Board of Directors

Barbara A. Shailor, Chair
Deputy Provost for the Arts
Yale University
Barbara’s Biography
Sally McDaniel, Vice-Chair
Consultant and Trainer for Organizational Development and Nonprofit Management
Sally’s Biography
  Ellie Shaw, Treasurer
Director, Federal Government Affairs
American Express
Ellie’s Biography
Marianne Alexander, President Emerita
Marianne’s Biography
  Clara R. Burgert
Senior Associate
GIS Coordinator
ICF Macro
Clara’s Biography
PLEN Alumna
  Carrie Collins
Principal
Brodie Collins Cherel & Associates
Carrie’s Biography
  Anne Darconte
Chair
PLEN Advancement Committee
Principal
Beyond K Street, LLC
Anne’s Biography
  Kristin Haffert
Founder and President
Haffert Global
Kristin’s Biography
PLEN Alumna
  Stacie Hagenbaugh
Director, Career Development
Smith College
Stacie’s Biography
Lisa Kaenzig
Associate Dean
William Smith College
Lisa’s Biography
PLEN Alumna
  Kathryn Kolbert
Director
Athena Center for Leadership Studies
Barnard College
Kathryn’s Biography
  Karen Lebovich
Senior Vice President
Lipman Hearne Inc.
Karen’s Biography
  Jacquelyn Litt
Dean
Douglass Residential College
Jacquelyn’s Biography
Marta Mattox
CEO
TexStar Marketing, Inc.
Marta’s Biography
 
Kimberly Owens
Senior Executive Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
Cedar Crest College
Kimberly’s Biography
Heidi Schoenberger-Cobert
Chair
PLEN Marketing Committee
Principal
Cobert Communications Group
Heidi’s Biography
  Jen Stange
Interim Nurse Alliance Coordinator
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Jen’s Biography
PLEN Alumna

Barbara A. Shailor’s Biography


Barbara A. Shailor is the deputy provost for the arts at Yale University.  As deputy provost, Shailor helps shape and implement the academic, administrative and budgetary policies of the University.  She focuses her attention on the schools of art, architecture, drama, music and divinity, the Institute of Sacred Music, the departments of history of art, classics and music, and the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art.

Shailor joined Yale in 2001 as the director of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.  Prior to that, Shailor was dean of Douglass College, professor of classics at Rutgers University from 1996-2001, and was a faculty member and administrator at Bucknell University from 1975-1996.  The recipient of a Ph.D. in Classical Philology from the University of Cincinnati in 1975, Shailor has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies and the American Philosophical Society.

She has published extensively, including five books and a series of articles on medieval and renaissance manuscripts.  Her field of specialization is Latin paleography and encompasses the study of Visigothic manuscripts copied and illuminated in northern Spain in the 10th and 11th centuries.  She is currently serving as treasurer of the Medieval Academy of America and as a trustee of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Shailor attended Hamden High School before continuing her education at Wilson College and the University of Cincinnati.  She is a specialist in Latin manuscript studies, the transmission of classical texts in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and women in classical antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Sally McDaniel’s Biography


Check back soon!

Ellie Shaw’s Biography


Ellie Shaw, director, federal government affairs, is responsible for the American Express Company’s political education and involvement programs.

Prior to joining American Express in 2006, serving as manager of public affairs for the Chicago-headquartered electric utility, Exelon Corporation, Ellie oversaw their political action committee (PAC) and grassroots activities. Prior to that, she served in government affairs with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the nuclear energy industry’s Washington, D.C.-based policy organization.

Active in the public affairs community as well as her local community, Ellie serves on the Business Industry Political Action Committee’s Prosperity Project® Steering Committee, as a PAC PALS Co-Chair, the Public Affairs Council’s Board of Directors, the Public Leadership Education Network’s Board of Directors, and the Women in Government Relations’ PACs, Politics & Grassroots Task Force. She has been an advisor, speaker, facilitator and mentor on PAC and grassroots best practices. In 2009, she was a guest speaker at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, and participated in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship-Greater Washington’s Final Business Plan Competition as a judge. Ellie has served as a tutor at César Chávez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy in Washington, DC.

