Our Leadership
NLC’s staff, board of directors, and senior volunteers provide support to our local chapters and direct the strategy for the organization.
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.
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.
Board Chair, NLC Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Representing a wide-range of industries and experiences, our board of directors supports our national network of local changemakers.
Candace Stanciel
(She/Her/Hers)
NLC Board Chair
Chief Equity Officer
City of Atlanta
NLC Atlanta ’13
NLC Executive Committee Member
Chief Equity Officer
City of Atlanta
NLC Atlanta ’13
NLC Executive Committee Member
Clare Bresnahan English
(She/Her/Hers)
NLC President and CEO
NLC Washington DC ’12
NLC Washington DC ’12
Yumi Lawlor
(She/Her/Hers)
NLC Board Secretary
General Counsel
January
NLC Executive Committee Member
General Counsel
January
NLC Executive Committee Member
Michael Toland
(He/Him/His)
NLC Board Treasurer
Senior Product Management
Pathfinder Product Labs
NLC Columbus ’18
NLC Executive Committee Member
Senior Product Management
Pathfinder Product Labs
NLC Columbus ’18
NLC Executive Committee Member
Sherry Merfish
(She/Her/Hers)
NLC Executive Committee Member
Chris Kelly
(He/Him/His)
NLC Board Chair Emeritus
Co-Owner at Sacramento Kings
Media and Technology Executive
NLC Executive Committee Member
Co-Owner at Sacramento Kings
Media and Technology Executive
NLC Executive Committee Member
Justin Braz
(He/Him/His)
Assistant Commissioner – Transportation
Policy/ Chief of Staff
New Jersey Department of Transportation
NLC New Jersey Founding Board Member
Policy/ Chief of Staff
New Jersey Department of Transportation
NLC New Jersey Founding Board Member
Raymonde Charles
(She/Her/Hers)
Vice President of Communications
Education & Venture
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Education & Venture
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Robert Abernethy
(He/Him/His)
Founder and President
American Standard Development company
& Self Storage Management Company
American Standard Development company
& Self Storage Management Company
Wendy Davis
(She/Her/Hers)
Former State Senator and Founder, Deeds Not Words
Rhianon DeLeeuw
(She/Her/Hers)
Senior Vice President, US FP&A and Strategy
Donnie Fowler
(He/Him/His)
Director, Innovation Campaign, Meta
Adela Ghadimi
(She/Her/Hers)
PhD Candidate, Public Administration & Policy
Joon I. Kim
(He/Him/His)
Associate Vice President, External Affairs, Comcast
David Lee
(He/Him/His)
President & Co-Founder, Texas Signal
Derrick Lewis
(He/Him/His)
Senior Vice President, Cyber Insurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance
Ty Lim
(He/Him/His)
Chief Of Staff & Head of Legal Ops at Lyft
Tim Mason
(He/Him/His)
Assitant Director for Energy & Mitigation Policy, The Aspen Institute
Anne Moses
(She/Her/Hers)
Founder & former President, IGNITE & National Independent Consultant
Prashanthi Raman
(She/Her/Hers)
Vice President of Global Government Affairs, Cruise
Nick Rathod
(He/Him/His)
Campaign Manager, Beto for Governor
MaryEllen Veliz
(She/Her/Hers)
Business Development Director, DSPolitical
Kellan White
(He/Him/His)
First Deputy City Controller, Office of the Philadelphia City Controller
Advisory Council
Our Advisory Council is made up of cross-country, cross-sector leaders who bring their experience and perspectives to NLC and expand our network.
Raul M. Alvillar
(He/Him/His)
Executive Vice President at Resolute; Chair of the Sixteen Thirty Fund Board
Laphonza Butler
(She/Her/Hers)
President, EMILY’s List
Sandy Clark
(She/Her/Hers)
CEO of StoryCorps
Caroline Fayard
(She/Her/Hers)
Managing Member, Fayard Law Firm LLC
Suneel Gupta
(He/Him/His)
Author of “Backable”
Errin Haines
(She/Her/Hers)
Editor at large and founding mother of The 19th
Hari Kondabolu
(He/Him/His)
Comedian and Activist
Hanh Le
She/her
Vice President of if, A Foundation for Radical Possibility
Nasir Qadree
(He/Him/His)
NLC Boston ‘12; Founder of Zeal Capital Partners
Debra Schifrin
(She/Her/Hers)
Lecturer, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Invest in proximate, place-based leadership. Invest in NLC.
If we want to build the country we want to see, then we have to start by investing in leadership.