Arline L. Hillestad, Executive Director

A graduate of the University of Maine in 1972, Ms. Hillestad moved to Wisconsin in 1973, raising and enjoying her two daughters. She began working in the area of domestic violence and sexual assault in 1978, taking the position in 1984 as the first Executive Director of the Family Center, Inc., Wisconsin Rapids, WI. As Executive Director of the Family Center for the past 24 years, Hillestad has been actively involved in developing and implementing services to meet the complex needs of domestic abuse victims. Services range from outreach in the school systems for children affected by domestic violence to rural outreach to a supervised visitation/exchange center, along with specialized services for older victims and Hmong families.

Appointed to the Governor's Council on Domestic Violence in 1989, Arline has been active on the Council's Budget Committee, and the Access Committee which works to reach and serve diverse, underserved populations. For the past six years she has served as co-chair of the Governor's Council.  In addition, she currently serves on the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance Violence Against Women Act Advisory Council and the Wisconsin Refugee Strengthening Advisory Board. Active in the Wisconsin Rapids community, she is a member of Noon Rotary, South Wood County Non-Profit Council and a past member of her church council.

Arline is the recipient of the 1995 Department of Justice Victim Advocacy Award and the 2004 Department of Justice Award for outstanding work on behalf of domestic abuse victims. As a member of the Wood County Community response Team, she also shared in receiving the 1996 Wisconsin Governor Council on Domestic Justice Award.   In 2008 she received the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation Champions in Women’s Health/Domestic Abuse Award from Sue Ann Thompson and has been recognized by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence as one of 30 Change Makers in Wisconsin’s history of work on behalf of victims of domestic abuse.