During her tenure at Exelon, they received NEI’s Robert K. Campbell Award for excellence in its congressional relations program on nuclear energy issues in 2003, and was also recognized by the Edison Electric Institute with the first-ever Excellence in Advocacy Award. In 2008, American Express Company received the César Chávez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy Community Service Award, and Ellie received the inaugural Public Affairs Council Volunteer of the Year Award.

A Midwest native and diehard Green Bay Packers’ fan, Ellie graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business management. She has also completed the Public Affairs Council’s Public Affairs Institute program.

Marianne Alexander’s Biography


Marianne Alexander became PLEN Coordinator at Goucher College when PLEN was founded in the summer of 1978. As PLEN coordinator and assistant professor in Political Science at Goucher, she organized and ran PLEN’s first Washington program, the Women & Public Policy Seminar in 1983.

Marianne became PLEN’s first executive director in 1986, organizing the Wingspread Conference in 1987 at which member colleges agreed upon a mission statement and future direction for PLEN.  She moved PLEN to Washington during the winter of 1988-89 and over the next three years initiated new Washington programs for PLEN: the internship program, the fall Women, Law and Public Policy conference, the Women & Congress Seminar and the Women and International Policy Seminar. Marianne also led two Women & Public Policy European Seminars for PLEN students and led a delegation of women students from PLEN colleges to the 4th UN Women’s Conference in Beijing.  In 1998 she became president of PLEN to focus on fundraising. As president she has secured funding from Oracle for PLEN’s Women & Science/Technology Policy Seminar and from Mitsubishi for a Workplace Diversity Summer Internship Program.

Prior to working for PLEN, Marianne gained experience in state government and politics as a legislative analyst for the Senate Finance Committee of the Maryland General Assembly, the internship coordinator and staff member of the Women’s Caucus of the Maryland General Assembly, and an appointed member of the Legislative Compensation Commission for the Maryland General Assembly.  She also served on the research staff of the Governor’s Commission on Executive Reorganization in 1968 and the Maryland Constitutional Convention, 1967-68.

Marianne currently serves as a member of the Penn State Board of Trustees. As a volunteer, Marianne completed nine years on the National Board of Directors, Girl Scouts of the USA and begins a two-year term July 1, 2003 as president of the Penn State Alumni Association. She continues to serve on the World Foundation Board for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and the Foundation Board of Historic St. Mary’s City. She was the founding president of the Penn State Professional Women’s Network in Washington, DC and past president of Women Administrators in Higher Education (WAHE).

Born and raised in Washington, DC, Marianne received her B.A. in History from Penn State, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland.

Clara R. Burgert’s Biography


Clara R. Burgert, MPH, is a Senior Associate, Geographic Information Systems coordinator in the International Health Division at ICF Macro.  Prior to joining ICF Macro, Burgert a research analyst at Blue Raster a mapping and web application consulting firm in Arlington, VA where she worked on the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded MEASURE-DHS (Demographic and Health Survey) project.  Her role involved preparing maps of demographic and health indicators to be used for reports, presentations, and documents intended to assist policymakers in developing countries and in the U.S. to make informed decisions about health policy and funding.

She facilitated trainings in using GIS for better decision making in various countries around the world including Philippines and Ghana.  Additionally, she assisted in analyzing malaria data to assist an international malaria working group to determine how to best track malaria prevention goals across agencies and projects.  She was seconded to UNICEF-Haiti to assist in the post-earthquake relief effort.  In Haiti, she worked with the Child Protection team to assess the needs of interim care facilities and orphanages.

Before joining Blue Raster, Burgert was living in Senegal working as an International Development Fellow for Catholic Relief Services.  Burgert has a master in public health from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health.  Prior to graduate school she worked in Washington, DC, at various international health policy related jobs including working at Abt Associates on the Partners for Health Reformplus project where she worked on a team that assisted West African countries to improve their health funding policy and strengthen their health systems.  She was also an assistant to Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-4) focusing on international health and development issues. Burgert is a graduate of the St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. She is an alumna of PLEN’s Women in Science and Technology Policy seminar and summer internship program.

