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SNAP of Tennessee

Information about clergy sexual abuse in tennessee

SNAP of Tennessee
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

  • Timeline and Correspondence document. Click here. This is the most important document for a comprehensive understanding of the situation over the past months. 

  • Contact list for the Board of Directors of SNAP.  Click here. 

  • Powerpoint slides - from presentation of April 16 2025  Click here. 

  • Powerpoint - in pdf format - April 16 2025  Click here.

  • CALL TO ACTION 1: Read, copy, paste in an email, and send to the Board of Directors. CLICK HEER.   Want the PDF version to attach to an email?  The alternative?  Write your own letter to them! 

  • CALL TO ACTION #2:  Send an email to the entire Board of Directors and ask them to verify if you are a vetted leader.  Ask for proof to be sent to you.  Click CALL TO ACTION #1 BELOW. 

  • CALL TO ACTION #3:  Send an email to the entire Board of Directors and tell them to put your name on a list of leaders who want to be part of the group (20 leaders can ask for a meeting with the Board according to the by-laws).  It will then be MANDATORY that the leaders be listened to and no longer disrespected. Click button CALL TO ACTION #2. 

shortcut to putting the board's emails into your email to them

Click here to open a shortcut document with the list of emails you see below. Select the list of emails from the document and copy and paste this list directly into the TO: line of your email.  This will send these to all 6 board of directors of SNAP.  


sdougherty@snapnetwork.org;

eduarturo_c@yahoo.com;

dmcnevin@aol.com;

judysorrows1957@gmail.com;

snapdfw.paul@gmail.com;

gbenchimol@snapnetwork.org


*our suggestion:  Send all email to ALL of the members of the board of directors so that no one can say they did not know what is going on. 

Zoom meeting for any SNAP leader or SNAP Member

On Wednesday, April 16, a SNAP leaders group met with an impressive number of other leaders by Zoom. We felt it was a very productive meeting.  


There will be a repeat meeting on Zoom of any leader or member who would like to attend.  This meeting is tentatively set on May 14th at 8:00 pm Eastern time.  Please share this link www.rememberthesurvivors.com/snap-leaders-info.  Check back here for more information about the May meeting. 

The Law (in Plain English) for Nonprofit Organizations

We will be informing you of some of the research that has been done by the Leader's Group over the past 8 months of waiting for the Board to listen to us. Recent important findings are from th this book, "The Law for Nonprofit Organizations."  


We will be posting pertinent excerpts soon.  This book can be bought in paperback and kindle formats.  

The winds begin to change . . .

In this section, we will post the letters to Leaders that have been sent since the Leaders Group began communication with the SNAP Board of Directors requesting a meeting with the Board about concerns and how we can help SNAP.  You will seean uptick in communication over the past 8 months.  If you look at how much this is increased over the past few years, you will see a definite pattern which we believe is the result of our steadfast attempts to talk to the board.  While they will not have the respect to meet with us,they certainly are edging toward implementing our demands.  Hence, expect the Board to come back and say just how responsive they have been and that we are complaining about nothing.  WRONG!  It is because we have tried to approach this in a professional manner that we are as far as we are in this process. 


Click on the links below to access copies of SNAP Board of Directors email letters to leaders.  More links will be added soon. 


Timeline and Correspondence

Click Here for the Timeline and Correspondence document.  This document contains a clear timeline of events beginning in mid August to the present.  There is also a sequential presentation of emails that were sent to the group of 12 leader of SNAP who sent a letter in mid September requesting a meeting with the Board of Directors and outlining serious concerns that were to be part of that conversation.  Subsequently, the Board of SNAP did not meet with the group but did arrange an 8-hour mediation.  This mediation was to be run by a group called Center for Conflict Resolution and paid for by SNAP.  During the first 4-hour session of the mediation, the group never met with the Board.  The members of the board found ways to stall any mediation and finally they stopped the entire process by refusing to talk to 8 of the 12 leaders because the board declared that they were not vetted or ratified as leaders.  Read the document for full details.  

