MEET THE MOVEMENT

Changing the world is never a solitary act.

Pete Singer, MSW, LICSW

Executive Director

Pete Singer joined GRACE as the Executive Director on January 1, 2021. He has 30 years’ experience working with trauma, abuse, and mental health in a variety of settings. He has been a foster parent, school social worker, therapist, youth group leader, consultant, Executive Director, and more. He has worked extensively with families, teens, and children who have experienced trauma, including maltreatment, medical trauma, assault, violent loss, and captivity. His work has focused on helping children recover, facilitating parent growth and learning, and community engagement to end child maltreatment. He started a nonprofit in 2005 to equip the faith community to better recognize, prevent, and respond to child maltreatment. This work served to introduce him to a number of people at GRACE and the work they do. 

Pete completed his Master’s in Social Work from the University of Minnesota, where he also received a Certificate in Trauma-Effective Leadership. He speaks nationally on trauma, trauma-informed practice, resilience, strengthening the parent-child relationship, and the role of the faith community in responding to child maltreatment. He is a Registered Circle of Security – Parent Educator, Board-Approved Supervisor, and has completed extensive training in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. He has served on several workgroups, including the Cultural Provider’s Network, Ramsey County Ending Racial Disparities Workgroup, Youth in Transition Workgroup, and more. He designed an innovative support and education program for staff in trauma-saturated fields across disciplines. He has published and contributed to a number of articles and book chapters, including Coordinating Pastoral Care of Survivors with Mental Health Providers; Mental Health and Healthcare System Responses to Adolescent Maltreatment; and Wounded Souls: The Need for Child Protection Professionals and Faith Leaders to Recognize and Respond to the Spiritual Impact of Child Abuse, with Victor Vieth.

Pete is married, the father of three children, two of whom are grown, and has one grandchild.

Robert Peters, JD

Director of Institutional Response

Robert Peters, prior to GRACE, developed and delivered training, tools, and technical assistance to child abuse prosecutors and allied professionals across the United States through work with Zero Abuse Project and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). He is the creator of the STARK (Stopping Technology-Facilitated Abuse of Rural Kids) Prosecutor Symposium, and led the development of NOVA (Nexus for Open-Source Virtual Assistance), an open-source intelligence tool for law enforcement. For nearly a decade, Robert assisted GRACE by designing comprehensive child protection policies and serving as a civil investigator of abuse in the context of faith communities.

Mr. Peters served as Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and Special Prosecutor in multiple West Virginia jurisdictions, where he specialized in the prosecution of sexual offenses, civil child abuse and neglect, and online child exploitation. In addition to authoring practical publications for child abuse prosecutors, he is published in peer-reviewed works such as the Handbook on Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, Florida Journal of International Law, Child Welfare League of America, Mitchell Hamline Law Review, and Christian Ethics Today. Robert is the lead author of “Child Statement and Forensic Interview Admissibility,” a treatise developed in partnership with the National District Attorneys Association and National Children’s Alliance. While in law school, Peters clerked at the United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Virginia.

Mr. Peters is the founder of Coursing Justice, an LLC that delivers state-of-the-art training and practical content to criminal justice professionals. While a prosecutor, he founded SHIELD Task Force, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that partners with Child Advocacy Centers and local stakeholders to encourage reporting of sexual abuse and online safety. This initiative has brought age-appropriate abuse prevention education to thousands of school-aged children and numerous civic and community groups. Mr. Peters also serves on the WV Child Advocacy Network (WVCAN) Board of Directors. In 2019, Robert received the WV State Police Center for Children’s Justice Extra Mile Award for demonstrating professional leadership and personal commitment in going the Extra Mile on behalf of children and families.

Zane Hart, MBA, MDiv

Director of Development & Operations

Zane Hart is a dedicated nonprofit development and fundraising professional. He is passionate about seeing lasting change take root in the church around the issues of abuse. He is a graduate of James Madison University, Covenant Theological Seminary, and the University of Lynchburg. Zane has been with GRACE since 2018. Before GRACE, Zane served in various ministry settings developing programs, kickstarting and managing ministry initiatives, organizing educational environments, fundraising, training new leaders, and fostering partnerships and collaborations around common goals.

Zane currently lives in the southern United States with his wife and two children. Zane enjoys running, hiking, playing basketball, coaching youth soccer, golfing, and biking with his family.

Emily Petrie, JD

Assistant Director of Institutional Response

Emily Petrie is a Liberty University School of Law graduate and has worked for GRACE as an independent contractor since 2019, while she was in law school. She graduated from law school in May 2021 and started full-time as a Lead Institutional Response Specialist for GRACE that same year. Emily is an attorney licensed in Virginia.

