About Us

A Short History

The IFCADV began as a part of the Montgomery County Abused Persons Program (APP) of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. It began its work in 1998 when Cynthia Anderson, then Manager of APP, asked staff Therapist Maud Clarke to organize a training for clergy about domestic violence. The original planning group included Rev. Colin Phillips (Methodist), Donna Kane (Pastoral Counselor), and Lon Dring (then Executive Director of Community Ministries of Montgomery County). The group planned a two-part training, which was presented in 1999. The training focused on the history of the Christian church and domestic violence, the prevalence and dynamics of domestic violence, the needs of families experiencing domestic violence, the roles of religious professionals and faith communities in preventing domestic violence and the resources available to support them. The training was well received, and the IFCADV grew as it was decided to make such an opportunity an annual event. There has been conference open to the entire community every year since then, focused on the intersection of faith and domestic abuse. The IFCADV Board and programs continued to grow, and in 2006, we were granted our 501(c)(3) status as a private nonprofit corporation.

From the beginning, the IFCADV was and continues to be a coalition of individuals who are domestic violence survivors and folks from faith communities, health care organizations, law enforcement, community groups, and public agencies.

The IFCADV has won two awards: the Education Award from the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence and the Public/Private Partnership Award from the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services.

Board Of Directors

Board of Directors June 2010-June 2011

Sharon A. O’Brien, Ph.D., IFCADV President (Roman Catholic)
Family Violence Researcher, Independent

Maud E. Clarke, LCSW-C, IFCADV Founder and Vice President (Unitarian Universalist)
Domestic Violence Therapist (retired)

Eileen Diggs, MSW, LGSW, IFCADV Treasurer (Buddhist)
Social Worker specializing in women, families, and mental health

Eugene S. Morris, LCSW-C, IFCADV Secretary
Manager, Access to Behavioral Health Program, Montgomery County Government

Ellie Barker (Seventh-day Adventist)
Admissions Counselor, Washington Adventist University

Edmund “Ned” Duffy
Vice President, Presidential Bank, FSB, Bethesda

Tovah Kasdin, J.D. (Jewish)
Domestic Violence Consultant
Principal, The Domestic Violence Consulting Group

Imam Faizul Khan (Muslim)
Imam/Administrator, Islamic Society of the Washington Area

Cheryl Kravitz, APR, CFRE (Jewish)
President, CRK Communications

Rev. Lester P. Stano, (Lutheran—Missouri Synod)
Senior Pastor, Lutheran Church of the Cross

Mission Statement

Purpose

To educate, train, and support faith communities in responding to and preventing domestic abuse.

Vision

Faith and secular communities working together to:

Eliminate intimate partner abuse;
Protect victims and children;
Support the healing of victims, children, and abusers.

Mission

We work with faith communities to:

Increase awareness of partner abuse prevalence and impact;
Explore the dynamics of domestic abuse;
Develop an understanding of the role of faith communities in a Coordinated Community Response;
Share resources;
Empower them to minister to families in their congregations who are expriencing domestic violence.

Welcome

Welcome to the website of the Interfaith Community Against Domestic Violence. We are a 501c3 private nonprofit, incorporated in the State of Maryland and located in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Our mission is to educate, train, and support faith communities in addressing intimate partner abuse. We are dedicated to:

interfaith work because we believe that all of the world's great religions oppose family violence and offer a path of peace, compassion, justice, and love in human relationships to their believers
collaboration with our many religious and secular partners who work for the safety for every person in their own home and in their intimate relationships;
creating a society of equality and mutual respect for all is the single most powerful way to not only respond to domestic violence, but to prevent it.

We hope you will find what you need here: comfort, information, resources, and community as we work together supported by courage and united by hope.