Dede Thompson Bartlett is a leading authority on domestic violence and its effects on the workplace. Currently the Chair of the Advisory Council of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, she has come a long way in ten years.

"I was just like the rest of America in 1995. I knew nothing about domestic violence." Dede Bartlett's voice still reveals horror at herself. "I was among those who assumed it happened to other people."

In 1995, a consortium of approximately 40 people approached Dede for help. The group wanted to make the world aware that domestic violence was the business of business. At that time, she was Vice President, Corporate Affairs Programs at Altria Group, Inc., the former Philip Morris Companies. They selected Dede because of her visibility and her contacts. Her reply? "I know nothing about this and it's hard to espouse an issue you know nothing about. You will have to teach me."

"I was perfect," she told me. "I had never even given this subject a thought. Can you imagine? It's hard for me to imagine! If this was the plague, if this was handled like the true epidemic it is, and 1 in 3 women were affected by it, the headlines would report the body count every day."

She began meeting with the consortium twice a month. "It only took 6 months for the the scales to fall off my eyes. I was astounded, appalled, horrified, and shocked. Absolutely shocked. And, I learned that this is prevalent in every socioeconomic category you can name and it is still treated as though it is a peripheral issue. I was astonished."

Since her "education" Dede has done much to bring the issue of domestic violence into corporate awareness. She approached senior management at Phillip Morris and organized a conference. She planned to do it on a low-key level. She simply wanted to provide a corporate audience to give the consortium the opportunity to tell them what business needed to know about health, employee relationship, security and domestic violence. This launch was the first conference of its kind in 1996, this was the first time business and people interested in this issue had come together for a discussion.

She has become the hub for public, private and non-profit sectors to meet in many more conferences all over the United States as well as in 20 other countries. No one is more aware of what can and must be done in the wide variety of organizations that have a role to play. In these groups she includes government, corporations, health care, education, and social services.

Nancy and Dede originally met during the bi-monthly meetings with the consortium. "When Nancy told me about her idea, I realized almost immediately that it was the missing link. What is primary is shelter and safety but, even then, life is terribly confusing for a survivor. Achieving financial independence, especially when there is a child involved, is crucial to their future success."

Two years ago, Dede took early retirement and but she decided that she would maintain her role as door opener. That decision has been a fortuitous one for Turning the Corner whose board includes many members from those original bi-monthly meetings.

A powerful communicator, Dede continues to lecture around the world about the effects of domestic violence in the workplace. In addition to this and her support of Turning the Corner, she is a Director of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, The Public Safety and Justice Advisory Board of Rand, and The Domestic Violence Crisis Center.

"I believe strongly that what Nancy is doing is vital to these women," she told me. "I have sat through only a part of Nancy's program but I know that it is so unique. And," she continued, "So is she. She is a survivor who also happens to be a financially savvy woman. Nobody else has this combination. Underneath Nancy's message is that she is a bright, educated, woman of the world. If it can happen to her it can happen to anyone. And if she can get out of it, so can others."