Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat, Interim Co-President & Vice President, Programs
Jennifer has spent the past 12 years working to improve the lives of low-income and under-served women and girls. Prior to joining The Women’s Foundation, Jennifer served as the Director of Public Policy at the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, where she advocated on behalf of publicly funded family planning clinics and worked to improve access to family planning services for the low-income and uninsured. Prior to that, she spent nearly 10 years at Women’s Policy, Inc., where she directed the organization’s policy research and analysis and worked extensively with the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues. She holds a Master’s degree in international policy studies with a concentration in women in development from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of New Hampshire. She serves on the board of the Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center and co-chaired The Women’s Foundation’s 2007 Leadership Awards.

Stacey Miller, Interim Co-President & Vice President, Development and Communications
Stacey Miller brings 20 years of corporate and nonprofit experience to The Women’s Foundation. Most recently, as the Director of External Affairs with The Washington Ballet, she was responsible for revenue growth by overseeing development, special events, marketing, communications and ticket services. Prior, as a Vice President at AOL, Stacey contributed eight years to the success and growth of its international ventures. During her tenure, she managed key launches of AOL around the world, including Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Asia, and supported their global product marketing and technology development needs. In 2003, she became co-founder and president of Esprit Events Incorporated, a full service special events and production company. The company’s business model included giving 10 percent back to the nonprofit community through the donation of event planning services. This work led to the development of her skills in fundraising, and she eventually took on the role of Director of Development for the See Forever Foundation. She also had a successful sales and account management career working for Legent, AGFA and Frame Technology, spearheading the growth of their direct and indirect sales divisions. Stacey holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Penn State University, serves on the See Forever Foundation’s Board of Directors and actively volunteers in her community.

Donna Wiedeman, Executive Assistant to the President
Donna has worked almost exclusively with nonprofits throughout her career, starting as a Girl Scout camp counselor and including stints as a child-care worker at a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed children, a bus driver for slightly less troubled children, general manager for a puppet company, and administrator for a pet-therapy organization. She spent 15 years working for In Trust, Inc., an organization that works with trustees and key administrators to improve the governance of graduate theological schools in the U.S. and Canada. While there, she provided the administrative support that saw the organization grow from a project of the Lilly Endowment into a registered membership organization with multi-faceted educational programs and a broad funding base. She came to The Women’s Foundation from the Alexandria Volunteer Bureau where she was director of operations. Donna serves on the board of Arlington Center for Dance/Center Dance Company.

Mariah Craven, Director of Communications & Marketing
Mariah was thrilled to join Washington Area Women’s Foundation after working around the country as a television news producer and reporter. In addition to covering general news, she focused on issues including healthcare, poverty, immigration, and women’s issues. She also volunteered as a media consultant for non-profits seeking increased media coverage for their events. After volunteering in post-Katrina New Orleans, she shot and edited a documentary about women in southern Louisiana who are doing outstanding work to help their communities recover from the 2005 hurricane season. In 2009, she served as Press Secretary for a progressive Democrat who ran for mayor of New York City. She combined traditional and new media to get the word out about the grassroots campaign. Mariah has a master’s degree in Journalism from New York University. She received her bachelor’s degree from Boston University. A native of Atlanta who has lived in tiny towns and big cities, Mariah is excited to be a part of the Washington, D.C. community.

 Gwen Rubinstein, Program Officer
Gwen has more than 15 years of experience in advocating for policy change at the federal and state level to provide women with the services and supports they need to achieve economic security for themselves and their families. Most recently, as Research Director of The Workforce Alliance, Gwen managed policy research projects aimed at improving public support for training and education for low-skilled adults. Previously, as Director of Policy Research at the Legal Action Center, Gwen led research and advocacy projects focused on increasing access to addiction treatment and other services and supports low-income women need to achieve recovery and self-sufficiency. Gwen was a 1992 Presidential Management Fellow, serving in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Gwen was a founding board member (and a former Board Chair) of Our Place, DC, a community-based organization that supports D.C. women who are or have been incarcerated. She holds a Master’s degree in public health from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s in Languages from Georgetown University.

