I am Dr. Pierre R. Berastaín, a gay Peruvian man who immigrated to the United States with my family in 1998 and lived undocumented for 14 years. Moving through the world from the margins—often excluded from systems and their protections—has shaped every part of my calling. It taught me that safety, dignity, and belonging are not guaranteed but are instead created and sustained through community, courage, and collective imagination.
Today, I serve as the Chief Executive Officer of The SAFE Alliance in Austin, Texas—the largest organization in the South and the third largest in the nation supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence, trafficking, and child abuse. I lead more than 300 extraordinary staff who provide a fully integrated continuum of care—emergency shelter, long-term housing, counseling, legal advocacy, prevention, medical services, and 24/7 crisis response—to more than 1,000 people every day.
My career has been dedicated to transforming how institutions respond to marginalized people—especially at the intersection of gender-based violence, immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and social justice. I've worked across shelters, national resource centers, universities, and global systems-change initiatives, always centering the voices and experiences of those pushed to the margins. Previously, I served as the Regional Director for North America and Interim Global Executive Director at the Centre for Public Impact, founded by Boston Consulting Group to reimagine how governments serve communities. I also co-founded Caminar Latino – Latinos United for Peace and Equity, where I helped establish the National Center to Advance Peace for Children, Youth, and Families, the first federally designated resource center led by and for Latino communities.
Before that, I directed Harvard University's Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, served as Deputy CEO and Chief Strategy & Operations Officer for the District Alliance for Safe Housing in Washington, D.C., and held a senior role at Esperanza United leading federal programs on gender-based violence, policy, and culturally specific interventions.
I hold a bachelor's in Social Anthropology and a Master of Divinity from Harvard University, and a Doctor of Public Health from the University of North Carolina. I've authored over 40 publications and spoken across the United States, Latin America, and Europe.
I now live in Austin with my husband. My work—including my Spanish-language podcast, Lo Que No Me Dijeron—is a way of remembering where I come from, honoring the stories of my community, and building more humane systems from the margins inward.