About Us

The Sexual Assault Center (SAC) opened its doors in 1978. Today, we are the only place in Middle Tennessee that is exclusively dedicated to providing counseling to child and adult sexual assault victims. In addition, we have programs that educate students on how to recognize and prevent Sexual Assault. Our counselors are specialists in the field and worked with more than 17,000 survivors since we opened our doors. Approximately half of our clients are children. With treatment, clients can begin to heal – moving beyond trauma into living healthy, productive lives. We take a holistic approach and work with the entire family. Beyond individual treatment, we offer group therapy sessions for children, teens, men, women, and families of survivors. 

We have education programs that support the prevention of sexual abuse. We train teachers and school counselors in the implementation of the “Safe @ Last” personal safety curriculum in elementary schools in 11 counties in Tennessee, serving more than 124,000 students in 2008-2009 school years. This includes Middle Tennessee Parochial schools as well as Catholic Parishes.

A program for middle and high school students called “Be. Promoting Healthy Relationships” was launched in 2007 and has reached more than 9,000 students in the 2008-2009 school years. The overall goal of the program is to educate teens in order to prevent sexual victimization, develop tools for healthy relationships, gain problem solving skills and learn the importance of positive decision-making.

The Center presents Community Workshops, which provide speakers and programs for a wide range of topics, such as date rape and sexual abuse prevention. These are appropriate for churches, civic groups, high school and college students, and corporate workplaces, and served 15,742 individuals in 2008. 

Our fees are based on a sliding scale according to income. We are a TennCare provider and accept most health insurance policies. We also have grants that cover specific types of abuse victims. Most importantly, no one is turned away for lack of ability to pay.

Leadership

Tim Tohill, President
615-259-9055, ext. 328 ttohill@SACenter.org

Donna Center, Vice President of Finance 
615-259-9055 ext. 334 dcenter@SACenter.org

Rachel Freeman, Vice President of Porgrams
615-259-9055 ext. 338 rfreeman@SACenter.org

Kelly Greene Lamberth, Vice President of Development & Marketing
615-259-9055 ext. 332 kgreene@SACenter.org

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

  • Chair, Lisa Ramsay Cole
  • Vice Chair, Perian Strang
  • Treasurer, Elizabeth Kraft Bleecker
  • Secretary, Missy Wlliams
  • Imm. Past President, Franke P. Elliott
  • Dr. Kelliann Chidsey
  • Dr. Charles Ihrig
  • Patrick Keeble

Board Members

  • Angela Bostelamn
  • Pamela Busby
  • Dr. Deborah Webster Clair
  • Kevin Cross
  • Franke P. Elliot
  • Lourdes Garrido
  • Aubrey “Trey” B. Harwell lll
  • Jason Hill
  • Rebecca Howard
  • Samuel L. Jackson
  • Tommy Landstreet
  • Mary T. Maynard, Ph.D.
  • Karen Miller
  • Linda Rue
  • Karen Doochin Shaffer
  • Melissa Waddey
  • Dr. Sadhna Williams
  • Leslie Zmugg

Advisory Board Members

  • Lisa Campbell
  • Laura Chadwick
  • Chris Coates
  • Jay Conner, Ph.D.
  • John Gawaluck
  • Elena Graves
  • Sandra Lipman
  • Ellen Martin
  • Lynn Melkus
  • Emily Noel
  • Robin Patton
  • Howard Stringer

Ad-Hoc Members of the Board

  • Natalie Dillard Cross
  • Dr. Elizabeth Willers