Honoring Our Colleague, Diane Langelier

By David S. Prescott, LICSW

Organizing conferences and other trainings is tough work that requires just the right people–just ask anyone who has worked for ATSA and its chapters. Having had the privilege of participating in conferences on five continents, one recognizes a kind of archetype of the person who makes it all happen. Not an event planner in the traditional sense, this person always seems to be working quietly behind the scenes. They avoid the limelight, calling no attention to themselves, and make complicated things seem simple to the attendees. When such organizers do their work effectively, they tend to pass only barely noticed in the conference experience.

Above all, these people believe in, and quietly embody the mission of preventing abuse. Diane Langelier is the ultimate example.

I first met Diane Langelier in the final days of September 1999–25 years ago! She was managing the registration and operations for a ten-day training event on adolescents who had sexually abused. The training, coordinated by New England Adolescent Research Institute (NEARI), gradually morphed into several different conferences, including the annual conference of MASOC and MATSA (the Massachusetts chapter of ATSA). She has been involved at every turn in every one of these conferences, and related trainings.

The people who benefit most from the diligence of people like Diane never know to say thank you because they won’t have been abused. Through her efforts, it is impossible to know how many people owe a debt of gratitude to Diane for her work in furthering the education that prevents abuse.

To round out this blog post, I turned to some of her closest colleagues. What do they say?

First, MASOC Executive Director Emerita, Joan Tabachnick, noted:

“I could tell so many stories about Diane.  How she sits at the front desk from the beginning of each conference until the end.  She knows each name and remembers stories about each person, and she treats every single one of us with incredible kindness and respect. THAT is exactly what our field is or at least should be about, and she models it for everyone as they walk in the door.  

“Everyone always saw Steve Bengis (Founder of MASOC, NEARI Press, and the NEARI School) as the face of MASOC and this conference, and he was out in front.  But it was Diane who did ALL of the detail work to make sure that the conference ran smoothly.  From reaching out to sponsors, to registering individuals and whole groups from state agencies, making packets of information (in the old days), editing our brochure for typos and then our website, to making sure that there were signs for each room and putting the right workshops in each room, and I could go on and on.  And in the old days?  This was all done by hand, and we had 15 workshops for each session!  

“And in addition to this, if you sit with Diane during any of the sessions or in the down time, she has a wicked sense of humor that she also used when she got a particularly challenging phone call (e.g., a question that was answered at least five times on the website and in the brochure)–but always after she hung up the phone.  

“I can't say enough about Diane!”

Meg Bossong, the Executive Director of MASOC (along with that organization’s board of directors), had this to say:

“As NEARI’s fiscal manager, Diane Langelier has shepherded MASOC from its roots as a tiny, all-volunteer organization existing on in-kind contributions, work trades, and the donations of time and treasure by its founding members to its current form. Diane has done the often unsung but deeply essential work that makes organizations run: opening the mail, managing the books, and being the voice on the other end of the phone whether someone needed an invoice for a conference or was a parent or a clinician looking for help. She has welcomed thousands of people to MASOC’s conferences and helped people with problems big and small for decades. We are profoundly grateful for her work and her deep knowledge and care.”

Finally, Past MASOC Board Chair Kevin Creeden added his own thoughts in his own inimitable style:

“Diane:  patient, kind, incredibly competent, funny, does not suffer fools.  At MASOC we have been incredibly fortunate to have leaders like Steve Bengis and Joan, but Diane is the cornerstone that they both have leaned on.  I would say she is the “Conference Queen”, but I don’t think queens tend to work as hard as Diane does.  I propose that we rename the conference center at the Best Western (where the MASOC and MATSA conferences have traditionally taken place) after Diane (or at the minimum the Princess room: Princess Di ?)”

In my own final analysis, most important of all is that Diane Langelier has helped thousands of professionals and assisted in improving the lives of countless thousands more. That is a fantastic track record for someone who is only rarely acknowledged. I trust I speak for all attendees and readers when I say a heartfelt “thank you!” to Diane.