Our Team
Our Staff
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Founder and Executive Director
Susan sets the vision and strategic direction for WomenStrong, including its grantmaking, the Learning Lab model, knowledge and learning, and communications.
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Program and Equity Manager
Hannah supports the management and organization of the Learning Lab community, and works to ensure diversity, inclusion, and equity are reflected in WomenStrong and Learning Lab activities.
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Chief External Affairs Officer
Laura drives fundraising and donor relations strategies to broaden WomenStrong’s visibility and relevancy while strengthening the organization’s financial sustainability.
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Senior Advisor for Programs
Patricia supports WomenStrong’s Partner Capacity Strengthening and Learning Lab programs with focus on the integration of gender-transformative approaches.
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Director of Measurement, Learning, and Evaluation
Amy leads WomenStrong’s Knowledge and Learning efforts, including assessing WomenStrong’s model and providing technical guidance to partners on measurement, learning, and evaluation.
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Director of Learning and Partnerships
Chisina oversees the Learning Lab, including technical areas focused on girls’ education, women’s health, violence prevention, and economic opportunity.
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Director of Strategic Communications
Michelle leads WomenStrong’s communications, including amplifying the work of grantee partners.
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Senior Manager, Grants and Programs
Denise leads the development and implementation of WomenStrong’s grant systems and policies, and coordinates capacity strengthening activities.
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Senior Advisor for Measurement, Learning, and Evaluation
Mara evaluates WomenStrong’s support for its grantee partners and works with them to strengthen their measurement, learning, and evaluation efforts.
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Director of Strategy and Organizational Strengthening
Naomi supports WomenStrong in charting it’s overall strategic direction and accompanies the grantee partners as they strive to reach their organizational strengthening goals.
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Chief Operating Officer
Bianca oversees WomenStrong’s operations, finances, administration, IT systems, and team resources and strategy.
Our Board of Directors
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Tiffany Green is the Founder and Managing Director of Emergent Inquiry Consulting. Tiffany has over 18 years of global experience guiding leaders and organizations through transformational change and growth experiences.
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Steve Kass serves as Senior Environmental Counsel at Carter Ledyard and Milburn LLP, and Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn Law School and at NYU’s Center on Global Affairs.
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Catherine Lee is Founder and Manager of Lee International Business Development. Her practice focuses on climate change policy, projects and programs domestically and internationally.
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Nicky is an intersectional African feminist, who focusses on advancing women’s rights and eradicating violence against women and gender diverse folk. Nicky currently serves as the Senior Program Officer of the Gender, Race, and Ethnic Justice portfolio at the Ford Foundation’s Office of Southern Africa.
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Dr. Joyce Malombe is the Founder of the Collective Rising Leadership Institute and has more than 25 years of experience from academic settings, global development, and philanthropy.
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Dr. Howard C. Mandel, FACOG, is a practicing obstetrician gynecologist in Los Angeles with extensive leadership in political advocacy.
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Prof. Geeta Mehta is an adjunct professor of architecture and urban design at Columbia University in New York, where she teaches seminars and design studios that have worked in India, China, Austria, France, Ukraine, Colombia, Brazil, Jamaica, Ghana and Kenya.
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Heather Goldberg Mendelow is an attorney and teacher. Most recently, Heather practiced law at Pfizer as a Senior Corporate Counsel for a variety of drug portfolios. Prior to practicing law, Heather taught elementary school in Compton, California for three years as a Teach For America corps member.
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Cynthia Nimmo is a leader in advancing gender equality, establishing partnerships with the corporate, philanthropic, government, and nonprofit sectors to secure lasting change. She has led national and global networks and is President Emeritus of Women’s Funding Network (WFN)
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Pam Schutz, a seasoned financial services executive, is the retired CEO of Retirement and Protection for Genworth, a spin-off of GE.
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Peggy Shepard is a community activist, environmental health researcher and advocate, and Co-Founder and Executive Director of WE ACT For Environmental Justice (WE ACT).
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Robin Smalley, an Emmy Award-winning television director/producer/writer, is co-founder of mothers2mothers, a Cape Town based NGO providing education, empowerment and support to pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV/AIDS in Africa.
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Andine Sutarjadi is a speaker, facilitator, and writer on next generation philanthropy who has dedicated her career toward advancing inclusive practices in philanthropic decision-making, governance, and advising. Andine is the Director at 21/64, a nonprofit practice serving next-gen and multigenerational families.
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Dr. Helen Yang is an international executive with 30 years of corporate experience, including 20 years in the Asia Pacific region, in a Fortune 500 company. Currently, she is Founder and Managing Director of New Horizons Management Consulting Co., where she specializes in providing strategic business and leadership solutions to clients.
Our Strategic Advisory Council
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Maheen Kaleem, Esq. is a human rights lawyer who has dedicated her life to creating a world where girls of color are safe and free. She is the Vice President of Programs and Operations at Grantmakers for Girls of Color.
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Anna Lind-Guzik is the founder of The Conversationalist. She is a writer, women’s rights advocate, former attorney and scholar of Soviet history, authoritarianism, feminism and human rights law.
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Ntefeleng Nene is a Partner at The Bridgespan Group in Africa, a global non-profit that strives to make the world more equitable and just. Ntefeleng is a social impact practitioner supporting leading philanthropies and social sector organizations on their strategy, operating model and delivering on their mission.
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Scarlet Pressley-Brown currently leads Community Affairs and supports the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion strategy at HD Supply, Inc. She is charged with executing strategy and vision to establish company’s presence as an industry leader in corporate social responsibility and developing an inclusive culture.
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Susan Rosenthal is a business leader driving innovation and growth for Fortune 500 corporations, entrepreneurial ventures, and non-profit organizations worldwide. Her work spans 100 countries and has generated over $1 billion in new business revenues.