Veronica Dunlap serves as director of strategic initiatives for the National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC). NNSC is an internationally recognized action research center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice that provides proven, evidence-based, life-saving violence reduction strategies to dozens of communities across America and beyond. Veronica is passionate about giving back to her community, and founded “The Initiative” – a project aimed at restoring the civil rights of people with criminal convictions with ultimate goal of allowing those people to sit on juries. She is also the recipient of the 2016 Heroine of Excellence Award for her work in community advocacy. She is a proud graduate of George Washington University where she received her B.A. in international affairs, cum laude, and Fordham University School of Law where she received her J.D. and M.B.A. in finance.
Name: Veronica “Shelley” Dunlap
Discipline: Dance
Class Year: 1995
Current Gig: Lawyer & Social Justice Warrior 😉
Best lesson learned at BSA: When you look beyond appearances, status, etc., you can meet truly wonderful human beings and lifelong friends.
Most awkward BSA moment: Seeing the cast list for our final Expressions as seniors lined up outside the small studio and realizing that I had snagged a principal role, while my closest friends were cast in the corps de ballet…awkward :-/
Funniest BSA memory: As a TWIG, I played a guard standing at the entrance to Candy Land in The Nutcracker. The lights on stage were so hot and my costume was so stuffy that I began to nod off into my own “candy land” of sleep. The last thing I heard before slumping to the floor for an oh-so-brief nap was the voice of Norma Pera from behind the curtain whisper-shouting, “Shelley, you’d better not fall asleep out there!” The rest is history! 🙂
