Common Threads Project announces Vesna Golic as new Executive Director
As I step into the role of Executive Director, I am inspired by Common Threads Project’s innovative approach, which brings life-changing psychotherapy to people who experience sexual and gender based-violence.
- Vesna Golic, Executive Director, pictured alongside founding director Rachel Cohen
Common Threads Project is excited to announce Vesna Golic, as our new Executive Director. Under Vesna’s leadership, CTP will continue to help individuals and communities heal from the enduring psychological effects of sexual and gender-based violence in the context of war and displacement. Vesna will work directly with our committed Board of Directors, staff, participants in our healing circles and community partners to continue building access to deep trauma healing.
Vesna, who previously served as CTP’s Deputy Director and Senior Advisor for Strategy, brings over 25 years experience in implementing community approaches for assisting refugees, from grass-root level to international programs.
As I step into the role of executive director, I am inspired by Common Threads Project’s innovative approach, which brings life-changing psychotherapy to people who experience sexual and gender based-violence. This vital organization positively answers the fundamental question that follows any occurrence of violence - ‘Is healing and reclaiming agency in one's own life possible for survivors?’
Common Threads Project’s resounding ‘yes’ fuels me with hope and passion to be a part of this mission. I am very proud and honored to be part of this organization and look forward to continuing its incredible legacy, which contributes so much to the field of trauma healing.
Vesna Golic, Incoming Executive Director
The transition comes as Founder and previous Executive Director Rachel Cohen, PhD steps into the new position of Clinical Director.
After more than 10 years as Executive Director of CTP, I am looking forward to this new role. I will focus entirely on programmatic activities and clinical issues to further advance excellence of our programs. I have had the great pleasure of working with Vesna for four years and have come to admire her leadership and executive skills, her steadiness, her wisdom, and her dedication to our mission. I simply can't imagine anyone else more perfect for this position.
Under Rachel’s leadership, Common Threads Project grew from its initial 2012 pilot in Ecuador. She led CTP’s clinical team in developing a robust trauma healing methodology and training nearly 200 local clinicians to adapt and implement it in 6 countries across 5 continents. In this time, our work has reached 800 survivors of gender-based violence and counting—including women, girls, and members of the queer community.
Rachel Cohen, Founder and Clinical Director
Vesna joined Common Threads Project in 2020, as one of the creators of the exhibit The Fabric of Healing. She later worked as a Senior Advisor for Strategy, then Deputy Director.
The Board-led selection process was helmed by co-presidents Ann Blume and Mary Matheron.
Vesna brings a wealth of experience in leading non-profit organizations. For the past four years Vesna has provided exemplary service to Common Threads Project. She embodies the values that drive Common Threads Project and is keenly aware of the urgency for the transformative healing that this organization provides. We are indeed fortunate to welcome someone who possesses a profound passion for our organization and exceptional executive skills as our new Executive Director.
“At the heart of CTP’s work and mission are its remarkable partner organizations whose work I admire. The resilience of women in healing circles empowers me, as a woman and as a professional, in this work.”
- Vesna, alongside Ecuador partners Amparo Peñaherrera Sandoval and Carolina Salome Enriquez
Prior to joining Common Threads Project, Vesna worked in leadership roles in NGO and capacity development. She has been involved in assisting refugees since 1995 when she coordinated humanitarian aid and psychosocial programs in former Yugoslavia. She served as a Director of Group 484, an NGO in Serbia that promotes the rights of forcibly displaced people. In Australia she led community development programs at Companion House for Survivors of Torture and Trauma with resettled refugees and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia. She also formed and led capacity development programs for NGOs serving refugees in Malaysia in association with UNHCR. Vesna has a master's degree in International Development from The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria, Australia.
As founding director, Rachel Cohen has mobilized clinicians, community organizations and supporters around the world with her courageous vision. Over the past four years, I, too, have been inspired by her leadership and the very positive working relationship we have developed over this period.
At the heart of CTP’s work and mission are its remarkable partner organizations whose work I admire. The resilience of women in healing circles empowers me, as a woman and as a professional, in this work.
About Common Threads Project
Founded in 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland, Common Threads Project helps individuals and communities heal from the enduring psychological effects of sexual and gender-based violence in the context of war and displacement by building local capacity through training, launching scalable interventions, and furthering the field of trauma therapy. Our approach blends the tradition of story cloth making with evidenced-based trauma therapy, including psycho-education, somatic work, coping skills, and art therapy activities.
You can learn more in this video or by visiting our website (www.commonthreadsproject.org)