OL Reign Legend: Mary Ellen Stone – Chief Executive Officer of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center
The Legends Campaign, a partnership between OL Reign and Starbucks, honors women for their extraordinary contributions to our community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Prior to OL Reign’s match against Racing Louisville FC on July 1, OL Reign recognized Mary Ellen Stone, Chief Executive Officer of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center.
Mary Ellen has led the nonprofit organization since 1979 and now leads a staff of more than 70 employees, working closely with the Board of Directors to meet KCSARC’s vision and mission. Considered a visionary leader by many, she has worked to change the landscape of sexual assault services including prevention, education and victim advocacy. She has built partnerships with key businesses, companies, local governments and organizations so that victims and their families have a voice. KCSARC has been nationally recognized for effective and innovative services.
Mary Ellen holds a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Minnesota and is a program graduate of Leadership Tomorrow and the Alki Foundation. She presently serves on the Seattle Archdiocese Review Board. Past board responsibilities include the Mental Illness Drug Dependence Oversight Board and the 2018 Seattle Chief of Police Search Committee, Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, Sex Offender Management Committee, Women’s Funding Alliance and Municipal League Seattle-King County.
Though she has achieved a lot, there was no set-in stone plan for Mary Ellen.
“A lot of our success can be attributed to being in the right place at the right time and seeing opportunities then creating opportunities for the organization to move forward. When we started out, sexual assault was often buried and not talked about. We knew that things had to be better for these survivors, so we just constantly worked on expanding our presence and working towards our goal of eliminating sexual assault.”
Through growing the organization and working toward that overarching goal of eliminating sexual assault, Mary Ellen and all of those involved have received a large amount of pushback, especially in the beginning. In order to combat that, they simply pushed through it and looked for new ways to make people aware of sexual assault related issues.
“If we gave up every time we hit a barrier, we wouldn't be anywhere. Something that has been able to keep us going is finding common ground with people. Almost everybody knows, somebody who's been sexually assaulted, and a really great thing is that people are able to talk about it more now than they were 20-30 years ago. The vast majority of people don’t want these things to be happening, so we have been able to make it more personal and easier for people to follow along with and understand.”
Throughout her work as a leader in this space, there is no one accomplishment that sticks out to Mary Ellen. Rather, it’s feeling the everyday impact of their work.
“It’s people calling us every day and getting the help that they need. The changes that we have seen have been slow, but we’re seeing them and we’re not going back. The survivors that we work with inspire me because they're the ones who are standing up and saying I want something better, and we're determined to stand by them by their sides and help them get that.”
When asked about the advice she would give to young women pursing a goal or career, Mary Ellen said, “Have confidence in yourself and keep pushing regardless of what people say because it's for your generation and the generations that are coming after you. It's your world you're creating. You stand on my shoulders and take that next step. It’s going to look different from the things that we are doing here now, and it should because it needs to keep evolving. We have made a lot of progress, but we're certainly not done.”
To conclude, Mary Ellen reflected on being named an OL Reign Legend.
“I'm honored to be honored. Look at the barriers that the women on the pitch have broken to be where they are. I think it's all connected; you know? We started this work because women's lack of agency and empowerment is part of what contributes to sexual assault. To see a professional team like OL Reign out there competing, being strong athletes and leaders, makes this honor just terrific. It means a great deal to me.”
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, free and confidential help and information is available 7 days a week. Call King County Sexual Assault Resource Center 24-hour Resource Line at 1.888.99.VOICE (1.888.998.6423).