August 7, 2018

Dear CAASE allies and friends,

This month CAASE is saying a fond goodbye to our longtime colleague Caleb Probst, who is leaving his role as CAASE’s Education Manager to enter a Ph.D. program out of state. While all of us will miss Caleb’s wisdom, humor, and kindness, his visionary work is deeply rooted and thriving at CAASE. We remain fully committed to continuing and growing the high-impact, cutting-edge programming that Caleb has played a critical role in establishing here.

When CAASE’s Founder and dear friend Rachel Durchslag, who was responsible for recruiting Caleb to CAASE in the first place, heard of his departure she eloquently articulated what a pleasure it had been to work with Caleb and I couldn’t agree more. I think you will enjoy her thoughts as well:

When Caleb and I first began working together around ten years ago, the movement to end the demand for sexually exploited individuals in Chicago was in its infancy. By joining the movement so early on, Caleb truly became a pioneer of innovation in this work.

It’s is a gift to know, let alone work with, a man who embodies the values of feminism, social justice, and racial equity so beautifully. With every project he did at CAASE, Caleb brought not only these values but his heart, his creativity, his intellect, and unflinching belief that through preventative education we could begin to heal a fragmented world.

When I reflect back on my time at CAASE, what continually rises to the surface as one of my most proud initiatives was the prevention work Caleb and I did together. His commitment to the cause coupled with his amazing educator abilities has shaped the hearts and minds of hundreds of young men in Chicago around issues of sexual assault. And his work on the curriculum has had the ripple effect of being used throughout the world to help enlist young men in the fight to end sexual harm.

Caleb helped shape what CAASE, as an organization, has become. And his influence will be felt with everything the organization does moving forward. It was an honor to work with him and I am truly excited to see what this next phase of his life will bring.

– Rachel Durchslag

It has been a true privilege and pleasure to be Caleb’s colleague and supervisor (or “Boss-Lady” as Caleb sometimes referred to me), my sentiments about him are perfectly echoed in Rachel’s letter. We thank Caleb for all he has contributed to CAASE. We’re excited to continue the programs he established and welcome our new Prevention Manager Shalini Mirpuri.

The final portion of Caleb’s time with us has been spent training Shalini. She has valuable experience in sexual violence prevention, coming to us from the University of Florida where she created and implemented interpersonal violence prevention education for the Sexual Trauma Interpersonal Violence Education or STRIVE program. She also served as a Graduate Assistant for Multicultural & Diversity Affairs where she provided culturally-responsive and identity-based education to promote student success for underserved student populations. We welcome her to our team and to Chicago!

Kaethe Morris Hoffer, Executive Director