Carrie Collins’ Biography


Carrie Collins draws on twenty-eight years of experience in public relations, the media, and public affairs to direct the firm’s branding and marketing initiatives for its non-profit clients.

Carrie works with groups’ stakeholders to guide them through a messaging process that defines the core identity of their brand and creates a unique position for that brand in their audiences’ minds.  She then designs and implements communications strategies that promote the brand and help these organizations achieve their programmatic and fundraising goals, educate and mobilize their constituencies, and market products and services.  Her plans employ multi-channeled, highly leveraged tools and tactics, including the media, which energize donors and supporters.

Carrie has served as a Vice President for the international public relations firm of Ruder Finn where she managed communications and media campaigns for such clients as Denver Airport, Electricite de France, Phyffes of London, Goodwill, Citicorps, Medical Education for South African Blacks, the AIDS Quilt, International Women’s Media Foundation, Xerox Realty Corporation, Newschannel 8, The Glaxo Institute, Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, and the American Farmland Trust.

Over a period of seven years, Carrie worked on Capitol Hill as both a legislative assistant in the House of Representatives and press secretary in the Senate.  As a legislative assistant, she specialized in policy analysis in the areas of health and environment, advising Members of the House on Superfund, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and many other legislative proposals.  As a press secretary for Sen. David Durenberger (R-MN), Carrie managed national and statewide outreach and media opportunities, developing strategies to build his national image in his areas of expertise: health and environment.

With nine years in broadcast television, Carrie brings to her work with the firm’s clients an understanding of how the media functions.   As Executive Producer and Director of Programming at C-SPAN, she orchestrated the network’s coverage of major political events and helped to build the network’s reputation, viewership, and influence in Washington and around the country.  Carrie was a host of the three-times daily live national call-in program, conducting numerous on-camera interviews over the years with Members of Congress, White House officials, Cabinet members, journalists and other public policy experts.

Prior to co-founding BCC, Carrie launched Collins Communications, providing public relations, media, community outreach and marketing counsel for a large variety of companies and organizations, including the U.S. Forest Service, Global One Telecommunications, Norman Data Defense Systems, and Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Carrie also served as Director of Strategic Communications for American Rivers, a national conservation organization.  In this role, she developed and implemented a five-year communications strategy and oversaw a rebranding initiative that helped the group raise its national profile, increase public understanding of its cause, and strengthen and diversify its constituencies.

Carrie sits on the Board of Directors of Potomac Riverkeeper. Carrie graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

Anne Darconte’s Biography


Anne DeSeta Darconte is a Principal at Beyond K Street, LLC, a public affairs consultancy helping clients use communications and outreach to enhance their direct advocacy efforts. She has more than 20 years of public affairs, strategic communications, and federal, state and local government relations experience, ten of which are in the chemicals, petrochemicals, and refining industries of the manufacturing sector. Anne has developed and managed grassroots, grass tops and Get Out The Vote programs for corporations and associations as well as for clients of her prior venture, The DeSeta Group, LLC. Many of these issue campaigns have focused on ensuring that the U.S. has a sustainable supply of the critical resources needed to protect our nation’s energy security, economic well-being, and industrial production capabilities.

Anne’s successful programs have been recognized for excellence and recommended as models of best practices, and she is often called upon to speak at industry conferences, and as a guest speaker before undergraduate and graduate students as a Bryce Harlow Foundation faculty. Anne also serves on the Board of Directors of Women In Government Relations (WGR), co-chairing WGR’s Personal and Professional Development Committee. She is a political science graduate of Goucher College, one of PLEN’s founding member institutions.

Kristin Haffert’s Biography


Kristin Haffert is the founder and president of a firm that advises government, business, non-profits and foundations on how to develop, fund and implement initiatives that aim to achieve gender equality. Prior to opening Haffert Global, she successfully lobbied for, launched and directed the first department for women’s programs at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). From 2002-2009 she served as senior management and provided strategic advice to NDI field offices and political leaders in more than 60 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia on how to promote women’s leadership in legislatures, political parties and electoral processes.

