Refuge House is led by a Board of Directors who determines the strategic direction of the agency and provides oversight to the executive director. The executive director is responsible for the operations and programs of the agency, and the functions of the administrative, fiscal and program teams. Program services are led by a team of program directors and managers, who supervise direct service and community education staff members. Three programs operate on a 24-hour basis: our Leon County Emergency Shelter, our Taylor County Emergency Shelter and our Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis team. Our entire staff team of over 50 people are passionate advocates dedicated to the needs of survivors and our community.

Meg Baldwin, J.D.
Meg Baldwin is the Executive Director of Refuge House, the domestic and sexual violence center serving the eight county Big Bend area. She has served in this role since 2005. In 2016, the Refuge House Board of Directors named the newly-opened Refuge House rape crisis/forensic facility The Meg Baldwin SAFE Center, in recognition of her contribution to the creation of this important service to rape victims. Prior to joining Refuge House, Meg was an Associate Professor of Law at the Florida State University College of Law, specializing in women’s rights, violence against women, and prostitution.
Meg is also a nationally recognized expert on the legal, social, and advocacy issues facing prostituted women and children. She was instrumental in creating one of the first advocacy and support agencies for women seeking to escape and heal from prostitution. Meg drafted the first state legislation to provide civil remedies for women coerced in prostitution against perpetrators, which has become the model for legislation adopted in other states.
Meg was the 2008 recipient of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence Warrior for Women Award, the 2010 recipient of the National Organization of Men Against Sexism Lifetime Achievement Award, and a 2016 recipient of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women Leadership Award.
Meg serves on the Board of Directors of the Big Bend Continuum of Care, and is a past board member of the United Partners for Human Services, the United Way of the Big Bend, the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, and the National Advisory Board of the FCADV Trafficking Project. Meg served as an advisor to the Florida Supreme Court Gender Bias Study Commission. She is a 1984 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School.
Refuge House is led by our dedicated Board of Directors, representing our community and our mission with pride:
GWENN THOMAS
CPA, President
GEORGIA CAPPLEMAN
Chief Assistant State Attorney, Second Judicial Circuit, Vice President, Resource Development Co-Chair
MARY MCVICAR
McV Tax & Advisory Services, Treasurer
BRITIAN RILEY
Florida State University, Resource Development Co-Chair
ELIZABETH DESLOGE ELLIS
Attorney, Nabors Giblin & Nickerson, P.A.,
Secretary
CAPTAIN BRICE GOOGLE
Leon County Sheriff’s Office
CELESTE HART, M.D.
Endocrinologist, The Thyroid Center
LAURI HUNTER
The Motivating Factor
ROBERT LOTANE
Communications
ANNE ROWE
FSU Faculty and Dean, Retired
BECKY SAUERS
Lady Links Golf
DEPUTY CHIEF TONJA BRYANT SMITH
Tallahassee Police Department
JAMES VARNADO
Chief, Fraud Division of the Florida Office of the Attorney General