Refuge for Women Kentucky is excited to announce that Deanna Lynn Spangler is their new Executive Director!
She was the first Refuge for Women graduate to complete the one year program. This was back when there was one sweet house with 8 beds for exploited and trafficked women on a farm in KY. Since graduating the program in 2012, she has earned a Master’s Degree from Asbury Theological Seminary and has been a speaker for Fight the New Drug, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance and various podcasts ranging from theology to trauma and trafficking. She authored two books herself; Purchased: Leaving the Sex Trade and Integrated: Living Beyond the Sex Trade hoping to help both women with similar experiences and those who are called to walk alongside women overcoming the enormous hurts that they are coming into our program with.
There are 460 women in underground advertised sex work just within 50 miles from our Kentucky location! 460! God has so much more planned for women currently being exploited in our area so we will be ready with next steps. The Kentucky location is sitting in a strong position to rebuild and grow again. The Transitional Living home continues to be solid and the residents are all anticipating their move into the new building units before the end of this year. Plans and ideas on reopening the Long-term home continue to be explored.
The Kentucky board of directors is expanding and shifting some of its focus onto the Louisville area. We are hopeful to have a plan in place soon for Emergency Housing.
Partnerships, both new and old, are a vital part of our ministry. We can’t thank you, our partners, enough for your years of commitment and support of our work. Please join us in celebrating this new season and in welcoming Deanna to the Refuge for Women team!
Meet Deanna
Deanna and her husband Matt met in Seminary in 2014 and have been married for 7 years. They have spunky twin girls Abby Jean and Carly Lynn and a giant fur baby they call Buddy. Their family attends Southland Christian Church where she serves in the nursery. Deanna is a leader in Bible Study Fellowship and enjoys helping people stay in awe of the God who reveals Himself to us through the Bible. For fun their family likes to find clues and solve mysteries at Countdown Games, visit zoos, alpaca ranches, and they eagerly look forward to future Disney trips.
Most recently, Deanna was the Director of Operations at The Word Is Out, a global non profit that seeks to help people become better readers of the Bible. In this new role at Refuge for Women Deanna is thrilled to bring her whole, authentic self and a wide range of skills and experience to serve in the very place she once called home. She is passionate about helping others to not just survive but to thrive while moving past the trauma towards a life of triumph. In the fight against trafficking and exploitation she sets her gaze on cultivating practices and an environment that produces human flourishing.
A Note From Deanna
Stepping into the position of Executive Director for Refuge for Women is a dream come true!
In my twelve years since completing the Refuge for Women program, I have thoroughly enjoyed discovering who God specifically created me to be for the sake of others. I have neglected no part of my story while also not letting one chapter identify me. I have been involved with Refuge for Women and like minded organizations this whole time. I am curious to see what God can do now that I am taking everything I have learned in life to help women achieve their fullest healing and potential. The best way I can say thank you to God and the many who believed my pain and stepped into it is by carrying this legacy of faith to the next person who is ready to get well.
~Deanna
