Every year, at our Zero Tolerance Benefit, Sanctuary for Families honors those who have significantly contributed to the movement to end gender-based violence. This year, we are thrilled to present the 2025 Zero Tolerance Award to Katharine Bieber Ogg, Vice President & Secretary of Sanctuary Board of Directors.

INTRODUCING KATE

Katharine Bieber Ogg is a non-practicing attorney and a longtime champion of Sanctuary’s work.

For over 20 years Kate has brought compassion, energy, and wisdom to all that she does on behalf of survivors. She first got involved as a law school student in 2003 through Sanctuary’s Courtroom Advocates Project, an initiative that connects survivors with trained law school advocates who assist with the filing of family offense petitions.  Since 2009, she participated in Sanctuary’s Adopt-a-Family program, providing holiday gifts directly to Sanctuary’s neediest clients.  In 2014, she became a volunteer in Sanctuary’s Development Department, traveling to their office twice weekly to help organize events, do research, and thank supporters. To recognize her amazing contributions, she was honored at Sanctuary’s 2016 Pillars of Change volunteer event.

In 2016, Kate joined Sanctuary’s Board of Directors and quickly became a leader, serving as a Vice President and the Secretary of the Board.  She also served on multiple committees, including the Development Committee (as co-chair for five years), the Nominating Committee (as co-chair for three years), and the Executive Committee.  She has traveled to Albany to join our advocacy efforts and participated in countless Family Council events. Kate brings her passion and commitment to Sanctuary’s mission to all that she does.

Kate received her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and was admitted to the bar in both New York and Connecticut, working in the area of family law before leaving practice. She lives with her husband, Ryan, and their three children in Brooklyn.

Join us for our Zero Tolerance Benefit on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, to honor survivors of gender violence and pay tribute to Kate and three fellow inspirational leaders in this work.

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Every year, at our Zero Tolerance Benefit, Sanctuary for Families honors those who have significantly contributed to the movement to end gender-based violence. This year, we are thrilled to present the 2025 Zero Tolerance Award to Stacey J. Rappaport, Partner at Milbank LLP and member of Sanctuary’s Board of Directors.

INTRODUCING STACEY

Stacey J. Rappaport is a partner in Milbank’s Litigation & Arbitration Group in New York and a former member of the firm’s Global Executive Committee. Known for exceptional client service, versatility, and attention to detail, Stacey represents some of the nation’s leading financial services companies and their life insurance subsidiaries in class action and life settlement investor litigation. Stacey has been recognized in many industry publications, including Chambers and Benchmark Litigation. She has twice been honored as Euromoney Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyer of the Year and, for the past three years, she has been recognized in Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America.

Stacey has been a passionate advocate for the advancement of women for her entire career. In 2009, she launched Milbank’s Women’s Initiative and served as its first chair. She created and led several programs as a member of the New York City Bar Association Committee on Women in the Legal Profession. She currently serves on the board of UC Law San Francisco’s Equality Action Center, which seeks to advance gender, racial, and class equality in the workplace. Stacey is also an active alumna of Fordham Law School, where she serves on the Dean’s Planning Council, the board of the Fordham Law Alumni Association, and the board of Lincoln Square Legal Services, Inc. – Fordham’s faculty/student law clinic. In 2019, she received Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice “Champion of Justice” Award.

Stacey has taken on some of Sanctuary’s most challenging pro bono cases, including a case that she recently won before the New York Court of Appeals. Last year, her team won Sanctuary’s Above & Beyond Pro Bono Achievement Award for that matter, securing a divorce for a survivor after an arduous four-year litigation battle. She has also represented Sanctuary and partner organizations on several amicus briefs involving technology-related abuse, including in cases against Backpage and Grindr.

Stacey joined Sanctuary’s Board in 2016, serving as a member of the Development Committee and the Advocacy Committee, which she has co-chaired for the past four years.  She has been instrumental in increasing Board support for Sanctuary’s pressing legislative priorities and program initiatives.

