‘It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers’

After 17 years as a staffer, Rachel Freeman took over as president of the Sexual Assault Center in 2018 at a time when the nonprofit was going through some huge changes, the biggest being the construction of a new headquarters with an outpatient clinic for rape victims. Leading an organization with a $3.5 million budget and staff of 45 (plus 70 volunteers) is something the Brownsville, Tennessee, native doesn’t take lightly. Funded half by grants and half by fundraising, Freeman’s team has an ambitious agenda, including expanding the Center’s reach into historically underserved communities and increasing awareness so more crimes are reported to law enforcement.

The Center worked with more than 1,200 people last year, something she says is “just scratching the surface of the problem in our community.” Freeman, the daughter-in-law of Post parent FW Publishing co-owner Bill Freeman, talked about her work with Post contributor Steve Cavendish in her office in MetroCenter.