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Choice USA's Board of Directors brings a strong, balanced blend of skills and experience to the organization. With nearly half our of board members under the age of 30 and all from diverse backgrounds, experiences and fields, our board represents the diversity and youth of our organization while simultaneously embracing intergenerational learning.
 Azadeh Golshan, Chair, has been active in the reproductive justice movement since 2000 and began working with Choice USA as a student activist in 2002. She joined the Board of Directors in 2003 and, before her election as Board Chair, served as Board Secretary for four years. By day, Azi is a J.D. candidate at the University of Georgia School of Law, where she concentrates on juvenile justice, child advocacy, and indigent defense, and is also active in the public interest law community. Previously, Azi served for two years as an immigration paralegal with Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP (formerly Paul Hastings Immigration Practice Group) in Atlanta and as a 7th and 8th grade Sunday School teacher at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church. Azi is also the former Alumni Fellow at the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program, where she co-coordinated the national conference "From Abortion Rights to Social Justice." Azi has worked with a multitude of local, state, and national organizations, and she has been a speaker for numerous social justice conferences and panels. She is a graduate of Hampshire College, a 2003 recipient of the national Top 30 Under 30 Activists for Choice award, and co-author of the article "Pro-Whose-Life? Ten Reasons Why Militarism is Bad for Your Health" which was published in the Women's Review of Books in 2004.
 Kate DeMayo, Secretary, is the campaign manager for the North Carolina Sustainable Food Systems Coalition, which is a network of organizations involved in legislative and public policy advocacy to develop a just and sustainable local food system in North Carolina. Previous to that she worked from 2004 to 2009 as the United States Program Coordinator for Ipas, an international reproductive health and rights organization based in Chapel Hill, NC. Before joining Ipas she was the Reproductive Health and Access intern at NARAL Pro-Choice New York. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Women’s and Gender Studies from Rutgers University. Kate works for the Board of Weaver Street Market, one of the largest cooperatively owned grocery stores in the country. In her free time, Kate plays the drums and volunteers at a local yoga studio.
 Rebecca Fox, Treasurer, is the director of the National Coalition for LGBT Health, leading organizations nationwide working together to improve the lives and health of LGBT people through advocacy, outreach and education. She also teaches human sexuality at the George Washington University. She serves on the boards of Choice USA, a national organization that mobilizes and supports the diverse, upcoming generation of leaders who promote and protect reproductive choice, and the Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force (WACDTF), a local organization working to ensure access for all women to reproductive health services. Prior to coming to the Coalition, Fox worked as the Assistant Director for Public Policy at SIECUS, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.
 Rachel Thomas, Fundraising Chair, is the Manager for Privacy and Government Affairs at The McGraw-Hill Companies in Washington, DC. In this role, she serves as the front-line compliance officer for the corporation on matters of customer privacy. She also advocates on behalf of the corporation before legislative and regulatory bodies on privacy issues and works to shape federal, state and international regulation and legislation on related issues. Previously, Rachel managed the corporation's global Women's Initiative for Networking and Success (WINS) and its multiple employee mentoring programs, serving as an internal consultant to the grass-roots infrastructure of WINS Regional Networks on four continents and partnering with leaders throughout the company to launch career development programs targeting young women. Prior to joining The McGraw-Hill Companies, Rachel was Director of Programs and Projects for the Women Faculty Forum (WFF) at Yale University, where she developed and expanded programs designed to promote gender equity and gendered research, advancing WFF advocacy on issues of mentoring, affordable childcare, and other matters of faculty development and work/life balance. From 2004 to 2007, she served as Board Member and then Development Chair of The Rosie Fund, Connecticut’s only private abortion fund. In anticipation of the 2004 March for Women's Lives, she founded the New Haven Coalition for Reproductive Rights to engage area residents in the March and local pro-choice activities and also worked closely with Planned Parenthood of Connecticut’s “Roaring Twenties” to educate and encourage twenty-something women to take action in protecting their reproductive rights. She has also served on the Ivy Council Board of Governors since 2002. Rachel earned a BA degree in Humanities from Yale University in 2002.
