Rebecca Fein, Executive Director of Verity
Our guest speaker on January 29, 2026, was Rebecca Fein, the Executive Director of Verity, Sonoma County’s sexual assault and human trafficking prevention, intervention, and healing center. Becky has a degree in sociology from UC Davis and a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University. She joined Verity as a volunteer sexual assault crisis counselor in 2009.
Verity started up in 1974 with the goal of providing comprehensive services to sexual assault victims and to seeking its eradication through education. Verity has gone through a series of name changes over the years, starting as “Sonoma County Rape Crisis Center” and later changing its name to “Women Against Rape” and “United Against Sexual Assault” until finally becoming Verity in 2011. Verity’s Prevention Education Program uses classroom and community presentations to increase awareness of sexual assault, sexual harassment, human trafficking, and child abuse. Children of all ages learn age-appropriate tools to help guide them through issues related to healthy relationships, grooming, child exploitation, and trafficking. Becky mentioned Verity’s efforts to combat Sonoma County trafficking and illicit massage problems. Verity works with law enforcement on the massage problem and noted that there are new ordinances in Sonoma County dealing with those problems, making Sonoma County on the cutting edge on this issue. Verity’s Intervention Team services include a 24/7/365 crisis and support line, advocacy for victims, assisting victims in reporting assault, in-person accompaniments at court hearings and forensic exams, and services for survivors. Sonoma County law enforcement organizations are required to notify Verity when a survivor reports sexual assault. Crisis support includes close cooperation with the Family Justice Center, of which Verity is a founding partner. Through Verity and the Justice Center, survivors can obtain a wide variety of support, including housing and financial support. Verity also helps provide group therapy.
Verity’s impact has been significant. It has presented to 1,421 elementary school students, 3,270 middle and high school students, and has interacted with 9,775 community members. It has also given tailored advocacy services to 1,216 clients, answered 1,149 crisis line calls, and given 1,033 therapy sessions. Verity receives 70-80% of its funding from the California Office of Emergency Services; some of that funding is from the federal government. Becky noted that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Verity is actively seeking donations and volunteers for its programs.
Many thanks to Becky for the excellent presentation. We look forward to many future collaborations between Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary and Verity.
