Exploring new resources and support systems for students, faculty and staff on a college campus is crucial to creating a community where all feel valued and safe. At Bentley, there’s been no shortage of new initiatives launched over the course of the past year to do just that. From new roles supporting first-generation student career success to an expansion of equity and accountability resources, Bentley has taken important steps to build on existing systems of support to best serve the campus population.

As of last semester, you can add Program Director of Sexual Assault Resources and Advocacy Jessica Teperow to that growing list. Though she first stepped foot on campus as a full-time staff member last September, Jessica is no stranger to campus, having brought with her years of experience collaborating closely with Bentley at her former workplace, the Waltham-based organization REACH Beyond Domestic Violence.  

“I started officially on Sept. 1, but I've been working with Bentley for several years,” said Jessica. “It has been a really great experience to start in a new position and work in higher education for the first time, in a place that feels really familiar to me, and to work with colleagues that I admire and respect.”

As the director of prevention programs at REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, Jessica was first brought to campus an external partner to help bolster Bentley’s Title IX resources and response measures. Over the course of her work within the community, Jessica has led listening sessions with students, facilitated trauma-informed training for faculty and staff, and met with student groups including Athletics, RAs and the Relationship + Sexual Violence Prevention Educators (RSVPs) on issues of sexual assault and domestic violence prevention.

Over the last few years, Jessica hosted trainings with faculty and staff members to discuss Title IX and the role that all can play in identifying and supporting students in need. “Those workshops were aimed at strengthening the university’s internal ability to do this important work,” explained Jessica. “And as much as we at REACH appreciated working together as an external partner, I really wanted to make sure that we were supporting the community to develop its own internal capacity to do this work and to do it sustainably.”

When she announced her plans to move on from REACH Beyond Domestic Violence last spring, the possibility of becoming an internal support resource for the work that she had been doing within our community presented Jessica with a unique opportunity. “The first few months at Bentley last fall were really an exciting transition to working here full time, and the work I am doing now is building upon a really strong foundation.”

In addition to her extensive experience with REACH and our community, Jessica brought with her to Bentley more than 20 years of experience supporting domestic violence and sexual assault prevention measures, including in her experience as student-leader. As a first-year student, Jessica was an active advocate in educating her campus community about sexual assault education and prevention, hosting “take back the night” events, meeting with Greek Life and Athletics regularly and collaborating with her university’s chief of police.

“The conversation about campus sexual assault and the laws have changed a lot since then,” said Jessica. “Most universities in the early 2000s, when you looked at the annual number of reports of sexual assault were usually hovering between zero and one. The chief of police had the awareness to tell me that, ‘if we do our prevention work well, it'll look like the problems are getting worse, because we'll see those numbers increase.’ But it's actually indicative of a system that students trust and feel like they can come forward and can get help and support.”

That lesson is one that Jessica has kept with her throughout her career, and that she’ll be mindful of as she continues to support the campus community. “While it's great that there are so many amazing community resources like REACH and the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center in the area, being able to have a person within the community who is confidential like myself — who specializes in this specific area — is so important.”

While supporting and educating students is central to Jessica’s role on campus, she wants to be sure that faculty and staff know that she’s here to serve as a resource for them, too. She looks forward to building on her previous work from the outside looking in and what she accomplished last semester. “It’s a huge priority for me that we continue to support faculty and staff,” said Jessica. “I’ve had faculty and staff members reach out or refer a student to me in the past, and one of the things I always want to do when someone reaches out is also to offer support to them, because hearing a disclosure is really impactful. I think it's important to be explicit in saying that I can be a resource to faculty and staff as well. I’m housed in Student Affairs, but all of our work on campus is interconnected.”

Outside of her commitments to providing instrumental support for the campus community at Bentley, Jessica keeps busy by staying active through running, weightlifting and doing yoga, as well as keeping up with her five-year-old daughter, who started kindergarten the same day Jessica started at Bentley. She remarked that, “we had our first day of school together.”

Staying active has helped Jessica maintain a sustainable approach to her work, too. “When I'm hearing stories, being able to hold the heart of those experiences and do so in a sustainable way that emphasizes selfcare is important,” she said. “I'll often do a loop on campus in between meetings or any opportunity I have. I love walking meetings as well, so I often use those as an opportunity to engage with folks who are looking for different ways to connect, even now when it's winter in New England.”

Keep an eye out for more news and updates from Jessica as she continues to provide new resources and support systems for students, faculty and staff here at Bentley. In the meantime, she can be reached by email at jteperow@bentley.edu.

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