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2023-2024 Staff & Board Members

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.   — Margaret Mead, Cultural Anthropologist (1901 – 1978)

BOARD MEMBERS

Kruthi Duraisamy is a junior at Liberty High School and the president of her school’s student-led equity club! She works very closely with her school’s administration and student body. She regularly attends staff meetings to give insight on equity-related issues to make her school more welcoming. Her previous life experiences have made her aware of all the discrepancies women face in every stage of their lives and with the help of many insightful people and organizations along the way, Kruthi hopes to make future generations more equitable in every way possible, by spreading credible, valuable information.

Nicole Garzino – Philanthropy and Communications Strategy Leader
Nicole Garzino brings over 20 years of experience as a nonprofit leader in arts, cultural, educational, grantmaking, and social justice organizations, and as a marketing executive and strategy consultant for publishers and creative businesses. She leads her own consultancy, Nicole Garzino & Associates (www.nicolegarzino.com). In the nonprofit sector, she has served as an Executive Director, Director of Development, consultant, and Board member in museums, art centers, professional theatre companies, and a public charter high school for arts and digital technology.

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More recently, she has led initiatives in foundations and funding organizations to increase giving to community organizations and racial equity in grant making processes. Nicole is also a mother of three young adult daughters and an elementary-age son, all of whom were raised learning the importance of women’s stories and experiences throughout history.

Supporting social justice and inclusive history education for young people is very important to Nicole, so she is involved in progressive homeschooling communities, public charter schools, and LGTBQ+ teen support nonprofits.

Kathleen Geraghty – Journalist and Author, is a former newspaper photojournalist who resides in Chicago. A lifelong student of all things photo-related, Kathleen earned an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her final semester in graduate school was devoted to a three-month documentary photography  project in a women’s maximum security prison.

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During her subsequent tenure in the newspaper industry, Kathleen was a full-time photographer, covering politics, business, sports and local feature stories. For the past 20 years, she has worked in marketing and digital communications, both in the non-profit and for-profit sectors. In 2020, she published her first book, “Thanks to Her: Finding Power and Inspiration in Your Family Photos.” Kathleen cites groundbreaking female photojournalists such as Frances Benjamin Johnston, Dorothea Lange and Esther Bubley as her inspirations. She also owes a debt of gratitude to the late professor Amanda Hallay, who helped her navigate the world of early 20th century fashion history during the research for “Thanks to Her.” Kathleen is currently at work on a second book.

www.kathleengeraghty.com

Author: “Thanks to Her: Finding Power and Inspiration in Your Family Photos”

Kate Kelly – Writer & Website owner – On my website, www.americacomesalive.com, I tell little-known stories of America’s past featuring women and men of all backgrounds. The website is well-trafficked with about about 400,000 readers each year.

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Earlier in my career, I worked as a book collaborator. I was a co-author/ghostwriter on some 35 books ranging from medical to business advice books.  I have also completed a six-volume history of medicine for Facts on File, and several books about science for laypeople.

I frequently have been quoted by the press on various topics in publications such as Time and The Wall Street Journal. I have appeared on World News Tonight, Good Morning America, The View, The CBS Early Show, Fox and Friends, and on CNN, MSNBC and The Fox News Channel.

Nonprofit board service: The Larchmont (NY) Historical Society board, the Westchester County Historical Society board, Friends of the Smith College Library Board, several various boards in NY and in Los Angeles having to do with lupus. I also just finished a six-year stint on the board of the American Battlefield Trust.

Emily McCoy has served as Immediate Past Chair of the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association and Co-Chair of its Interpretation and Design Committee. She led the development of the informational content of the national outdoor informative memorial to honor American suffragists. The memorial was dedicated in 2021.

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For decades Ms. McCoy has been an activist for women’s rights primarily in Virginia. She had worked on such issues as the Equal Rights Amendment, child support, divorce law, abortion rights, and the prevention of child abuse, teen pregnancy, and domestic violence, and for equality in the courts and in athletics.

