Pamela Shifman

Executive Director

Bio:

Pamela is the Executive Director of the NoVo Foundation. From 2008-2014, Pamela served as NoVo Foundation’s Director of Initiatives for Girls and Women. She came to NoVo Foundation from UNICEF headquarters where she led the organization’s efforts to end gender-based violence in conflict-affected settings including in Darfur, Eastern Congo, Uganda, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Prior to joining the UN, Pamela served as the Co-Executive Director of Equality Now, where she focused extensively on trafficking of girls and women and convened a coalition of organizations for passage of the first US legislation on trafficking in persons and the UN Transnational Crime Protocol on Trafficking in Persons. From 1996-1998, Pamela served as legal advisor for the ANC Parliamentary Women’s Caucus in South Africa where she supported development of South Africa’s first post-apartheid legislation addressing domestic violence, and led a National Campaign on Ending Violence against Girls and Women. Pamela is the author of several articles on women’s and girls’ rights, including, “Trafficking and Human Rights in a Globalized World,” Oxfam Journal of Gender and Development, and “Sexual Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict: A Need for More Focused Action,” Refugee Survey Quarterly. Pamela is the recipient of the 2011 Lucretia Mott Award from Women’s Way and was named as one of the 21 Leaders for the 21st Century by Women’s e-News. Pamela has taught Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan and at Hunter College, and she holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. When not rabble rousing for human rights and an end to injustice, Pamela likes to run around Brooklyn’s Prospect Park with her dog Marzipan and drink copious amounts of coffee with friends.