Meet our Team

Our staff – the overwhelming majority who are alumni of the NLC Institute – supports our chapters, caucuses, senior volunteers, and Fellows across the country.

Clare Bresnahan English (She/Her/Hers)

NLC President and CEO

Karen Pandy-Cherry (She/Her/Hers)

Vice President, Programs

Carson Mitchell Peña (She/Her/Hers)

Communications Director

Kate McCarty (She/Her/Hers)

Development Director

Kimberly Sawyer (She/Her/Hers)

Programs & Operations Manager

Tristan Pike (She/Her/Hers)

Programs & Operations Manager

Ambar Mendez (She/Her/Ella)

Programs Associate

Ashley Nealy (She/Her/Hers)

Digital Consultant

Candice Crawford (She/Her/Hers)

Operations Consultant

Our Leadership

NLC’s staff, board of directors, and senior volunteers provide support to our local chapters and direct the strategy for the organization.

This year reaffirmed that every minute, dollar, and thought spent in service of this organization was worthwhile. The groundswell of inclusive, local leaders emerging from NLC not only validates our belief in this program and community… it proves that what we do works.

– Candace Stanciel (she/her)

Secretary, NLC Board of Directors & Chair, National Diversity Committee

Board of Directors

Representing a wide-range of industries and experiences, our board of directors supports our national network of local changemakers.

Mark Walsh (He/Him/His) NLC Board Chair

Clare Bresnahan English (She/Her/Hers) NLC President and CEO

Sherry Merfish (She/Her/Hers) NLC Board Treasurer

Candace Stanciel (She/Her/Hers) NLC Board Secretary

Chris Kelly (He/Him/His) NLC Board Chair Emeritus

Robert Abernethy (He/Him/His)

Brittany Aydelotte (She/Her/Hers)

Justin Braz (He/Him/His)

Mitchel Draizin (He/Him/His)

Caroline Fayard (She/Her/Hers)

Donnie Fowler (He/Him/His)

Adela Ghadimi (She/Her/Hers)

Gina LaPlaca (She/Her/Hers)

Derrick Lewis (He/Him/His)

Yuh Wen Ling (She/Her/Hers)

Tim Mason (He/Him/His)

Patrick Murphy (He/Him/His)

David Pepper (He/Him/His)

Bret Perkins (He/Him/His)

Nick Rathod (He/Him/His)

MaryEllen Veliz (She/Her/Hers)

Kellan White (He/Him/His)

Members of the NPC come from every professional sector you could imagine, and many of them have been chapter leaders within NLC. They are able to bring those experiences to the table in service to chapters and say, ‘I’ve been there as a chapter leader. Here are the strategies and people who helped me learn, and here’s how I applied that to my professional life after NLC.’

– Kellan White (he/him)

Chair, National Programs Committee

National Programs Committee

The National Programs Committee is a volunteer council made up of alumni from the NLC Institute. They provide mentorship, coaching, and programmatic support to NLC’s chapters, while also serving as advisers to our staff.

Philadelphia, 2013 Kellan White (He/Him/His)

Chair

Tallahassee, 2016 Adela Ghadimi (She/Her/Hers)

Vice Chair

New Jersey, 2014 Brittany Aydelotte (She/Her/Hers)

Vice Chair

San Antonio, 2016 MaryEllen G. Veliz (She/Her/Hers)

Vice Chair

DC, 2013 Yuh Wen Ling (She/Her/Hers)

Vice Chair

Columbus, 2019 Alexa Hanna (She/Her/Hers)

Recruitment Co-Chair

Oklahoma, 2020 Amanda Morrall (She/Her/Hers)

Advancement Co-Chair

San Francisco, 2016 Anastasia Mallillin (She/Her/Hers)

Alumni Co-Chair

Dallas, 2018 Anna Marsden (They/Them/Theirs)

Capstone Co-Chair

Houston, 2016 Brandon Mack (He/Him/His)

At Large Member

Atlanta, 2013 Candace Stanciel (She/Her/Hers)

Chair, NDC

Atlanta, 2015 Charisse Price (She/Her/Hers)

Chair Emeritus

Boston, 2014 Dave Rini (He/Him/His)

Capstone Co-Chair

DC, 2016 David Reyes (He/Him/His)

Communications Co-Chair

Los Angeles, 2010 Eric DeSobe (He/Him/His)

Senior Lead Trainer

DC, 2016 Gabi Porter (She/Her/Hers)

Alumni Giving Chair

Los Angeles, 2009 Igor Tregub (He/Him/His)

At Large Member

CDNY, 2017 Jason Chura (He/Him/His)

Selections Co-Chair

Broward, 2014 Jason Liechty (He/Him/His)

Alumni Co-Chair

Arkansas, Founding Board Member Joshua Mahony (He/Him/His)

Mentorship Co-Chair

San Francisco, 2015 Julie Barton (She/Her/Hers)

At Large Member

Virginia, 2019 Micah Morris (She/Her/Hers)

Recruitment Co-Chair

Columbus, 2018 Michael Toland (He/Him/His)

Curriculum Co-Chair

San Antonio, 2020 Racquel Gilford (She/Her/Hers)

Mentorship Co-Chair

Pittsburgh, 2015 Rhi Cook (She/Her/Hers)

Communications Co-Chair

Columbus, 2018 Rob Leis (He/Him/His)

Selections Co-Chair

Atlanta, 2014 Russell Hopson (He/Him/His)

Senior LEAD Trainer

San Francisco, 2018 Ty Lim (He/Him/His)

Advancement Co-Chair

Dallas, 2020 Kisha Peterson (She/Her/Hers)

Curriculum Co-Chair

National Diversity Committee

As alumni of the NLC Institute, and now senior volunteer advisors for the organization, the National Diversity Committee promotes, improves and advises on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within all elements of NLC.

Atlanta. 2013 Candace Stanciel (She/Her/Hers)

Chair

Twin Cities, 2018 Biiftuu Ibrahim Adam (She/Her/Hers)

Vice Chair

Chicago, 2015 Evan Wright (He/Him/His)

Vice Chair/NDC Curriculum

Miami, 2016 Brandon Alfred (He/Him/His)

NDC Advancement

Orlando, 2017 Danielle Groves (She/Her/Hers)

NDC Advancement

DC, 2014 Farah Ahmad (She/Her/Hers)

NDC Advancement

Tallahassee, 2019 Jamarr Akins (He/Him/His)

NDC Capstone/NDC Mentorship

Columbus, 2020 Kelly Capatosto (She/Her/Hers)

NDC Recruitment

Oakland, 2017 Kimberly Hess (She/Her/Hers)

NDC Communications

North Carolina, 2020 Maaso Kalema (She/Her/Hers)

NDC Capstone/NDC Mentorship

Detroit, 2017 Reda Taleb (She/Her/Hers)

NDC Advancement/NDC Alumni

Los Angeles, 2019 Richard Leong (He/Him/His)

NDC Selections

San Antonio, 2018 Shenée Simon (She/Her/Hers)

NDC Selections

New Jersey, 2017 Stephanie Brown (She/Her/Hers)

NDC Communications

Capital District NY, 2017 Zakhar Berkovich (He/Him/His)

NDC Alumni

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