Our Leadership

Share This

Executive Leadership Team

Ariel Zwang
Chief Executive Officer
Ariel Zwang has been the CEO of Safe Horizon, the nation’s leading provider of services to victims of crime and abuse, since July 2008. Each year, Safe Horizon provides support to hundreds of thousands of people who have endured domestic violence, child abuse, human trafficking, and many other forms of victimization. She was previously the Executive Director of New York Cares, which, under her leadership, became the city’s largest volunteering organization, deploying 40,000 volunteers annually. President Bill Clinton appointed Ms. Zwang as a White House Fellow during 1999-2000. Her previous experience includes serving as a Vice President of the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation in the South Bronx, and as Special Assistant to the Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education. She began her career at Morgan Stanley and the Boston Consulting Group.  Ms. Zwang is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.

Liz Roberts
Chief Program Officer
Liz Roberts joined Safe Horizon as Chief Program Officer in November 2010. Ms. Roberts was previously with the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, as Director of Domestic Violence Policy and Planning, Assistant Commissioner for Child and Family Health, and Deputy Commissioner for Family Support Services. Prior to joining the ACS, Ms. Roberts worked as a clinician and trainer for the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center, a nationally recognized clinical program for young children who had witnessed violence. At the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Ms. Roberts trained more than a thousand health care providers to identify and respond to intimate partner violence. Ms. Roberts received a BA in Social Anthropology from Harvard/Radcliffe and a MSW from Salem State College.

Emily Sachs
Chief Financial & Administrative Officer
Emily Sachs joined Safe Horizon in 2008 and is responsible the Finance, IT, Human Resources, and Facilities departments. Before joining Safe Horizon, Ms. Sachs filled a similar role for the Spence-Chapin adoption agency. Ms. Sachs has previously worked in leadership positions in various businesses and nonprofit organizations, including running her own consulting firm for eight years. She has been involved in evaluating and implementing many information technology projects and well as several significant real estate and construction projects. Ms. Sachs has a BA in English from Yale and an MBA from Harvard.

Alesia Soltanpanah
Chief Development Officer
Alesia Soltanpanah is responsible for leading a team of dedicated fundraising professionals at Safe Horizon so that programs can continue to thrive and help survivors of violence. Ms. Soltanpanah has over 10 years of fundraising experience. She was most recently the Vice President of Development and Marketing at Bideawee and also led fundraising programs at North Shore Animal League and Save the Children. Ms. Soltanpanah has an MBA in Management from Golden Gate University and a BA in Political Science from California State University, Sacramento.

Rita Garza
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Rita Garza joined Safe Horizon as the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer in March 2011.  Prior to joining Safe Horizon, Ms. Garza was the Senior Director of Corporate Communications for the United States Tennis Association, managing the communications strategies for the US Open, Diversity, the USTA Serves foundation, as well as the community tennis programs.  Ms. Garza has previously held key roles in various non-profit organizations in Texas, such as the American Heart Association, AIDS Services of Austin and the Austin Rape Crisis Center.  She received her BA in public relations from the University of Texas at Austin and, as a National Urban Fellow, received a master’s degree in public administration with honors from Bernard Baruch College.

Michael Williams
General Counsel
Michael Williams joined Safe Horizon as General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the Board of Directors in 2007. As General Counsel, Mr. Williams represents the legal interests of Safe Horizon, including contractual, real estate, policy, litigation, regulatory, employment, not-for-profit governance, and tax-related matters. He also manages the organization’s relationships with outside counsel. Prior to joining Safe Horizon, Mr. Williams served as Deputy General Counsel of Phoenix House Foundation and as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the New York City Law Department. Mr. Williams is admitted to practice in the State of New York and is a graduate of Tufts University and Brooklyn Law School.