Leaders Powerpoint presentation

Click here to download the Powerpoint presentation shown by the Leaders on April 16, 2025.  These slides give an overview of the events of the 8 months starting in mid August 2024.  During a Zoom meeting, the leaders who sent a letter to the SNAP Board of Directors on September 19, 2024.  More details can be found in the ime and Correspondence document found here. 

The Powerpoint presentation in PDF format can be downloaded here.  

Headline

On September 30, 2024, Shaun Dougherty sent a letter with the contact information for all members of the SNAP Board of Directors.  It is printed below for your convenience.  Also, click here to read that letter and see the first mention by the board of what Dougherty called the "controversary."  The official letter from the group of 12 leaders had been sent on September 19, 2024.  It is contained in the Timeline and Correspondence document found here.   Click here for a list of the Board contacts. 



Shaun Dougherty, President: (814) 341-8386 sdougherty@snapnetwork.org

Eduardo Lopez de Casas, Vice President: 832-641-6319, eduarturo_c@yahoo.com

Dan McNevin, Treasurer: (415) 341-6417 dmcnevin@aol.com

Judy Klapperich-Larson, Secretary: (801) 831-5277 judysorrows1957@gmail.com

Paul Petersen, Board Member: (972) 569-0995 snapdfw.paul@gmail.com

Guila Benchimol, Board Member: gbenchimol@snapnetwork.org

ARE you a vetted leader in SNAP?  You may be shocked!!!

Eight leaders were recently excluded from mediation with the Board of Directors of SNAP.  8 out of 12 rejected! How? Why? It's time for you to ask the Board if you are ratified and vetted as a leader.  Don't say, "I've been a leader for a LONG TIME with SNAP. I'm sure I'm vetted and ratified."  The Board applied arbitrary rules to these 8 leaders and excluded them from discussions!  


Go to the contact list of the Board of Directors and demand to know if you are vetted.  If not, demand to know why not.  If you want to examine the fight to be heard that these 12 leaders have gone through, go to Timeline and Correspondence. 

 This phone line has been in operation for years and was funded by private individuals  

➢ It has been staffed by a group of ‘leaders’ that respond to any calls that come in.  For  some leaders it is the only way that they can contribute and feel it is part of their  mission.  

➢ Unfortunately, the bill was not paid and the line stopped working  

➢ This has occurred in the past and was easily fixed by a quick phone call to the  benefactors

➢ Shaun reported that he did not know the benefactor (he was told) &  spent months  trying to fix it on his own. Including flying to Chicago for 3 days. It is still not back in full  operation. Shaun is the only person with access.  

➢ Conversations with individuals from other organizations reveals that calls to the helpline  are not being fielded. Survivors report that they gave up trying to contact SNAP. The  mission of SNAP is NOT being fulfilled. 

Download Document Timeline and Correspondence

Powerpoint Presentation slides (This information will be linked and activated following the All-Leader meeting on April 16th.)

Slides in PDF format for easy reading.  (Will be posted after the April 16th meeting.)

Letters

Contacts for the SNAP Board of Directors provided by Shaun Dougherty.  Contact list in PDF. 

Contact information for the Board:

Shaun Dougherty, President: (814) 341-8386 sdougherty@snapnetwork.org

Eduardo Lopez de Casas, Vice President: 832-641-6319, eduarturo_c@yahoo.com

Dan McNevin, Treasurer: (415) 341-6417  dmcnevin@aol.com

Judy Klapperich-Larson, Secretary: (801) 831-5277  judysorrows1957@gmail.com

Paul Petersen, Board Member: (972) 569-0995  snapdfw.paul@gmail.com

Guila Benchimol, Board Member: gbenchimol@snapnetwork.org  


CALL TO ACTION:  If you wish to find a way to help, sending the letter(s) below to the Board of Directors of SNAP will get their attention.  There are three CALLS TO ACTION below.  They all involve cutting and pasting text into an email or attaching a copy of the information to an email and sending to the Board of Directors.  If none of these options seems the path for you, please choose your own way to help,  Thank you.  

shortcut to putting the board's emails into your email to them

Click here to open a shortcut document with the list of emails you see below. Select the list of emails from the document and copy and paste this list directly into the TO: line of your email.  This will send these to all 6 board of directors of SNAP.  


sdougherty@snapnetwork.org;

eduarturo_c@yahoo.com;

dmcnevin@aol.com;

judysorrows1957@gmail.com;

snapdfw.paul@gmail.com;

gbenchimol@snapnetwork.org


*our suggestion:  Send all email to ALL of the members of the board of directors so that no one can say they did not know what is going on. 

