9/11 Living Memorial
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VOICES Brochure
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9/11 Living Memorial Brochure
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Mary Fetchet, LCSW, is the Founding Director and driving force behind VOICES of September 11th. A professional social worker and former educator, Ms. Fetchet co-founded the 9/11 advocacy organization in 2001 following the death of her 24-year-old son, Brad, in the attacks on the World Trade Center. With offices in New Canaan, CT, New Brunswick, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., VOICES has grown to over 11,000 members living in the US and abroad.
Ms. Fetchet's mission: to create an organization that provides information and a wide range of support services that address the long-term, intergenerational needs of the families of the nearly 3,000 victims, rescue workers and survivors, while promoting awareness for prevention, preparedness and response related to terrorism. Her firsthand experience as a social worker and victims' advocate has uniquely influenced the organizations ability to anticipate the needs of the 9/11 community and develop programs that promote resiliency.
Committed to commemorating the lives and stories of 9/11, VOICES launched the 9/11 Living Memorial Project in 2006. Under Ms. Fetchet's guidance VOICES created an innovative approach to assisting families through the emotional but healing process of honoring the nearly 3,000 lives lost and documenting the personal stories of survivors at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center and Shanksville, PA. Today, the Living Memorial is an extensive collection of over 60,000 photographs, written materials and personal keepsakes.
Ms. Fetchet has achieved significant national praise for her advocacy work, promoting best practices that address the long-term issues of victim's families and others impacted by traumatic events. She campaigned for the creation of the independent 9/11 Commission and continues to promote the implementation of the Commission's recommendations for government reforms. Ms. Fetchet testified before the 9/11 Commission, and the United States Senate and House of Representatives on five occasions.
Ms. Fetchet has served on a number of advisory boards including: The Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Independent Commission, the National Homeland Defense Foundation, the National Traumatic Stress Network, the Coalition of 9/11 Families, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) Family Advisory Committee, Columbia's WTC Evacuation Study as well as the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Homeland Security Advisory System.
Ms. Fetchet's work has brought her substantial recognition including the National Justice Award in 2003, the 'Connecticut Hero' award by Senator Joseph Lieberman in 2004, Red Cross Award and Rotary Foundation Paul Harris Fellowship in 2005 and "Connecticut's Most Uncommon Women" Award in 2006. Ms. Fetchet was named ABC News Person of the Year in 2004, featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams Making a Difference and recognized as a Hometown Heroes on DIRECTTV Hometown Heroes Production. Ms. Fetchet has made countless appearances on national television programs, and frequently contributes to print and radio.
A graduate of Columbia University with an M.S. degree, Ms. Fetchet worked as a clinical social worker at Bridges, an outpatient mental health clinic in Milford, CT. She lives in New Canaan with her husband Frank, and has two surviving sons, Chris, age 23, and Wes, age 30.
Frank Fetchet is a full time volunteer at Voices of September 11th assisting with the non-profit's strategy and business development. He retired from IBM in June 2005 after a career of nearly 33 years. Frank held a variety of sales and executive management positions while at IBM. He began as a sales trainee in Miami, Florida in 1972 and advanced through several staff and line positions. These included Marketing Manager in Orlando, Branch Manager in Wichita, KS, Regional Manager in Minneapolis and AA to the IBM Chairman of World Trade.
In addition, he held a variety of executive positions in IBM headquarters in the tri-state area including Global Client Director and Vice President, Alliances in the Computer Services Industry. Following his retirement from IBM, he established Fetchet Consulting LLC which helps firms in their route-to-market and distribution strategies.
Frank resides in New Canaan, CT with Mary, his wife of 38 years. He graduated from Youngstown State University in 1972 and was an IBM Certified Client Director, having participated in the Harvard Executive Program in 2003. Frank and Mary have three sons, Wes 30 and Chris 23 - and Brad, who perished at the age of 24 on 9/11.
As Family Liaison and Project Manager for the 9/11 Living Memorial, Ms. Westfal works with those impacted by the attacks, helping them to conceptualize and organize content for their Living Memorial pages.
Through this process, Ms. Westfal, who has been working with VOICES since October 2001, provides families, rescue workers and survivors with information, insight and support as they go through the process of creating content for the 9/11 Living Memorial. She feels it is crucial to reach out to the victims' families both in the U.S. and worldwide and offer hope and support through the 9/11 Living Memorial project.
Formerly Ms. Westfal was an emergency room nurse with extensive experience working with individuals in crisis.
