Gretchen Bennett

There is a contest at www.lizclaibornestyle.com/awcontest/ to nominate women who inspire others.

Gretchen Bennett is one of the women I admire most as a leader fighting a difficult battle to help children who have been abused. Gretchen is the Executive Director of Liberty House in Salem, Oregon. She works hard to solve problems to ease the way for abused children to receive help in the least invasive way at a traumatic time. As a mother of two preschool children, Gretchen goes beyond what many in her field would do to raise money, work on prevention, and to bring in the best leaders in the area to aid this important cause. She has brought law enforcement leaders, counselors, community leaders together to focus on a solution to help children with resounding success. She encourages the community to come to periodic open houses to see first hand the story of the abused child who walks in the door to receive help. Gretchen is an inspirational public speaker, a strong leader who inspires the best people in the community to aid in the fight against abused children, a poised woman of strength, and an example to all women. As a graduate of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon who used to bring back trophies in debate, who worked tirelessly for environmental causes in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, and who makes a difference every day to help abused children, I nominate my daughter, Gretchen Bennett.