During law school, Emily received training on responding to abuse in a trauma-informed way. After graduating from law school, Emily worked for a law firm specializing in family law and various areas of civil litigation. Emily was raised in a Christian home in Baltimore, Maryland, and has a heart for helping survivors of abuse in Christian environments.

Emily currently lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her husband and two cats. She previously served full-time as a Lead Institutional Response Specialist for GRACE and now serves as the Assistant Director of Institutional Response for GRACE.

Wade Mullen

Assistant Director of Institutional Response

Wade Mullen is an Assistant Director of Institutional Response at GRACE. He previously served GRACE as an independent contractor assisting with investigations and organizational assessments. He is the author of Something's Not Right: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abuse and Freeing Yourself From Its Power.

Wade has a PhD in Leadership Studies from Capital Seminary & Graduate School. His doctoral research focused on the responses of evangelical organizations to crises and their use of impression management strategies. Prior to joining GRACE, Wade provided consultation services on topics related to institutional responses to abuse; taught graduate courses on Power, Change, and Conflict; and directed a Master of Arts in Ministry Leadership and a Master of Divinity program. His experience training and consulting church leaders and researching institutional responses to abuse and misconduct uniquely positions him to serve the Church in its effort to respond well to abuse. 

Maureen Garcia, MLS

Lead Safeguarding Specialist

Maureen Garcia is fiercely devoted to helping Christians create safe spaces and communities for the vulnerable, where predators will not feel safe to abuse. Maureen has an MLS focused on research skills and instruction. As a communication expert, Maureen is a writer, speaker, and instructor. Her writings about abuse dynamics have been featured online in magazines and blogs including Christianity Today, CT’s Leadership Journal, Converge Media, Christ and Pop Culture, and The Institute for Collective Trauma and Growth. She has spoken about abuse for years in a variety of venues, including the radio show The Ride Home with John and Kathy, the OneVoice podcast, and Courage 365 Conversations. Maureen’s instruction includes over a decade of teaching research, writing, and critical thinking skills to students at a Christian college.  

Maureen became interested in researching abuse dynamics over twenty years ago after a relative, a child, disclosed that Maureen’s then-husband had been sexually abusing her for years. Her relationships with abusers like her ex-husband, combined with her decades of research provide Maureen with a unique perspective on predators and how they are not monsters out there, but loved ones, deceptive and dangerous, within our churches, communities, and homes. She is excited to be part of the GRACE team and to help equip Christians to prevent and respond to abuse.

Jessa Godek, BA

Resource and Operations Manager

Jessa Godek has been with GRACE since 2021 and served as a research intern and investigations assistant before taking up her current role. She is currently pursuing a masters degree at Duke Divinity School and has spoken professionally on abusive uses of Scripture and the positive role Scripture can play in abuse prevention in faith communities. She lives in the Carolinas.

Jacquelynn M. Dyer, MPNA

Executive Assistant

Jacquelynn Dyer is a graduate of Metro State University (MN) where she earned her Master’s of Public and Nonprofit Administration. She has over 10 years of experience working as an administrative assistant in nonprofits and higher education. Jacque has been working for GRACE since 2021.

Jacque is a Minnesota native but currently resides in Arizona with her husband and four children.

Meredith Craigo, BA

Administrative Assistant for Institutional Response

Meredith Craigo received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Marketing) from Marshall University in 2006.   Meredith has worked in children's ministry for 10 years and currently serves in her church as the Children’s Ministry Coordinator.  She has previously worked as a victim advocate with the Prosecuting Attorney’s office in West Virginia.  With her knowledge and experience, she is a great addition to the Institutional Response team as Administrative Assistant.   She is excited to be part of the GRACE team.  

Meredith lives in West Virginia with her husband and three children.  She loves to volunteer her time helping her community, church, and children’s schools.  Meredith truly has a heart for children and loves working with them.

Suzie Wellin, M.Ed.

Administrative Assistant for Safeguarding

Suzie Wellin earned her Master’s of Education from the University of Lynchburg and comes to GRACE with a passion to create a positive impact in organizations and in people’s lives. She has administrative experience working directly with multiple levels of institutional leadership and administration and through her work has become passionate about supporting leadership in process development and implementation, strategic planning, and fostering organizational wellness. Suzie applies her skills and knowledge to provide direct and impactful support to GRACE's Safeguarding Initiative team.

Suzie lives in Virginia with her husband and two dogs.