Liza Nichols (right) is giving up her position as executive director of Safe Harbors to become the Eastern Oregon director of the SMART Reader program. Nichols is succeeded at Safe Harbors by Wendy McDaniel (left). The two women are pictured at Safe Harbors' shelter for battered women. Photo by Rick Swart

When Liza Nichols went to work for Safe Harbors 10 years ago Wallowa County was still in the dark ages about domestic violence.

Police officers were reluctant to arrest men who beat their wives.

They told Nichols they didn’t really believe in enforcing laws against domestic violence because couples who had those kinds of problems “were together because they wanted to be together.”

Public perceptions about domestic violence have changed dramatically since Nichols took over as executive director of Safe Harbors, a nonprofit organization that provides all kinds of services to battered women. Nichols recently resigned from her position at Safe Harbors to accept a position as the Eastern Oregon director of the SMART Reader program operated by the Oregon Children’s Foundation.

“It’s been a good ride,” Nichols said of her tenure as Wallowa County’s chief advocate for domestic abuse victims. “We’ve come a long way.”

Under Nichols’ leadership Safe Harbors has grown from an all-volunteer work force with a budget of just $12 a year to seven paid staff members and a budget of more than $200,000. Once housed in a cramped office space in the basement of the Wallowa County courthouse, the program now occupies a new building at the Wallowa County fairgrounds, including a 12-bed shelter where victims of domestic violence can live until they have a chance to sort out their problems at home.

Safe Harbors is now considered a leader in domestic violence field. In 2000, Nichols was one of only 14 people nationwide to receive the Sunshine Peace Award, created by philanthropist Doris B. Bryant to honor workers in the domestic violence field. She is also a curriculum award winner and has served as an instructor for the Oregon Police Academy. Safe Harbors also has the distinction of being the only domestic violence program in the state with a Sexual Assault Response Team, which is comprised of a specially trained nurse, police officer and victim’s advocate who provide immediate support to victims of domestic violence. Safe Harbors is also the only shelter in the state which offers a 52-week intervention program designed for the perpetrators of domestic violence.

Nichols career in fighting domestic violence will officially come to a close next week when the Governor’s Council on Domestic Violence convenes in Wallowa County for the first time since it was created by executive order in 1996. Nichols has served as a member of the board for the past three years and will give up her position when it expires in October. The council is scheduled to conduct a public hearing at the Joseph Civic Center on Friday, Aug. 8 from 9 a.m. until noon. Nichols explained that members of the council like to hear from victims of domestic violence about what is working and what isn’t working in their communities as well as from people who work in the domestic abuse field. Safe Harbors will host lunch following the hearing.

In her new post, Nichols will be responsible for developing SMART Reader program at schools in 10 Eastern Oregon counties. The SMART acronym stands for “Start Making a Reader Today” and utilizes adult volunteers to read to young children in schools. Nichols helped start a SMART program in Wallowa County two years ago. It was such a success that the Oregon Children’s Foundation, started by former goernor Neil Goldschmidt, recruited her to extend it throughout the region.

“Dreams do come true,” she said of the new assignment, which will allow her to work out of her home.

Succeeding Nichols as director of Safe Harbors is Wendy McDaniel. McDaniel is a Wallowa native with a degree in human services from the University of Oregon. She has been working with the Safe Harbors for the past year as an administrative assistant and victim’s advocate.

“I’m really excited,” said McDaniel, who enjoys teaching women’s empowerment classes as well as classes on safe dating, geared for teenagers. “I have a great staff to work with.”

McDaniel said she sees her new position as an opportunity to help Wallowa County families and children.

“I believe everybody has the right to be safe,” she said. “We live in a sheltered world up here and I don’t think our kids realize the dangers that everybody faces.”