Joanne Abrams

Joanne Abrams is a retired K-12 school counselor, survivor advocate, and daughter of NC S.E.S.A.M.E.’s founder, Mary Ann Werner.

As a sibling to survivors, Joanne knows firsthand the long-term effects of educator sexual abuse on the entire family system. During the early 1990s, Joanne was witness to her parents’ tireless efforts to hold the abuser accountable and their attempts to introduce district prevention policies.

NC S.E.S.A.M.E was born in her family’s home in upstate New York when Mary Ann started connecting with survivors and seeing the need to advocate for policy change through legislative action. When New York State passed the Child Victims Act (CVA) in 2019, extending the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse survivors and allowing survivors over 55 a one-year window to file civil lawsuits, one of Mary Ann’s primary goals of extending the statute of limitations was finally realized.

Joanne had a 20-year career as a school counselor in southern Maine, where she delivered child abuse prevention curriculum through classroom lessons and in partnership with local sexual assault prevention agencies. As a retired educator, Joanne is honored to bring her professional knowledge and her lived experience to the NC S.E.S.A.M.E. Board of Directors. Joanne and her husband live in Portland, Maine. They are the parents of three adult children and four grandchildren.