Profiles of Our Young Women Leaders

Sabrina Margarita Alcantara-Tan (bamboogirl@aol.com) is creator and editor of Bamboo Girl, a zine confronting issues of racism, sexism, and homophobia as they relate to women of color. She is co-founder of Kilawin Kolektibo, a Filipina lesbian/bisexual/transgender-identified collective based in New York.

Christine Anderson (christine.anderson@abc.com) is now a producer for Good Morning America. After graduating college in 1999, she worked in the White House, first in the Office of the Vice-President and eventually became Director of Press Pool Operations.

Kris Appelget (krisappel@aol.com) is currently a financial advisor at UBS Paine Webber. Applegate is a past President and elected council member to the city of Windsor, NJ. She also worked on Bob Franks' campaign in New Jersey.

LaTasha Baker (LaTasha.BAKER@rbos.com) worked in congress first for Senator Robert Torricelli of New Jersey and subsequently for Congressman Robert Menendez of Jersey City. LaTasha is currently a Human Resources Associate for Diversity Recruiting at the Royal Bank of Scotland, and assists Rutgers University in admissions for low-income and students of color.

Rini Banerjee (rbanerjee@nywf.org) is the Program Director of the New York Women's Foundation, which supports innovative organizations, builds community leaders and educates the public on issues around economic and social justice. Rini has previously worked with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and UNICEF.

Berta Colon (bcolon@ms.foundation.org) is the Economic Justice Program Officer at the Ms. Foundation for Women. Prior to coming to the Ms. Foundation, she was a Program Associate at the Norman Foundation. She also worked at Child Care, Inc., and at Women and Philanthropy, where she designed, directed and implemented the New York City Diversity Internship Program. Berta received a BA from Barnard College and a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Ayala Donchin (Ayala.Donchin@thegarden.com) is Director of Community Relations for the New York Knicks. She oversees all aspects of the Knicks community efforts. Ayala was also instrumental in the development of First Choice Group, Inc. a not-for-profit organization that recruits and trains black and Latino professionals to be mentors.

Michelle Duprey (mduprey@newhavenct.net) is Director of the Department of Services for Person with Disabilities and Assistant Corporation Counsel for the city of New Haven. Michelle serves as the President of the Americans with Disabilities Act Coalition of Connecticut, Inc. and co-chair of the Connecticut Office of Victim Services Advisory Council.

Ophira Edut (ophiraedut@yahoo.com) is contributing editor to Ms. Magazine and founding publisher of HUES (Hear US Emerging Sisters), an award-winning national magazine for young women of all cultures and sizes. She currently lectures nationwide about body image, media, culture and gender.

Deepa Fernandes (dfernandes@interrupt.org) directs We Interrupt This Message (WITM), a national non-profit media strategy and training center that works with grassroots and public interest organizations to reframe public debate and interrupt media stereotypes. She has previously worked as a radio journalist for WBAI-FM in New York City, the BBC and NPR.

Francine Garrett (garrett@aecom.yu.edu) is an MD/PhD student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She has created a mentorship program for minority medical students and is the chair of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and the Minority Association for Pre-Health Students.

Christy Gleason (christyg@rci.Rutgers.edu) is the Program Coordinator for the NEW Leadership program at the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) and writes about issues of women's leadership and women in politics. She has also clerked for the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, and practiced corporate law, with a focus on new media and international joint ventures.

Mia Herndon (mia@thirdwavefoundation.org) recently joined Third Wave Foundation as Outreach Coordinator, a meaningful progression within her commitment to issues related to the global women and international human rights movement. She has also worked for the Active Element Foundation, researching nationally-based youth activist organizations and establishing networks between activist artists and funders.

Ileana Infante (Ileana_infante@prldf.org) is Director of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF). Prior to joining PRLDEF, Ileana was an on-site staff developer at the Literacy Enhancement Project. Since graduating from Fordham University, she has worked as an early childhood teacher and a childhood literacy educator.

Sally Kohn (sally@thirdwavefoundation.org) is Director of the Third Wave Foundation, the only national activist foundation for young women between the ages of fifteen and thirty. Previously Sally worked as a Fellow at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force where she spearheaded policy changes as a national expert on domestic partnerships.

Rebecca Lieberman (rlieberman@democracycompact.org) is CEO of the Democracy Compact, a national non-partisan organization devoted to re-engaging Americans in the democratic process. The organization develops citizen leaders to promote a stronger democracy, conducts non-partisan Get Out the Vote campaigns, coordinates youth education and participation programs, and designs policies to improve the election process.

Heidi Melz (heidi.melz@ppfa.org) organizes students and youth nationwide for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She partners with Planned Parenthood affiliates through Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood, a program to energize and mobilize the next generation of pro-choice Americans. Heidi is also founder of Students for a Free Tibet.

Rozz Nash (werise@hotmail.com) has been actively involved in the performing arts and in arts education for 10 years. She is a one of the founders of WERISE (Women Empowered through Revolutionary Ideas Supporting Enterprise), an organization that focuses on the economic empowerment of women.

Lauren Porsche (Lp198@columbia.edu) is a recent graduate of Barnard College where she was actively involved in creating the New York Abortion Access Fund, a grassroots abortion fund for low-income women. She also worked as a health educator for the Gay Health Advocacy Project, and will soon work with Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health.

Julie Shah (Julie@thirdwavefoundation.org) is the Director of Operations of the Third Wave Foundation. She is South Asian-American, who comes from a background of philanthropic service and serves on the Board of Advisors of WERISE (Women Empowered through Revolutionary Ideas Supporting Enterprise).

Alea Woodlee (aleaw@protectchoice.org) is Director of the Pro-Choice Public Education Project (PEP), the largest coalition of pro-choice organizations in the country. She serves as a leader in co-operation with PEP's steering committee, in educating and mobilizing young women about reproductive rights.

Irene Xanthoudakis (ix2@columbia.edu) is a graduate of Barnard who is currently working as a legal secretary in the Reproductive Freedom Project at the American Civil Liberties Union. She was actively involved in creating the New York Abortion Access Fund, a grassroots abortion fund for low-income women.