Common Threads Project
Mary M. Luke has extensive experience in leadership and advocacy within the fields of women's empowerment and health care. Currently serving as Chair of the Board of Directors and Vice President at PowTheir New York since July 2019, Mary also contributes as a Board Member for the Common Threads Project, focusing on supporting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Previously, Mary held significant positions at UN Women USA, including Vice President and President, contributing to the organization's mission of gender equality. Additional experience includes roles at Ipas, Planned Parenthood's International Division, CEDPA, and Planned Parenthood San Francisco-Alameda, where Mary has led various programs across multiple regions. Educational credentials include a Master's degree in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing and an MBA in Health Care Administration, both from Boston University and Golden Gate University.
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Common Threads Project
Common Threads offers a psychosocial recovery program for women who have survived gender-based violence, war, and displacement. In many cultures when women have faced unspeakable atrocities, they've come together to share their experiences, to support one another, and to sew their stories onto cloth as a means to find their way out of despair. Common Threads gathers women to sew story cloths and recover from trauma together, integrating contemporary evidence-based trauma treatment with traditional practices that have enabled communities to promote healing and resilience. Common Threads -builds community capacity to provide psychosocial support for survivors of violence -develops culturally responsive interventions in collaboration with local partners -integrates traditional practices with contemporary trauma treatments -promotes survivors’ strengths rather than treating their “pathology" -empowers participants as they make their way from victims to survivors to agents of change In 2012, Common Threads’ pilot project was established in Lago Agrio, Ecuador, in collaboration with UNHCR and local partners Taller de Communicacion de Mujer and The Women’s Federation of Sucumbios. In 2014 we partnered with TPO Nepal and UNHCR to establish Common Threads Nepal, serving Bhutanese and Pakistani refugee women in Damak and Kathmandu. An additional project was launched in Bosnia in 2016, in urban and rural settings in and around Zenica, Tuzla, and Bihać. Our most recent expansion is in Democratic Republic of the Congo, in partnership with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation and Panzi Hospital.