Carol Olson
Assistant Director, Injury and Violence Prevention Program
Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems
Carol has a varied career in art therapy, trauma program development, and radio. Carol has worked in leadership roles extensively in anti-violence work since 2006, currently managing the Project Empower in the Injury and Violence Prevention Program at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems. Formerly she was in leadership in agencies focused on sexual and domestic violence: as Executive Director in regional centers: Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault and the James House; as Development Director at the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, a statewide coalition and Black Women’s Blueprint, a national agency. Carol participates in social justice cause work as well, including service on the Racial Justice Taskforce of the Action Alliance dedicated to developing non-racist agencies within our cause area. She also founded the Virginia Art Therapy Association and helped Virginia achieve licensure for Art Therapy in 2020.
Carol has a Bachelor in Science in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master’s in Art Therapy from George Washington University, and a Masters in Counseling from Liberty University. She is a licensed professional counselor (LPC), a board-certified art therapist (ATR-BC) and a certified substance abuse counselor (CSAC). She has worked on various projects for community services boards and private practice. While Carol has always worked with sexual and interpersonal trauma, she began to specialize more in this area over the years. She has developed an interest in community-led independent radio and served as President of the Virginia Center for Public Press from 2015-2020 and hosts several radio shows The V Word, an anti-violence show, Women and Politics, Richmond Recovers, and specials on local news events.