Stacey and her husband, Craig, live with their two children in New Jersey.

Join us for our Zero Tolerance Benefit on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, to honor survivors of gender violence and pay tribute to Stacey and three fellow inspirational leaders in this work.

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Every year, at our Zero Tolerance Benefit, Sanctuary for Families honors those who have significantly contributed to the movement to end gender-based violence. This year, we are thrilled to present the 2025 Zero Tolerance Award to Anastasia Danias Schmidt, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer at Major League Soccer.

INTRODUCING ANASTASIA

Anastasia Danias Schmidt is Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer for Major League Soccer (MLS) and its affiliates, where she is a key member of the League’s strategic and operational leadership team. She oversees all aspects of legal and business affairs, including league expansion, team acquisition, sale and investment, corporate governance, compliance, privacy, policy, litigation, labor, intellectual property, and commercial transactions.

Prior to joining MLS, Anastasia served as Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel for the National Football League (NFL), where she led the league’s litigation docket, advised on key intellectual property, policy, and legislative priorities, and counseled club and league executives on key business initiatives.

Anastasia first got involved with Sanctuary in 2018 when she joined our Family Council (FC), which she now co-chairs. With other FC members, and often with her family in tow, she is actively involved in hosting the annual Thanksgiving celebration for our clients, creating Mother’s and Father’s Day Care packages for adults living in our shelters, organizing clothing drives for infants and children, and planning other kid-friendly events. Prior to joining MLS, she helped introduce the NFL to Sanctuary’s work and encouraged both its financial and in-kind support. At MLS, she spearheaded the organization’s support of Zero Tolerance and coordinated the delivery of dozens of soccer balls to Camp HOPE-NYC, Sanctuary’s week-long sleepaway camp in upstate New York for children who are survivors of domestic violence. At Camp HOPE 2023 and 2024, Anastasia organized special soccer clinics led by three MLS coaches and former players. The clinic has become a highlight of the week for many campers, and they especially love taking home signed soccer balls.

Anastasia lives with her husband, Paul, and children, Eleni, Alex, and Hudson, in New York City, and is a proud stepmom to Will, Finn, and Walker.

Join us for our Zero Tolerance Benefit on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, to honor survivors of gender violence and pay tribute to Anastasia and three fellow inspirational leaders in this work.

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Every year, at our Zero Tolerance Benefit, Sanctuary for Families honors those who have significantly contributed to the movement to end gender-based violence. This year, we are thrilled to present the 2024 Zero Tolerance Award to Denis McInerney, Senior Counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

INTRODUCING DENIS

Denis McInerney is a Senior Counsel in Davis Polk’s Litigation Department. In addition to his 27 years in Davis Polk’s White Collar Defense & Investigations Group, he has held a wide variety of positions as a federal prosecutor, including Chief of the Fraud Section and Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and Associate Independent Counsel in the Whitewater Investigation.

Mr. McInerney first joined Sanctuary’s Board in 2005 and served until 2010, when he stepped down to return to the Department of Justice. Upon his return to Davis Polk, he re-joined Sanctuary’s Board in 2015. Having served on a variety of Sanctuary Board committees over the years, including Audit (Chair), Development (Co-Chair), Finance, Nominating, and Program, Mr. McInerney became President of the Board in 2019. In addition to his work on Sanctuary’s Board, Mr. McInerney has devoted much of his time since 2019 representing incarcerated domestic violence survivors in clemency petitions and applications to be resentenced pursuant to New York’s newly enacted Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, often in partnership with Sanctuary’s Incarcerated Gender Violence Survivor’s Initiative. To date, Mr. McInerney and his teams have succeeded in approximately 15 of these cases, often after having persuaded the prosecutors to join in the applications. Mr. McInerney views these cases, in which he and his teams have had the privilege of greeting their clients as they walk out of prison as a result of the teams’ efforts, as the most moving and meaningful cases of his career.