 Mary Jean Collins, Program Chair, has devoted her life to progressive issues, including reproductive freedom. She is currently working as a consultant. She formerly served as the Senior Vice-President and National Political Director for People for the American Way and its political action committee. Collins has also served as the Deputy Director and the Director of Public Affairs at Catholics for Choice and as National Vice-President for the National Organization for Women.
 Wyndi Marie Anderson, is a leading feminist and social justice advocate who has been working for the protection of human rights for over ten years. Her work for the rights of drug-addicted women has earned her national recognition as a leader in both the women’s rights and the drug policy reform movements. She currently works as the Senior Director of Programs for the Abortion Access Project. Ms. Anderson works towards a vision where women will have access to the health care they need, without question, harassment or fear!
 Diana Bruce, has more than 15 years experience in reproductive health, HIV, adolescent health and sexuality education. As director of health and wellness for the District of Columbia Public Schools, Diana leads DCPS’s student health and wellness programming, school mental health initiatives and curriculum supports for health and physical education. Prior to joining DCPS, Diana was the director of policy and government affairs of AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families in Washington, DC, and served temporarily as co-interim executive director. Diana’s other experience includes positions with the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, Planned Parenthood of New York City and the Mayor of the City of New York. An alumna of the University of Texas at El Paso with a Bachelor’s in Journalism, Diana also holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Diana’s a busy mom of two who serves on the boards of directors of Choice USA and Thrive DC (formerly, Dinner Program for Homeless Women). Jane Feustel is currently the director of Colorado Progressive Action and works on various social justice issues including health care reform, racial justice, voter education/outreach, economic justice, and ending the war in Iraq. While in college, Jane became active both in reproductive justice work as well as with organizing efforts in support of Asian American studies on campus. Presently, Jane is a member of Luz Reproductive Justice Think Tank in Denver. Born in Madison, Wisconsin and raised in Lakewood, Colorado, Jane is a graduate of Oberlin College with a degree in Comparative American Studies.
 Elise Higgins is a graduate of University of Kansas in Women’s Studies and Political Science where she led the Commission on the Status of Women. Elise also acts as an Advisory Board Member for the Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center. She first became involved with Choice USA in 2007 with the campaign to Restore the Costs of BC when she worked with her chapter and a Student Senate Coalition to develop a platform to lower birth control and STI testing costs on campus. After being elected to Student Senate, Elise went on to hold many leadership positions and sit on multiple Student Senate Advisory boards. She currently holds the Community Affairs Director position. Elise, like many other students, was well aware that the university has a high number of assaults in the scarcely lit neighborhoods between downtown Lawrence and campus. As the Community Affairs Director she worked with Lawrence City Commission to fund and implement increased lighting in these neighborhoods. She was awarded $120,000 from Student Senate to go towards the lighted path. Elise is the Lawrence National Organization of Women’s representative to the Kansas NOW Board of Directors and a member of the Lawrence Health Action Team, a collaboration between Planned Parenthood Kansas Mid-Missouri and the Kansas NOW. She works as a strategist/project manager with Kansas Grassroots, a progressive grassroots organizing firm.
Valerie McKenzie, is the owner and director of McKenzie Fine Art, a contemporary art gallery located in the Chelsea district of New York. She joined the board of Choice USA in 2007 after being involved in several fundraising events for the organization. She also serves on the boards of two other non-profits: Cultural Connections Curriculum, an organization which arranges guided museum visits for public school children in New York, and Momenta, an alternative arts space in Brooklyn for emerging and under-represented artists. She has been a member of ArtTable, a national organization for professional women in the arts, since 1998. Valerie has been an advocate of liberal political causes since she campaigned for George McGovern as a teenager, and along with her life-time commitment to women’s reproductive freedom, she is also a strong supporter of animal rights and progressive environmental causes.