She continues her advocacy through the Virginia Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) having served on and chaired its Political Action Committee and having served as lobbyist and state president. She serves on the Fairfax County Commission for Women and served on the National Association of Commissions for Women (NACW) as secretary and vice president. She has also served on the state-wide Child Support Advisory Committee, and the Virginia Supreme Court’s Task Force on Gender Bias in Virginia Courts. Her activist awards include Lady Fairfax, Virginia NOW Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Service, the NACW Recognition Award, and a Virginia Museum of History and Culture’s 2020 Changemaker.  She is retired from her post as principal systems engineer with the MITRE Corporation.

Lyapa Nakazwe-MasiyaLeadership Advisor
Leveraging her skills in business and as a professional speaker, Lyapa works with global organizations to address their talent needs and help eradicate gender inequality in society. From a young age, as one of two female students in my elementary grade, she understood not only the challenges of being a female, but also the importance of gender diversity and equality. However, being exposed to strong female role models enabled her to overcome these hurdles.

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Today, as a mother of two girls, she is passionate about contributing to the establishment of a global inclusive society, where everyone regardless of their gender has a sense of belonging, equal rights and opportunities to thrive.

As a global citizen, born in Zambia, she has lived and worked across several countries in Africa, Europe and most recently the United States.

Reverend Terri Ofori – Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging and Chaplain at the Brooks School. Reverend Ofori is an ordained minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church, USA. Prior to coming to the Brooks School, Reverend Ofori was chaplain and professor at Ursinus College. She began her ministry as a chaplain in higher education under the tutelage of the late Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes when she was selected as the Harvard University Seminarian. She was later appointed the Director of the Harvard University Memorial Church School following graduation from the Harvard Divinity School.

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Reverend Ofori has served the church as Interim Pastor of the following churches respectively: United Church of Spring Valley, NY (UCC), Trinity Presbyterian Church (NJ), First Presbyterian Church of Levittown NY, Interim Minister of Christian Education at the Hingham (MA) Congregational Church (UCC) and Minister for Christian Education and Spiritual Formation at the Flemington (NJ) Presbyterian Church. She currently serves on the Episcopal-Presbyterian Bilateral Dialogue Committee and is a member of NGO (CSW) and has served as delegate to the United Nations Committee on the Status of Women representing the PCUSA (2022) and Ecumenical Women (2016). Reverend Ofori has served the academy as a chaplain and lecturer at Harvard University, Brown University, Wellesley College, Emerson College, Simmons College, and Bloomfield College.

Reverend Ofori received her Th. M. in Education and Spiritual Formation from Princeton Theological Seminary, the M. Div. degree from Harvard University where she was an FTE Fellow in the Program for Religion and Secondary Education, (the Master of Arts Degree in Cross Cultural Studies from Columbia International University, and the Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the Mississippi University for Women. Reverend Ofori received a certificate in Executive Leadership from McCormick Theological Seminary and a certificate in Strategic Leadership Development from the U.S. Army War College. She completed her Clinical Pastoral Education at Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals (Dana Farber Cancer Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital). Reverend Ofori is in the process of completing her dissertation on womanist spirituality at Fordham University, where she received her certificate in Spiritual Direction. She is enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program at Virginia Theological Seminary with a focus on educational leadership for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In October of 2022, Reverend Ofori was inducted to the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers in the Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers & Laity at Morehouse College, Atlanta Georgia. Reverend Ofori is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Society for Biblical Literature and the Association for Chaplains and Spiritual Leaders in Higher Education, and the National Association of Episcopal Schools.

Patricia Ann Pierce retired from Vanderbilt University in 2007 after a career of almost thirty years as the Senior Director of the Opportunity Development Center (ODC). She was responsible for all University and Medical Center matters related to equal opportunity and affirmative action laws, regulations, and guidelines. She designed and conducted workshops for faculty and staff on a variety of topics related to equity and diversity, and she served as a fact-finder and mediator of grievances filed by faculty, staff and students. She served on the Board of Commissioners of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission and was elected three years as Board Chair.

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Currently, she serves as a member of the Economic Council Foundation Board and Chairs the Scholarship Program, is a Board member of the Nashville Sports Council where she served on the Legacy Committee for the 2014 Women’s Final Four basketball tournament and is Board member Emeritus for ATHENA International.

