Theresa Harrison grew up in a Mennonite family in Sarasota. Education was stressed, though college attendance was rare in her extended family. In contrast, Theresa had earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees at UF by the time she was 22. "I was an overachiever," she says, smiling. One takeaway from the Mennonite culture was its emphasis on community needs. Theresa has devoted her entire professional life to service and advocacy. She is currently the executive director of Peaceful Paths Domestic Abuse Network -- a job she took on at the tender age of 29. Writes her friend, Dee Dee Smith: "Dr. Theresa Harrison has made a seismic impact on North Central Florida through her positive energy, persuasiveness, and her fidelity to the mission of disenfranchised women and children. Her ever present smile is always a shining light for our community." Theresa's first passion was education, and she served as the educational coordinator for the Eckerd Youth Alternative program, Ca! mp E-KEL-ETU, a residential wilderness program for at-risk boys in the Ocala National Forest. She stayed for seven years. "As I did that work I realized that it wasn't enough to just teach," she recalls, so she was also earning her doctorate at UF in Educational Leadership, Policy and Foundations. She completed her Ph.D. in 2000 at about the same time she was hired at Peaceful Paths. "It all meshes together. Advocacy is advocacy," she says. "You're fighting for people whose voices somehow get
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