Dear SNAP Board of Directors: 


We are SNAP,  We are survivors and advocates.  We are leaders who run support groups, advocate for just laws and fight battles with church and other institutional leaders.  We are the heart and soul of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

You are SNAP's Board of Directors. As such, you are one of us except with a title and a position  of service to the organization.  You hold power over SNAP.  Unfortunately, we are a body of people who have experienced abuse of power, the signs of such abuse being well-known and well-recognized by us. 


Eight months ago, a group of twelve leaders in SNAP asked for a meeting with the Board. Their one and only goal was to help this organization that they love.  They were inexplicably denied the conversation among equals that they requested. As a leader in SNAP, I am requesting answers to some of the troubling issues I have recently heard. 


1.  Irregularities at the Annual SNAP conference:  We are broken people fighting many life-changing demons. Can we be assured of the following? No events held in a bar or any other alcohol-related venue.  Prompt and complete attention to allegations of sexual harassment or sexual abuse reported or observed at the conference.  Return of all previous support groups and other tools to aid survivors which have been fixtures of annual conferences prior to 2024.  Return of the use of evaluation forms for each session both in large groups and break-out sessions. 


2.  Vetting of leaders:  Am I a vetted or ratified leader? What constitutes vetting of leaders?  Many of us have been identified as leaders on the SNAP website and at numerous annual conferences.  We lead support groups or present ourselves as leaders when contacted by survivors.  This issue of vetting  is a very troubling revelation to us as it was to 8 leaders whom the board excluded from recent mediation. 


3.  Antagonistic emails from the Board:  I am aware of the vitriolic emails the group of SNAP leaders were subjected to while waiting for the Board to have a conversation about issues.  There is no excuse for this action by the Board. When requesting a collegial conversation rather than filing a formal grievance, will this behavior by the Board be repeated against other leaders of SNAP?

I hope this request will be received in the spirit of support for the organization that we all love.  Many lives have been saved by SNAP and many more will be so in the future.  Let us reinforce the collegial spirit that has always marked SNAP and work together for a better organization for everyone. 


Your Sincerely, 

(Signature)

Call to action #2: Letter to Board requesting my 
"ratification" status. Am I a vetted leader?

Dear SNAP Board of Directors: 


Please advise me immediately if I am a vetted and ratified leader in SNAP.  I am troubled by what I hear regarding leaders being excluded from a mediation that you initiated.  The Board excluded 2/3 of the 12 leaders gathered to participate in this mediation session.  


My question is very simple:  Would I also have been excluded had I been in attendance?  Am I a vetted leader or not?


Sincerely, 


(Your Signature)

call to action #3: If 20 leaders (ratified and vetted) 
call for a meeting, the board must comply according 
to the by-laws of SNAP

Dear Snap Board of Directors:


If the Leaders have 20 of us willing to request this meeting that should have occurred 8 months ago, you must comply according to the by-laws of SNAP.  Please put my name down as a requesting this meeting of a group of 20 so that this matter can be addressed.  


We have much work to do for survivors and do not need this unnecessary delay by the board.  I look forward to attending the meeting with the group of 20 or more leaders to have our questions and concerns answered. 

Sincerely, 

(Your Signature)

The email form below will be forwarded to each of the members of the Board of Directors of SNAP.  Simply put your name and email address in the form.  Add to the message box whatever you wish to say. Click on "Submit" and your message will be forward to all six of the Board Members of SNAP.