Ms. Pierce achieved outstanding success in the academic world and is recognized internationally as an advocate for diversity and equity. She has presented numerous programs on disability issues, gender issues, including sexual harassment, and cultural diversity for Nashville community organizations, and at regional, national, and international conferences. She has given her time to many organizations to help promote opportunities and advocate equity for women. She has served as a volunteer or member of thirty-four organizations, served as President or Vice President of nine organizations and served as a member of the Board of Directors of twenty organizations of which two are international organizations. She was a founding member of Women in Higher Education in Tennessee. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Rotary International Jean Harris Award, YWCA Academy of Women of Achievement, the Women in Higher Education in TennesseeJune Anderson Award, the 2003 Nashville ATHENA Award, the 2006 Tennessee Economic Council’s Excellence & Equity Award, Tennessee State University’s 2008 Woman of Legend and Merit Award, and Nashville’s largest women’s organization CABLE prestigious Molly Todd Cup which is given to a woman who spends much of her life making the world a better place to liveShe is a graduate of Leadership America, Leadership Nashville, the Oxford University Roundtable, and is an inductee of the Tennessee International Women’s Forum. She was selected as one of Tennessee’s national delegates to participate in Vision 2020 Program at Drexel University. She has a BS degree from the University of Tennessee in 1973. She played basketball at UT in 1968 under Joan Cronan. She completed the Bryn Mawr University Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration and the National Institute for Leadership Development at Arizona State. She was married to the late Jacky Goss and she resides in Harriman, TN. She and Jacky have two sons and four grandchildren. She lives in the home she and her late husband built in Harriman, TN.

Cynthia Denise Robinson Smith, Cynthia Denise Robinson Smith is 56 years old. She is the oldest of 3 children born to Mr. & Mrs. Leroy & Barbara Robinson. Cynthia is Jersey made like Sarah Vaughn, Queen Latifah and Atlantic City.

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She graduated from Seton Hall University and moved to California July 31, 1989. Cynthia has been married to Alton Smith, Jr. for 30 years. They have a blended and extended family that includes 3 girls and 3 boys.

California has become their Land of Milk & Honey a place of new beginnings for Cynthia and Alton. They were married in CA; their daughters and grandson were born here in California and Cynthia’s best friend Sue lives here in CA.

Cynthia is a Women’s Historian, Performer & Mental Health Advocate. She has been in the administrative profession for 30 years.

Cynthia is a proud member of the National Black Women’s Historical Alliance Committee and a recent National Women’s Historical Alliance Board member.

Cynthia is a proud and active alumni of her company’s Diversity & Inclusion Council.

Rosita Stevens-Holsey, the niece of Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray, is a dynamic educator, author, activist, and community engager focused on sharing stories of historical and pioneering voices for children and adults to be inspired by. Rosita Stevens-Holsey is president of Preserving Pauli Murray, LLC, which she founded to enhance the legacy of her aunt, The Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray. Prior to moving back home to Washington, D.C., Ms. Stevens-Holsey was a Systems Engineer for IBM; a Regional Coordinator of Minority Studies for the Department of Defense Overseas School System; Founder of a management consulting firm in Atlanta, GA; and Director of the Regional Minority Purchasing Council in partnership with the Savannah Chamber of Commerce.

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Before returning to teaching in 2008, Ms. Stevens-Holsey was an Advocate, Program Coordinator, and Director of a non-profit organization that provided services for persons with disabilities. She holds a B.S. in Science and Education from the State University of New York and a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Human Services from Boston University. Stevens-Holsey is co-author of Pauli Murray – The Life of a Pioneering Feminist & Civil Rights Activist. Pauli Murray was a thorn in the side of white America demanding justice and equal treatment for all. Murray conceptualized the arguments that would win Brown v.Board of Education of Topeka; and in 1964, the arguments that won women equality in the workplace.

