Visionary, passionate and fiercely dedicated to the empowerment of every victim of trauma and abuse, Elaine M. Whitefeather has spent her last 38 years in human service work, 36 of those years in the field of domestic violence. Motivated by personal experiences that included childhood abuse, racial violence, sexual assault and cancer, she has turned these obstacles into opportunities of empowerment, healing and wholeness.

Elaine is a recognized authority in the field of domestic and family violence. She has created and resurrected over 40 domestic violence programs both nationally and internationally. In 1974 Elaine graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor’s degree in Vocational Rehabilitation. She then combined her formal education with her vast training by cultural and spiritual leaders from around the world to build innovative, effective and progressive social programs. These ground-breaking curriculums have been established as models for the Family Support Centers serving military families and civilian communities from the Philippines to Hawaii; Southern California to her current service here in Sacramento County. This span of diversity is reflected in her own diverse ancestral heritage. She is Japanese, African American, Native American and German. Taught and encouraged all her life by indigenous teachers from each of her cultural backgrounds, she takes the wisdom from these many paths and creates a bridge of understanding that has catalyzed progressive changes across the globe.

Elaine is the Executive Director for ‘A Community for Peace’, a domestic violence provider for Sacramento County where she has created effective, innovative and progressive programs for the response to domestic and family violence. These innovative strategies have changed the way critical partners such as law enforcement and child protective services respond and handle domestic violence cases.

Collaborating, unifying, persistent, bold and courageous, Elaine Whitefeather has led the way to better systems that can empower and change individuals and communities. In just 9 years, she has developed ‘A Community for Peace’ from an all-volunteer crisis line advocacy to a full service state and county certified provider.  Her vision of peace is made manifest by relentlessly teaching, sharing, educating and catalyzing others to live an inspired and sacred life and to work together for the best of our Human Tribe. Elaine’s passion and fierce advocacy have resulted in many innovative partnerships and in forming the ‘Foundation for Peaceful Communities’ to help build communities for women and children, youth and veterans. Utilizing the highly successful social renewal project, the Delancey Street Foundation, San Francisco, as a model- she is developing with the private, public and faith communities investors, to build: a permanent supportive housing community with on-site services; a residential campus for aging out foster youth; and  safe havens for commercially sexually exploited children.

Elaine has been recognized in 2014 as a Ruby Award winner from Soroptimist International Rancho Cordova; she was awarded, in 2014, the Service to Mankind Western Region by Sertoma. In 2015, she was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International and in March of 2015, she was honored by Assemblyman Ken Cooley and the California Women’s Legislative Caucus as Woman of the Year for her innovative work in the field of domestic violence. This last year, she opened with our local Soroptimist chapter, Soroptimist House, a transitional home for survivors who are taking that final step towed freedom and self-reliance. She is named in the National Registry of Who’s Who in America.

“Legacies are left in the minds, hearts and lives you change…” is the philosophy and underlying spirit that keeps her visioning, building and expanding hope in our world through the lives she touches each and every day.