Prior to joining Voices in May 2004, Ms. Stotz counseled clients for several years who were in transition with stressful life events such as divorce, death, stress or loss in relationships, relocation, financial and family issues.
Her primary work at Voices focuses on providing phone and e-mail support for family members and survivors. Ms. Stotz also leads teleconferencing groups for family members and survivors. In addition, she locates appropriate groups for those affected by September 11th and does anxiety and depression screenings.
Holding a masters in counseling from Fairfield University, Ms. Stotz is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor. She is a member of the Connecticut Counseling Association and Chi Sigma Iota (an international honorary society for counselors).
Michelle Doherty is a clinical social worker who joined the VOICES team in June of 2006. She is responsible for facilitating teleconference support groups, providing individual support to those affiliated with the 9/11 community, and performing anxiety and depression screenings as needed. In addition, Michelle also provides referrals to the numerous resources available to those affected by the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Prior to joining the VOICES staff as a full time social worker, Michelle completed several social work internships within the health care field. Her most recent experience includes a social work internship at UMASS Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. There, she worked primarily in pediatric trauma and maternity. Michelle also has experience working with the elderly afflicted with various forms of dementia.
Michelle earned a Masters degree in Social work from Boston College where she concentrated in health and medical care. In addition, she received her Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She currently lives in Branford, Connecticut with her husband and son.
Sean joined the VOICES team in January, 2009. His primary responsibilities include basic web development, graphic/image editing, creating printed material and uploading information to the site, including creating family tribute pages for the Voices of September 11th Living Memorial.
Tom joined the VOICES team in May, 2006. His primary responsibilities include web development and VOICES' technical support. Tom is a native of Stamford, CT and an accomplished web designer.
Stephanie Landau is currently VOICES Program Manager and a valued member of the VOICES team.
Susan joined VOICES in October, 2010 as the Director of Communications. She is responsible for media relations as well as all other communications vehicles used by Voices of September 11th, including social media, e-newsletters, direct mail and the web site. She is the co-author (with Jean Garten) of the Always Remember Commemorative Book. She was honored to work with family members to create tributes to their loved ones in the book and is pleased that the tributes introduce readers to individuals lost on 9/11 using the words and photographs that mean the most to their family members, those who knew and loved them the best.
Prior to joining VOICES, Susan worked in communications for both public and private organizations. She began her career in Account Management in advertising – working on new product development for clients including Nabisco Brands, Proctor & Gamble, and Warner Lambert. Later, she brought her skills in public relations to assist in the creation of the Outback Teen Center and Parents Supporting the Arts, both in New Canaan, CT. For five years, she served as Chairman of the EMS Commission for the town of New Canaan.
Sheri Burkat joined VOICES in November, 2010. Sheri manages the New Brunswick, NJ office and provides direct services to survivors, families and first responders of 9/11 through support groups, Living Memorial workshops, case management, and community outreach.
A graduate from Rutgers University, Sheri is a Licensed Social Worker, a Disaster Response Crisis Counselor through the New Jersey Division of Mental Health Services, and a Lead Response Counselor for the Sussex County Traumatic Loss Coalition.
Following 9/11, Sheri provided mental health support to survivors within in her work community and obtained a grant to provide an after-school pycho-educational program to children impacted by 9/11. As a volunteer for the American Red Cross, Sheri has also provided mental health support to survivors of Hurricane Wilma.
Prior to her position at Voices, Sheri worked in a public school system as a Crisis Intervention Counselor.
Sheri lives in Morris County, New Jersey with her husband Chuck and their four pets.
Gale joined the VOICES team in April, 2012. She is currently Project Manager of VOICES' Department of Justice Grant, which studies the long term impact of mass violence on victims and identifies best practices in assisting these individuals. In this role, Gale oversees the research and writing of a resource kit for communities across the United States.
Prior to joining the VOICES staff, Gale held a variety of sales and management positions at IBM for 25 years and served the New Canaan community through extensive volunteer work. Previous work includes positions as President of Saxe Middle School PTC, President of the Outback Teen Center, and New Canaan CARES board member. Currently, Gale is a board member of Getabout Inc.
Cody has been a beloved member of the Fetchet Family and a valued member of the VOICES team since late 2001. Visitors to the VOICES office are greeted warmly by our canine morale officer. Cody enjoys having her belly scratched and picking up crumbs from the lunch area floor. Other favorite pastimes include supervising activity around the office and taking frequent breaks for relaxation and naps. She is named after Kodiak, Brad Fetchet's preferred brand of chewing tobacco.

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Checks should be sent to: VOICES of September 11th
161 Cherry St.
New Canaan, CT 06840
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