Throughout her life, Murray fought for the oppressed, not only through changing laws but by using her powerful prose to influence those who could affect change. Murray’s achievements as a writer, activist, attorney, and Episcopal priest are now being uncovered, rendering her life and legacy stronger and more relevant. Ms. Stevens-Holsey is a contributor, supporter, and board member of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice in Durham, North Carolina. She has followed her Aunt Pauli’s lead in advocating for human rights issues and fighting discrimination against women, minorities, and those in need. Part of her present work is to support and enhance organizations’ efforts to promote her aunt’s legacy through speaking and personal appearances. Ms. Stevens-Holsey shares much of her Aunt Pauli’s story through her Instagram, Facebook, and website.

https://www.instagram.com/preservingpaulimurray/
https://www.facebook.com/Preserving-Pauli-Murray-110091611510279
https://www.preservingpaulimurray.com

Martha Wheelock, NWHA President, Filmmaker, Writer, Producer, Director, Educator

Martha has combined education and filmmaking for over four decades when she discovered that there were so very few films about women and women’s history. Frustrated that she had to teach only male writers in her American Literature course caused her to make films on eclipsed women writers like Kate Chopin, May Sarton, and Madeleine L’Engle.  For over 40 years, Martha taught English, Ethics and Women’s Studies in both high school and college. She continues to work in education as a mentor and advisor to those working in Women’s History, and as a presenter of her films and study of Women’s History.

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When Women celebrated the 50th Anniversary of their Right to Vote in 1970, Martha marched down 5th Avenue, NYC; for the 75th Anniversary, she produced the first of her Women’s History Films, VOTES FOR WOMEN. For the Centennial of California Women’s suffrage, her film, CALIFONIA WOMEN WIN THE VOTE, was the centerpiece of that celebration. Her next film was a celebratory portrait of the young suffrage martyr INEZ MILHOLLAND for the Centennial of her death, 2016. For the Suffrage Centennial, 2020, she co-produced FINDING JUSTICE: The Untold Story of Women’s Fight for the Vote, the discovery of the 1915 Pennsylvania Suffrage Campaign’s ingenious use of a replica of the Liberty Bell, The Justice Bell, and its tour throughout the state.  Martha was a lead on the creation of the Suffrage Centennial Float in the 2020 Rose Parade, an award-winning celebratory display of 100 “suffragists” walking with Ms. Liberty and seven descendants of Suffrage leaders.

In addition to her board membership of the NWHA, Martha is on the board of the Justice Bell Foundation, a member of the Alliance of Women Directors, and a graduate of Earlham College (BA), New York University (MA, PhD) and AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women. She is the Executive Director of Wild West Women, Inc, a non-profit company she co-founded to produce films which bring women out of obscurity, spread our history, and provide positive role models for women and girls. See her 14 films at her website.

Her websites:  www.wildwestwomen.orginezmilholland.org

Jill Kracov Zinckgraf is the interim Executive Director of the National Women’s History Alliance.  A bold, collaborative non-profit executive, Jill leverages 25+ years of agency and grassroots leadership to engage diverse coalitions in elevating the voices of those impacted by interpersonal violence through a multidisciplinary, inclusive approach to ending domestic violence and sexual assault.

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In addition to her leadership of DASACC, she also serves on the board of trustees for: The House of the Good Shepherd, Centenary University and is the past-president and treasurer for the Hackettstown Rotary Club.

A strong proponent of tackling the intersectionality of poverty and abuse, Jill was the Director of Development for Oasis – A Haven for Women and Children where she significantly enhanced fundraising, public relations, and volunteerism to break the cycle of poverty for women and children.

Prior to Oasis, Jill led fundraising, public relations, and domestic violence response operations as the Director of Development for Women Aware, Middlesex County’s lead advocacy agency. In addition to presenting on violence prevention and response at national forums, Jill was the moderator of the SmartTalk Women speaker series, interviewing female celebrities in politics, business, and the arts.

As a Women’s Studies Professor and DVRT and SART Trainer, Jill educated thousands of public officials, service providers, organizations, and students on the importance of community teamwork to end domestic violence, including mobilizing a network of 200+ volunteers to deliver 150+ training programs as the Domestic Violence Response Team Coordinator for Passaic County Women’s Center.

Inspired to deliver breakthrough solutions and create a social, political, and economic environment in which violence against women no longer exists, Jill completed her EdD in Organizational Leadership at Stockton University to engage all voices in the social justice model. She earned a Master of Public Administration from Rutgers University, Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies from William Paterson University, and Associate Degree from County College of Morris.

