Empowerment Now helps empowers and equip leaders to discover their unique strengths, values and gifts to embrace who they are, challenging them to be vulnerable when building compassionate, empathetic, positive and supportive relationships.

Dr. Anne Friesen

Activist. Researcher. Chief Strategy Consultant.

Dr. Anne Friesen, Chief Strategy Consultant, holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Leadership and brings over 20 years of professional experience in the social justice and human services sectors. Driven by a passion for fostering positive social and economic change, Anne is dedicated to making a meaningful impact in her community and globally.

For 12 years, Dr. Anne Friesen served as the Executive Director of Friend to Friend, a North Carolina-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. During her tenure, she spearheaded community and regional initiatives to enhance the safety, health, and well-being of homeless and displaced survivors, leaving a lasting impact on the lives of countless individuals.

Nationally recognized and award-winning in her field, Dr. Anne Friesen is passionate about driving positive social and economic change. She empowers businesses and nonprofits through innovative solutions, with expertise in organizational design, strategic planning, and sustainable growth strategies tailored for health and human service organizations.

Having spent more than 20 years supporting foundations, local government, and non-profit organizations, advancing issues ranging from education/prevention to homelessness to racial equity. She brings broad and unique expertise in:

  • Transformational and Adaptive Leadership Consulting with expertise in health and human services.

  • Strategic Planning and Effective Conflict Resolution,

  • Empowerment & Leadership Programming,

  • Working with under-served and rural communities,

  • Trauma-Informed Response Systems,

  • Creating non-profit long-term sustainability,

  • Evidence-based programming that results in self-sufficiency for women, men & families in crisis,

  • Creating strength-based teams & diverse workplace cultures of positivity & inclusion,

  • Consulting & supporting non-profit organizations in leadership transition,

  • Holistic Leadership Training,

  • Sustainable growth and efficiency through data-driven optimization and strategic alignment,

  • Organizational, Cultural, and Leadership Development through establishing robust processes, fostering collaboration, and leveraging supportive technology tools.

    Dr. Anne Friesen is deeply committed to empowering individuals and communities. Before dedicating her career to social justice and human services, Anne developed educational programs and resources to help strengthen families and build resilient communities.

    To help reduce barriers for nonprofits, Empowerment Now offers training and consulting services on a sliding fee scale, ensuring access to her expertise for organizations of all sizes.

Activities & Affiliations

Anne recently completed a 6-year term on the Board of Directors and Co-Chair for the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking. She currently serves on the Board of Directors as the Board President for Springs of Living Water, a non-profit helping women and children sex-trafficking survivors in Ethiopia. Anne was named

  • 2016 Recipient of Moore Citizen of the Year by the Rotary Club of Carthage (honoring community members who exemplify the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self”),

  • 2019 Moore County Woman of the Year by the NC Community Foundation.

Anne is the author of:

Anne continues to present her research at conferences on transformational and adaptive leadership, empowerment workforce strategies, human trafficking, trauma-informed/survivor-centered advocacy, organizational models for effective and sustainable organizational design, and developing holistic empowerment leadership programming for survivors, advocates, and teams.

Certifications & Education

University of Kansas: BA and MA

Trevecca Nazarene University: EdD 

Harvard University, Kennedy School: Certification in Performance Measurement for Effective Management of Non-Profit Organizations

Duke University: Executive Education Program in Non-Profit Management and Non-Profit Leadership.