She has developed and delivered political and leadership training for women at the national and grassroots level; raised public and private sector funds; managed high-profile events with global leaders; and identified and executed innovative programs such as iKNOW Politics, the premier online portal for women in politics.  In addition to these country-based efforts, Ms. Haffert spearheaded a series of global initiatives led by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that successfully raised awareness and mobilized resources for women’s political participation.

Ms. Haffert was an associate at The Lew Edwards Group, a political consulting firm specializing in grassroots organizing based in California, where she managed field campaigns for several successful candidate and issue campaigns, including AT&T, the Presidio Trust and public entities such as schools, libraries and fire departments. She led get-out-the-vote initiatives for the Kerry and Obama Presidential campaigns and played leadership roles on campaigns at the state and local level. Ms. Haffert was a fundraiser for the successful statewide re-election campaign of California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin.

Ms. Haffert founded a local chapter and served on the state board of the National Women’s Political Caucus in the US, and has received an award from the Center for American Women and Politics for working to increase women’s political participation. She serves on the Board of Two Steps Forward which promotes education for African refugee foster children. In 2010 she was the first recipient of the Public Leadership Education Network’s Alumna Leadership Award. Ms. Haffert received her B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Women’s Studies from Douglass College, Rutgers University where she was an undergraduate associate at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.

Stacie Hagenbaugh’s Biography


Stacie Hagenbaugh is the director of the Career Development Office at Smith College. Prior to coming to Smith, she worked at the Boston University School of Management, and at Emerson College, where she served as the director of Career Services.  Previous to her experience in higher education, Stacie she worked for Great American Media/Greer, Margolis, Mitchell, Grunwald, as well as the Women’s Information Network (WIN), both in Washington, DC.  She received a degree in Political Science and Women’s Studies form Douglass College/Rutgers University, and an EdM in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Lisa Kaenzig’s Biography


Lisa Kaenzig is the Associate Dean at William Smith College at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. Lisa has over 20 years of administrative experience, including several years working in politics in Washington, D. C.  Lisa served as the Executive Director of the Women’s Information Network (WIN), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing career support to women interested in politics and public service. She also worked on the staffs of the National Governors Association and the Women’s Campaign Fund in communications, advocacy and development roles.  She has been a Project Coordinator at the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary, Director of a Montessori school in North Carolina, and Principal for a career consulting firm. Lisa is a passionate advocate for the arts, serving as the president of the Music Boosters of Geneva and on the board of the Geneva Theatre Guild.

Lisa earned her B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University, her M.A. in Human Resource Development from George Washington University and her Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership from the College of William and Mary.

Kathryn Kolbert’s Biography


Kathryn Kolbert is the Constance Hess Williams Director of the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College. A public-interest attorney, journalist, and visionary in the not-for-profit world, Kathryn brings to Barnard an extraordinary depth of experience in collaborative leadership, educational programming, and civil-rights advocacy. She has been recognized by The National Law Journal as one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America,” and by The American Lawyer as one of 45 public- interest lawyers “whose vision and commitment are changing lives.” In 1992, Kathryn argued the landmark case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey before the U.S. Supreme Court and has been credited with saving Roe v. Wade with what Jeffrey Toobin has called “one of the most audacious litigation strategies in Supreme Court history.”

Before joining Barnard, Kathryn was the President and CEO of People for the American Way and People for the American Way Foundation, two of the nation’s premier civil rights organizations. During her tenure, People For the American Way’s Political Action Committee was cited by the National Journal as the most successful advocacy group of the 2008 election cycle.

Kathryn graduated cum laude from Temple University School of Law, and received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University’s School of Arts and Sciences. She has lectured at colleges and universities across the nation and is a frequent commentator on constitutional and women’s rights issues in the national media.

Karen Lebovich’s Biography


Check back soon!