Nicole Cozier, Philanthropic Education Officer
Nicole comes to Washington Area Women’s Foundation with more than 12 years of non-profit experience working on behalf of women and girls. Prior to joining The Women’s Foundation, Nicole spent nearly five years working for Women & Philanthropy. Nicole was responsible for the development and implementation of Women & Philanthropy’s programs, including the complete redesign and implementation of the organization’s centerpiece program – the LEAD (Leadership for Equity and Diversity) Award. Before joining W&P, Nicole spent four years working for the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, in several different positions focusing on research, education and organizational development, the last of which was Senior Director, Programs & Organizational Development. Prior to moving to the Washington area, Nicole has lived in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Toronto, Canada and the US Virgin Islands, and worked for The Cooper Health System in Camden, NJ and Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia and Toronto. Nicole has served on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Mautner Project’s Spirit Study and currently sits on the board of directors for Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues. She holds an MBA in health administration and a Master’s degree in healthcare financial management from Temple University in Philadelphia and an honors bachelor’s degree with a double major in human biology, sociology (w/ a focus on gender studies) and a minor in women’s studies.

                                         
Latricia R. Allen, Grants Manager
Latricia has 13 years of administrative and sales support experience in businesses such as UPS in Atlanta and Future View in Washington, D.C. Latricia has also worked as a meeting and conference coordinator for Danya International and has managed, from conceptualization to completion, numerous conferences and trainings attended by over 2,500 participants. Latricia is a native Washingtonian and has worked on Capitol Hill for the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues and for Congressman Julian C. Dixon (D-CA) in administrative roles. She brings a wide range of office and event planning skills to our work. Latricia also owns a small business, Girl Friday on The Go!, which merges many of her creative talents and work experience. Latricia is currently completing coursework at the University of Maryland towards her bachelor’s in English with a concentration in African American studies.

 
Julie Leibee, Development Associate
Julie is a native Washingtonian and has spent nearly four years working to expand opportunities and resources for underserved communities. She has development experience in a range of issues that include micro-enterprise development, financial literacy education and youth mentoring. Before joining The Women’s Foundation, she worked as a development associate at the Hispanic Committee of Virginia. Prior to that, Julie served as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador, where she organized citizen-run committees designed to promote community development and environmental protection, educated youth on health issues with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS education/prevention and coached a girls’ soccer team. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Penn State University with minors in Spanish and international studies.

Lena Peterson, Operations Associate
Lena Peterson comes to The Women’s Foundation with more than two years of marketing and administrative experience in private and nonprofit organizations. She is a graduate of the University of Richmond with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a minor in business administration and economics. She is an active volunteer with different tutoring programs and financial literacy programs, such as the Math Science Investigators in Richmond, Virginia and the Hartford Community Loan Fund in Hartford, Connecticut.

 
Sequoia Payne, Office Assistant
A native Washingtonian, Sequoia Payne came to The Women’s Foundation in the fall of 2009 with more than seven years of administrative experience.  Her diverse work experiences have included an internship at Summit Health Institute of Research and Education and jobs at Jackson Hewitt and a home health care facility.  Sequoia has also spent time volunteering at homeless shelters.  She came to Washington Area Women’s Foundation though Training Futures, a Grantee Partner in northern Virginia that helps people move from dead-end jobs or sporadic employment to stable, professional careers.  At Training Futures, Sequoia got refresher courses on computer software along with public speaking training.  She started at The Women’s Foundation as an intern, but was quickly promoted to Office Assistant.  Sequoia says her time at The Women’s Foundation has piqued her interest in nonprofits and she plans to continue to work with organizations that help the people of DC who are in need.

 Freedonia Dolberry, Intern
Freedonia is 17-years-old and has been in the Washington, D.C. community all her life. She enjoys typing, writing, and challenges. Freedonia joined Washington Area Women’s Foundation in November as a wonderful intern. She attends Howard D. Woodson Senior High School where she is a member of the Urban Alliance Program. After high school graduation, she plans to attend LIM College (Laboratory Institute of Merchandising), major in Fashion Merchandising, and plans to her own business called Jsia Exquisite. She has been a great help to The Women’s Foundation and learns something new each day. She has learned so much from her mentor, Mariah Craven, and hopes that her experiences will help later on in life. When she gets older, she plans to come to every open house and cherish her memories.