about pgf
Meet our Board of Directors
Ali Davis | Executive Director...........................................................[she/they]
This is Ali.
Artist. Activist. Childhood Torture Survivor.
It's me.
The short version of my story is that from the age of 6 months to approximately 19 years of age, I was a victim of childhood torture at the hands of one of my parents (more common than you may think!).
Over the years I have nearly lost my life countless times to the permanent mental and physical health issues I now experience as a result.
But I've also learned how to stubbornly survive, and open doors to survival for others in the process.
I am on a mission to secure humanitarian aid for survivors of non-war-related childhood torture in the United States.
Unfortunately, the United Nations has quite a few things on their plate, and hasn't responded to my Instagram tags with a thorough and immediate package of humanitarian aid (shocking!), so in the meantime, I'm creating the blueprints for the future that survivors like me deserve!
Violette Grey | Assistant Director
I am a 48 year old visual artist, writer, photographer with 38 years of experience.
Also professionally, I am a CNA, DSP, and SIAS/End-of-Life Doula.
I have multiple years experience in NPO governance in the fields of arts & legal human rights.
In my tenure as a gallerist, I have curated 43 gallery art shows in 4 cities and 2 states since 2007.
Personally I have had work in shows in Austin, LA, Portland, Covington, Cincinati, and have work in private collections around the PNW.
I am a rare bird - I am Autistic, was born Intersex, and am a survivor of NWRCT and CSA. I am a fierce advocate for human rights.
Nuriyah Salem | Administrative Director
Nuriyah is not a survivor of childhood torture. She considers herself an ally to the work and cause that is PGF. Her identity intersects many other underserved, overlooked, and invisible demographics.
She is here to hold space and to help PGF behind the scenes with accumulated skills she has picked up from her various hobbies, special interests, and hyperfixations, of which she spends a great deal of time working on as well.
She has chosen to not display a personal image at this time but to have the image of candles, to depict the space held for those who did not survive, and for the survivors that the work of PGF will reach and help go toward a path of thriving.
Olivia Wageman | Media Coordinator ......................... [any pronouns]
Olivia Wageman grew up in Minnesota, went to DePaul University in Chicago and got his Bachelor's in Journalism.
She recently moved to Denver, Colorado.
They deeply care about sharing delicate stories with the passion and dignity they deserve. Amplifying and connecting people's voices is their lifelong mission.
They are not a survivor of childhood torture, however, healing has been a full time job for the last 7 years.
Olivia loves movies, art, hiking, swimming, animals, and kids!
He is a poet, painter, collager, writer, and documentarian.
She is so grateful for the rich relationships she has with people all over the country.
Levi | Harm Reduction Program Director.........................
More than the dirt they buried me in.
I was tortured for the first decade of my life, and survived incest and other manifestations of sexual abuse.
However, survival is only half the battle, and the other half of my not-dying-somehow story is how I broke the cycle of self-destruction I adopted to feel in control during the trauma.
I hope to help survivors like me not only recover from the things they've seen, but also the roles they've needed to be and the things that happened along the way of that whole not-dying-thing not all of us get to see.
Statement of Purpose:
The Pretti Graffiti Foundation is established to provide funding for humanitarian aid for survivors of non-war-related childhood torture in the United States.
Humanitarian aid includes but is not limited to: funding for medical, psychiatric, and psychological care, housing assistance, educational and vocational assistance, and any other needs that are pertinent to the recovery, healing, survival, and thriving of people who survived intrafamilial or institutional torture as children.
Non-war-related childhood torture is defined for these purposes as severe childhood maltreatment involving a longitudinal period of abuse characterized by at least two physical assaults, and two or more forms of psychological maltreatment, resulting in prolonged suffering, permanent disfigurement/dysfunction, or death [as proposed by Knox et al., 2014].
Non-war-related means not the direct result of a recognized national or international conflict, and generally inflicted by family members or caregivers, or organizations such as schools, churches, foster care, troubled teen organizations, conversion therapy, and other non-governmental organizations.
To request a copy of pretti graffiti's 1023-EZ Application for Tax Exempt Status please email admin@prettigraffiti.org.