Jacquelyn Litt’s Biography


Jacquelyn Litt is Dean of Douglass Residential College and Douglass Campus and Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She is currently writing a book, Women of Katrina: Crossing Borders, Weaving Networks, and Taking Care, which documents the strategies of survival women took to disaster recovery in the Katrina Diaspora.

Her primary research has been on motherhood, carework, and inequality, and she has many articles and two books on the topic: Medicalized Motherhood: Perspectives from the Lives of African American and Jewish Mothers (Rutgers University Press 2000), which was cited by ASA  for outstanding scholarship in race, class, and gender, and Global Perspectives on Gender and Carework, with Mary Zimmerman and Christine Bose (Stanford University Press 2006).

She was also Principal Investigator (2007-2010) of “Mizzou ADVANCE,” an NSF PAID/ADVANCE award to promote the status of women faculty in STEM. From this project she has published numerous articles on mentoring tenured faculty and established new mentoring programs at University of Missouri and Rutgers University. She currently serves as a project partner on Oklahoma State University’s PAID/ADVANCE grant and as an external advisor to Iowa State University’s ADVANCE grant.

Marta Mattox’s Biography


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Kimberly Owens’ Biography


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Heidi Schoenberger-Cobert’s Biography


Heidi Schoenberger-Cobert’s professional career spans 16 years as a lead corporate communications strategist and supervisor who knows how to build client confidence, manage expectations, drive a program, and ensure outstanding results. She has intensive agency experience hiring and motivating talented teams and designing/leading results-driven, bottom-line focused national and global Public Relations/MarCom/Public Affairs/Community Relations campaigns; Mergers and Acquisitions announcements; high-visibility Events; and high-stakes Crisis Communications projects. She spent years with Pacific Communications Group (consumer MarCom, PR & Public Affairs – Los Angeles) as well as with one of the nation’s leading high-tech and emerging business PR shops, Merritt Group (Washington D.C.). For the past eight years Heidi has run a consultancy, Cobert Communications Group (CCG), bringing together PR pros to form virtual teams and deliver impressive results – within budget – for corporate clients and organizations across a variety of business sectors. CCG also partners with other marketing communication firms where Heidi is integral to winning new business, developing communications programs, media training, and building clients’ confidence through excellent counsel and — results!

Heidi’s led numerous multi-level programs for high-visibility B2B and B2C corporations and Fortune 500s as well as notable foundations and strong start-ups. She works directly with CMOs and also advises CEOs and boards. She has done extensive work with the following high-profile clients: Ford Motor Company, Lincoln Mercury, VeriSign, CACI, Contour Products, Network Solutions, Intellichoice, Aston Martin Lagonda, and the Kaufmann Foundation – among many other industry-leading clients. Heidi has worked one-on-one with celebrities and prominent leaders, including Ford CEO and Chairman, William Clay Ford, Jr.

As the point person on behalf of her clients co-sponsoring celebrity charity and corporate events, Heidi has directed media programs for countless high-profile events including the: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (L.A.); Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance; FORD/NASCAR L.A. Street Race; Heal the Bay; Treasures from Mt. Vernon-George Washington Revealed; Macy’s Passport Fashion Show (the nation’s top start-studded fashion fundraiser); March of Dimes; NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell; and a number of national and international technology, retail, healthcare and automotive trade shows. In support of client Network Solutions, she also designed and successfully pitched the first D.C. dotcom Parade to the National Park Service and the Washington, D.C. Council and convinced the washingtonpost.com to sign-on and co-chair the event.

Having directed global campaigns and lived and worked on both the East and West Coasts as well as in Texas and the U.S. Heartland, Heidi has first-hand experience with many target markets and audiences. While she is a specialist in media relations and corporate communications strategy, Heidi is a “generalist” in terms of her client base, which includes the following industries: retail/consumer, technology, healthcare, government contractor, public affairs, real estate, mortgage, construction, transportation, automotive, venture capital, environmental, entertainment, and restaurant.  Heidi’s communication campaigns generate hundreds of media placements and she has personally placed numerous feature stories with top tier national and international media outlets – making considerable contributions to clients’ branding, continued success, and revenue. Heidi and her CCG team helped several clients not only survive the recent economic downturn, but established those clients as industry leaders.

