“Setting the Stage: An Intersectional Framework for Sexual Violence Prevention”
Pierre Berastaín Ojeda '10, M.Div. '14
Pierre R. Berastain is the Director of the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response at Harvard University where he leads and provides oversight of advocacy, education, and prevention services as well as support the coordination within OSAPR and throughout the University to address the needs of people who have experienced interpersonal harm. Prior to his role at Harvard, Pierre served as the Assistant Director of Innovation and Engagement at the National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities (NLN), the federally funded, Latino specific resource center for gender based violence in the United States. During his tenure, Pierre led multi-year federal grant programs under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Justice; partook on public policy initiatives with federal agencies; oversaw organizational strategic communications; and conducted trainings on sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking. He worked with federal agencies, college campuses and universities, domestic and sexual violence state coalitions, shelters, and community programs to infuse cultural competency on violence intervention and prevention initiatives. In previous roles, Pierre worked for Renewal House, a domestic violence shelter in Roxbury, Mass as the Restorative Justice Advocate, and served as the Director of Media Relations for the Hispanic Black Gay Coalition. He co-founded the Massachusetts Restorative Justice Collaborative and served as the Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender (GLBT) Domestic Violence Coalition. From 2012 to 2013, Pierre was a Fellow at the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's National People of Color Media Institute. His work has appeared in national and international publications and books, including the Huffington Post. He currently sits on the board of MERGE for Equality, an organization that works to engage men around violence prevention. He holds a Bachelor's in Social Anthropology and a minor in Ethnic Studies: Human Rights from Harvard College as well as a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School.Originally from Peru, Pierre immigrated to the United States with his family in 1998 and remained an undocumented immigrant for 14 years until he received DACA in 2012.