search in finding Langhammer's successor. Day One also feels now is the best time for Langhammer to step away after more than four decades leading the organization.
"Looking back, I am amazed at how far we have come as a country in discussing sexual violence, but there is still so much more to do,” Langhammer said in a statement. “I’m confident that the organization is in a great position to continue its critical work supporting and advocating for Rhode Islanders in need.”
Langhammer, who was named by Providence Business News as the
Career Achiever in the 2020 Business Women Awards program, has regularly been a voice for sexual assault victims at the Statehouse even before joining Day One – then known as Rhode Island Rape Crisis Center – in 1980 as its executive director. Day One says Langhammer in the 1990s worked on a national level to help launch the Violence Against Women Act, the first federal law acknowledging sexual assault and domestic violence as crimes and provided federal resources to encourage community-coordinated responses to combating violence against women.
Locally, Langhammer, Day One says, helped establish the state’s child advocacy center, which changed how child sexual abuse is handled in Rhode Island. Langhammer has also be vital in introducing legislation and developing statewide protocols specific to human trafficking, child pornography and adult sexual assault to build better response systems for Rhode Islanders who have been affected by or are at risk of sexual violence, Day One says.
"Peg Langhammer's impact on the fight against sexual violence in Rhode Island cannot be overstated. Her leadership, unwavering dedication, and tireless advocacy have transformed the landscape of sexual assault response and prevention in our state," Day One board President Peter Loescher said in a statement. "We are immensely grateful for Peg's decades of service and the lasting legacy she leaves behind."
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.