While launching her consultancy, Heidi was also a top sales manager for Toll Brothers where she was responsible for: directing a sales team, building client relationships, marketing high-end residential real estate, managing a production schedule, maintaining budgets, and writing extremely detail-oriented financial real estate sales contracts. Within a year, she received one of the corporation’s top regional sales management awards for her leadership and impressive sales of numerous luxury (700K-$1Million+) residential properties in the highly competitive Washington, D.C. housing region. This experience gave Heidi the background for managing multiple real estate investments of her own during a turbulent housing market – background that was also valuable in her work for PR clients during the economic downturn.

Heidi prides herself on obtaining optimal market visibility for her clients through creative communication programs focused on excellent writing/messaging/editing, corporate partnerships, events, analyst relations, and streamlined traditional and digital media outreach – as well as social media corporate protocol. Heidi’s passionate about leading campaigns as a strategic business partner. She accurately forecasts how communication plans can help companies achieve short-term goals as well as long-term sustainable growth.

Heidi is on the board of directors for PLEN (Public Leadership Education Network), which mentors university women for international leadership through opportunities on Capitol Hill and Washington, D.C. And, she is on the Advisory Council for Washington, D.C.-based Helping Haitian Angels which helps rebuild communities in Haiti by caring for orphaned and abandoned children and establishing Microloans for local businesses. Heidi has also served on boards for Washington Women in PR, the American Red Cross, and Meals on Wheels. She spent years as a Disaster Relief caseworker for the American Red Cross while living in Austin and Los Angeles and has been affiliated with the American Red Cross since she developed a well-attended famine-relief fundraiser for the organization – Talent Outreach to Africa – in the 1980s, as a teenager.

Heidi is a member of WWPR (Washington Women in PR), IABC, PRSA AEJMC, Washington Network Group, Prince William Chamber of Commerce, the Piedmont Environmental Council, Ford’s Theatre, The Kennedy Center, and the Playwright’s Circle for Arena Stage in D.C. She’s a recurring contributor to Street Sense, Thrive DC, Save the Children, Helping Haitian Angels, the American Red Cross, and she is a sponsor for WWPR’s 2011 Emerging Leaders and PR Woman of the Year Awards.

Heidi also donates time as a pro-bono PR strategist for select non-profits to raise money and visibility for worthy causes and is a Girl Scout troop leader with the Girl Scouts Council of the Nation’s Capital. Additionally, she mentors many young women who are seeking leadership roles and careers in public relations and marketing. In her spare time she designs and teaches dance and fitness programs for children, families, and adults.

 Heidi has a Bachelor of Journalism in Public Relations from the University of Texas at Austin and also attended the Graduate School for Public Policy and Administration at California State University, Long Beach. She has completed the certifications for real-estate licensing in the State of Ohio. Heidi and her family reside on a farmette outside of the Washington, D.C. Beltway.

Jen Stange’s Biography


Jen Stange currently serves as Members Program Manager at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU is the fastest growing union in North America, serving two million members in four sectors – hospital systems, long term care, property services, and public services.

Previously, Ms. Stange held the position of scheduler to the President of SEIU, Program Officer at Affiliate Outreach for Global Partners where she initiated and supported Planned Parenthood affiliates’ engagement on behalf of global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including managing key relationships with affiliates receiving partnership and education/advocacy grants from Global Partners and working with national coalition partners to build broad-based, diverse support for global SRHR.

Prior to joining Global Partners, Jen was the Program Manager for the Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN), the only national organization whose sole mission is preparing young women for public leadership. Additionally, Jen served two terms on the Executive Committee for WIN, (Women’s Information Network), as Vice Chair and Finance Director. WIN is a volunteer-run nonprofit dedicated to empowering young women in the DC area by serving as a professional, political and social network.

Jen is a graduate of Hood College, located in Frederick, MD.