 Nikki Shonoiki is an Upperclassman at University of Wisconsin- River Falls studying Intercultural Communications with a minor in Social Justice. Growing up in a lower middle class mixed-race community in South Minneapolis, MN she gained an appreciation for cultural and economic differences and the effects those differences have on society. Nikki herself is a cultural hybrid born to a Nigerian father and African American mother she felt tugged between following American culture while still holding on to her father's heritage. She has a twin brother and an older sister who has 2 sons. Nikki began paying attention to politics in High school, specifically when the twin towers fell. Until then she didn't realize the impact she could make on her community through political activism. When she arrived at UWRF and began taking courses in Political Science, she found where her passion lays. After being on Student Senate for 2 .5 years she's gained more knowledge about politics and more experience in political activism. In Spring 2008, she ran for local political office as a Pierce County Board Supervisor and won making her the only women, only minority and youngest member of the board in living memory. She has served as the Director of Diversity and Women's Initiatives on UWRF's Student Senate and is currently a Co-founder and Co-Chair of Rise Up for Women's Rights. She is also an Intern for United Council of UW Students, Wisconsin's State-wide Student Association. After her Post-Secondary career at UWRF she hopes to continue on to Graduate school in order to receive a Masters in International Business. With this degree she would like to manage and/or start social justice organizations around the world that deal with major social issues such as poverty, women's rights, equal rights, genocide, etc., with the hope of creating positive change in at least one person's life.
 Jennifer Stark is currently the Manager of the Disaster Fundraising program at the American Red Cross National Headquarters. In this role, she oversees efforts to raise revenue to meet the needs of domestic relief operations as well as the organization’s $100 million Campaign for Disaster Relief. Previously, she was the Senior Vice President & Director of Development at the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). In this role, she helped lead the organization in fulfilling its mission of providing women and men with the education and access to contraception they need to make responsible, healthy decisions to build strong families and communities. At NARAL Pro-Choice America, she led voter contact efforts from Washington State to Florida to mobilize pro-choice voters. She also helped manage the logistics and finances of the 2004 March for Women's Lives, the largest march on Washington, DC in the nation's history. Before her life as a professional non-profiteer, she worked at the Corporate Executive Board where she learned that corporations and non-profits are more alike than they are different but it is the mission that matters. She is a proud alum of Choice USA - as a chapter co-founder at UNC-Chapel Hill and a graduate of the Gloria Steinem Leadership Institute. Everyday she draws upon the skills and lessons she learned under the leadership and support of Choice USA. And in keeping with the Choice USA model - she is always looking for opportunities to train, teach and mentor the next generation of pro-choice leadership.
 Adrienne Verrilli is a communications veteran and public policy expert who has worked in the non-profit community for the past 12 years. As a consultant, Adrienne has a breadth of experience on a range of issues and brings broad-based strategic thinking about communications to her clients. Areas of expertise include a range of health care access issues with a particular expertise in reproductive and sexual health rights, improving the health of the oceans, as well as reducing the impact of climate change and other environmental issues. Prior to consulting, Adrienne worked at Spitfire Strategies, Inc. where she led efforts to increase access to health care for immigrants in the US and to advance the designation of marine protected areas off the California coast. She has worked with broad coalitions to improve air quality in California's Central Valley, advance environmental issues in Washington State, as well as improving the arts and culture in Silicon Valley. Prior to joining Spitfire, Adrienne worked at the Public Interest Media Group where she worked on progressive health and education issues. Adrienne served for more than four years as the Director of Communications for the Sexuality for the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US (SIECUS) and cut her communications teeth on sexual and reproduction health rights and issues at the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association and Planned Parenthood Federation. Adrienne was formerly a banker: following her passion for a more equitable and just world, she left a 10-year career in the financial industry to join the progressive non-profit community.
 Lauren Young, a department editor for the Personal Business section at BusinessWeek, covers mutual funds, travel, and health, among other topics. She joined BusinessWeek in October 2003 after working as a senior writer for SmartMoney. Young also wrote about mutual funds for the Dow Jones Newswires and was a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal. At Dow Jones, Young was a union leader and led a fight to have the health plan cover contraceptives. She has a B.A. in English from Penn State, and a Masters from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Based in New York, she lives with her husband, Jon Gordon, who is an intellectual property attorney, and their son, Leo. She works one day a week from home.
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