A Message from Christine Chew, Board Chair
November 16, 2023
On behalf of the Amplio Board of Directors, I have the great pleasure to announce, we have a new Executive Director, Dr. Lee Ann De Reus!
We are thrilled to welcome Lee Ann to the Amplio team and community.
Lee Ann is a nonprofit leader, scholar, and ardent advocate for women's rights, racial equity, and climate justice (see full bio below). Given her vast international experience in building relationships, activating partnerships, and scaling global programs, she is especially qualified to lead Amplio's next stage of growth and impact.
Watch a message from Dr. Lee Ann De Reus, Amplio's new Executive Director.
Join us in welcoming Lee Ann to the Amplio community. I know she can't wait to meet you and hear your ideas. We look forward to sharing our plans and vision for stewarding Amplio's growth and continued success in the months to come.
Thank you for your continued interest, partnership, and support.
With gratitude,
Christine Chew, PhD
Board Chair, Amplio
Dr. Lee Ann De Reus, Executive Director, Amplio
Lee Ann De Reus, PhD, is a nonprofit leader, accomplished scholar, and ardent advocate for women's rights, racial equity, and climate justice. She brings over two decades of experience linking research and action for transformative social change, especially in the lives of women and girls. Her expertise in sexualized violence has garnered global recognition, with speaking engagements at venues such as TEDx, the Oslo Freedom Forum, and the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Dr. De Reus is the co-founder, with 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege, of Panzi Foundation, a nonprofit that assists survivors of gender-based violence at Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her impact extends to No Means No Worldwide, an international nonprofit organization that provides sexual and gender-based violence prevention curricula to youth. Under her leadership as Executive Director, the organization reached 250,000 youth in 10 countries in 2022.
Prior to her role at NMNW, Dr. De Reus was the Executive Director for the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP), a nonprofit in Washington, DC. DV LEAP provides access to justice and safety for survivors of domestic violence across the US by overturning unjust trial court outcomes through pro bono legal appeals. At DV LEAP she created DV LEAF, a unique initiative addressing the link between climate change and violence against women and girls.
At Penn State Altoona, Dr. De Reus was an associate professor of Human Development and Family Studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She taught classes on family functioning and conducted research on gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at Panzi Hospital. For 15 consecutive years she led teams of PSU students on international experiential trips to Rwanda, Chad, Mozambique, Tanzania, and the Dominican Republic.
Currently, Dr. De Reus sits on the Military Family Research Institute’s Advisory Council at Purdue University and serves as a mentor in the MFRI Fellowship program for returning women veterans who are attending college for the first time.
Her impactful contributions have been acknowledged through numerous awards, including the Penn State University Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, Purdue University's Distinguished Service Alumni Award, the Iowa State University Alumni Merit Award, and the National Council on Family Relations Inclusion and Diversity Social Justice Award for Contributions to Family Science.