A dedicated partner to healthcare, business, and educational institutions, Jill was named BW NICE’s 2018 Businesswoman of the Year, NJBIZ’s Healthy Workplace Healthcare Hero, was recognized for her turnaround of DASACC in a 2019 Forbes publication and named 2020 Top 50 Women in Business in NJ by NJ BIZ and most recently awarded the 2022 Program/Shelter Executive of the Year from DomesticShelters.org Purple Ribbon Awards.

An avid nature and animal lover, Jill enjoys spending time with her husband and four grown children, hiking the beautiful Adirondacks, and engaging with her energetic dog and office companion, Rudy.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr. is a graphic designer and the author of “Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement,” a widely praised and beautifully illustrated history of this important nonviolent movement. Director of the Woman Suffrage Media Project since 1993, he has spent decades delving deep into the nation’s photographic archives and consulting on numerous documentary films, books, and special projects. Co-author with Helen Michalowski of “The Power of the People: Active Nonviolence in the United States,” he has designed and created publications for the National Women’s History Project and the Alliance including posters, timeline display sets, centennial updates, magazines and the popular 2020 Gazette, “Women Win the Vote,” which encouraged national recognition of the women’s suffrage centennial. Robert’s work is in the tradition of American men who have supported women’s equality and recognized that women’s accomplishments are a central part of American history.

Molly Murphy MacGregor, National Women’s History Alliance Executive Director and Co-Founder

Molly Murphy MacGregor, National Women’s History Alliance former Executive Director and Co-Founder is now serving as interim staff. MacGregor is a former high school social studies teacher who has worked for over 40 years in the field of gender equity and women’s history. She conducts women’s history workshops and women’s historic sites tours throughout the country. She also works with state and national agencies on strategies and programs to help acknowledge and recognize the historic contributions of women. Her work in the field of multicultural women’s history has been widely recognized including awards from the National Education Association, the US Department of Education, the National Association for Multicultural Education, and the Association for Gender Equity Leadership in Education Leadership. Molly is accessible via email at nwhp1980@gmail.com

Diana Carpenter Madoshi received a Bachelor of Science Degree in nursing from Sacramento State University. She is retired after more than 30 years in nursing. For more than 20 years she has volunteered as event coordinator and planner for nonprofit programs and organizations to promote forums and conferences on issues pertinent to women. Women suffrage history has been a passion for her. She credits countless undervalued women community leaders for stroking her fire, as well her mentor women rights activist Carol Norberg who co-chaired women Women’s Equality Day parades with her.

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The parades and rally were organized to remind women of the sacrifices women made to get them the right to vote. Friends and colleagues refer to Diana as a “go to person” to get things done. She was a founding member and co-chair of the 2011 California Women Suffrage Centennial Committee that promoted celebratory events across the state about California women winning the vote. During March Women History Month, Diana organizes and promotes programs that teach and inform the community about women history and achievements. Always, the advocate and activist, she serves on nonprofit boards like the League of Women Voters in her county and a few statewide boards. A loving mother of three and grandmother of six, she delights in reminding them that we all have a purpose and obligation to “plant seeds” for the next generation.

Dr. Kimberly Salter, Ph.D. is an Organizational Psychologist and Marriage Family Therapist in partnership with Dr. Santiago Estrada (her husband) they co-founded Santiago Estrada & Associates (S.E.A.) an employee assistance and management resource company in 1983. Kimberly has given talks and presentations on Women’s ‘Herstory’ for the past 15 years. She is the past president of the California National Organization for Women and currently sits on the board of USNC for UN Women, Southern California Chapter.  Dr. Salter has facilitated many conferences, locally, statewide and nationally.

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She was chair of the CA NOW State Conference in 1999; co-chair of “Girls 2000: Choices and Dreams” Orange County, CA; co-chair of the 2001 Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) National Conference “Embracing Diversity: A Feminist Odyssey”; co-chair V-Day Laguna Beach 2003 and 2004; and she has appeared as Eleanor Roosevelt in “Women Making a Difference”. Kimberly has traveled around the state and the United States as a speaker, workshop presenter, and forum facilitator on subjects ranging from psychological well-being and empowerment to women’s herstory and women’s rights. She has served on many boards locally and statewide over the past 25 years and is a member of almost every progressive and feminist organization that exists. Closest to her heart (along with her husband of 24 years) are her three grandsons.