Hardy Girls Healthy Women is guided by the wisdom of 11 members of our Board of Directors, 9 members of the National Advisory Committee, 7 members of our Girls Advisory Board, three staff, and one full-time AmeriCorps VISTA.
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Hardy Girls Healthy Women's Board of Directors is made up of 11 dynamic women from around the state as well as members from Massachusetts and New York. These women are responsible for the financial health of the organization and for providing organizational oversight through participation in sub-committees on programming, development and business.
Anne Brennan Belden has been a community activist in child and family issues for many years. With a BS in Child Development and an MS in Human Development, her focus has been non-profit management and she currently works at the Children's Museum of Maine as a Special Projects Coordinator. She has been a board member of several organizations including the Cape Elizabeth School Board, YWCA, Maine Families with Children from Asia, and most recently is passionately involved as Co-Founder of Pihcintu, a multi cultural children's chorus in Portland. In her free moments she enjoys weaving, boating, and cooking for her family and friends to share time around the table as often as possible.
Monica Bowman is the Director of Development for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine. She grew up in Skowhegan Maine and obtained both her Bachelor and Master of Communications degrees from the University of Maine in Orono. Since completing her education, Monica has focused solely on serving nonprofit organizations as a public relations and fundraising professional. After living and working for 10 years in Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD, and Harpers Ferry, WV, and after completing thru-hikes of both the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, she now resides in Cumberland Foreside and is pleased to help Hardy Girls Healthy Women improve the lives of girls in her hometown and beyond.
Lyn Mikel Brown Ed. D. is a mom, professor, and community activist. She is Professor of Education at Colby College in Waterville, Maine and co-creator of Hardy Girls Healthy Women. She has been an American Association of University Women Educational Foundation Scholar-in-Residence and a winner of a National Academy of Education Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship for her research on girls. She is a member of the APA's Psychology of Women Executive Board and was a member of the APA's Task Force on Adolescent Girls. She is the author of four books, including Meeting at the Crossroads: Women's Psychology and Girls' Development (co-authored with Carol Gilligan and also the 1992 New York Times Notable Book of the Year), and most recently Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters From Marketer's Schemes (co-authored with Sharon Lamb and a 2006 Books For A Better Life Award winner). Her curricular materials proactively address concerns about girlfighting in schools across the nation.
Lynn Cole is a Capital Gifts Officer at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. She has a BS in Community Health Education from the University of Maine and an MS in Communications Management from Simmons College. With more than 25 years of nonprofit direct service and executive experience, Lynn is a co-creator of Hardy Girls Healthy Women and a past president of the Hardy Girls Healthy Women Board of Directors. She is also a member of the University of Maine Alumni Association and serves on the Equiforum Board of Directors. Lynn is chair of the Development Committee and a member of the Nominating Committee and Executive Advisory Committee.
Karen Heck is a program officer for the Bingham Program and consults part-time for Hardy Girls Healthy Women. She has 25 years of experience in non-profit administration and a long standing interest in the healthy development of women and girls. During that time she has been instrumental in starting the local rape crisis assistance and prevention program, the statewide abortion loan fund, and the statewide women's policy center as well as Hardy Girls Healthy Women. Her connections to the community range from her leadership in such main-stream organizations as the Waterville Rotary Club, the Waterville Main Street Program and the local Boys and Girls Club to statewide organizations focusing on women's reproductive health and social change including the Maine Women's Lobby, the Maine Women's Fund, the Maine Choice Coalition and the Women's Policy Center. She is currently working on the business plan and also works with the golf committee planning Hardy Girls' annual Fore the Girls golf tournament.
Nancy Gilbert Brenner is the Special Projects Director in New York State. She lives in Chappaqua, New York. An attorney currently retired from the practice of law, Nancy was most recently the owner/director of Tripp Lake Camp, a residential girls' camp in Poland, Maine. Nancy is currently working on developing trainings for summer camps, directing HGHW Girls' Coalition Groups in Westchester County, NY and increasing HGHW's visibility in her state.
Allyson Karter has extensive background in fundraising from her positions at the Alfond Youth Center and as Director of Major Gifts at MaineGeneral Medical Center. Ally works for Vallee Real Estate and is President of the Waterville Rotary.
Susan MacKenzie, Ph.D. is Program Director at Living Water Spiritual Center. She earned her doctorate from the University of Michigan in natural sciences and created "EarthWorks" a ministry of ecology and spirituality for youth. An ecumenical retreat leader, she is a registered Maine Guide and leads outdoor adventures and retreats throughout New England. Susan has a private practice of companioning women and men who desire to become more attentive to the spiritual dimension of their lives, and is currently training to become a certified Yoga instructor.
Pierrette Kelly has served as Vice President and General Manager of CVS.com where her responsibilities included marketing, merchandising, technology and the company's ecommerce P&L. She has held executive positions in manufacturing and logistics, global sales, and human resources for CVS Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation (now Hewlett Packard) and Manufacturers' Services Ltd. Pierrette holds a BA, MA and is a graduate of Columbia University's International Management Program. She currently serves on AdvizeX Technologies Board of Directors as well as the Education Committee for the National Retail Federation's online organization, shop.org. Pierrette is on the Business Development and Golf Committees for Hardy Girls Healthy Women.
Tobi Schneider, Esq. is owner and principal of the Law Office of Tobi L. Schneider and lives in Waterville. Tobi Schneider has been practicing law with an emphasis in family law for 30 years. She is a past President of the YMCA, past Vice President of the Alfond Youth Center, past President of the Kennebec Valley Community College Advisory Board, past President of the Family Law section of the Maine State Bar Association, past Board member of Hospice Volunteers and a current member of MaineGeneral Hospital Board, and a Board member of the KVCC Advisory Board and the KVCC Foundation Board. In addition, Tobi is a member of the Advisory Council of Professional Responsibility and a member of the Grievance Commission of the Board of Overseers of the Bar Association. She also works as a Guardian ad litem in the court system working with children. Tobi serves on the business development committee and is working with the finance committee.
Laura Webb has been involved with Hardy Girls since her freshman year at Colby. Laura volunteered in the office, completed an internship working on Ugly Ducklings, facilitated a girls coalition group at Waterville Junior High and worked as staff during her senior year and during the summer until assuming her current position as Assistant Director of the Colby Writing Center.
Hardy Girls Healthy Women's National Advisory Board (NAB) consists of 9 women from around the country who provide distinction, knowledge, and experience to HGHW in our efforts to expand nationally, with the goal of creating a world in which all girls and women experience equality, independence and safety.
Dr. Jessica Henderson Daniel is an assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of training in psychology and associate director of the LEAH (Leadership Education in Adolescent Health) Training Program at Children's Hospital--Boston. She is adjunct associate professor of psychology in the Clinical Psychology Program at Boston University. Her career has primarily focused on instruction, training and mentoring. She has interests in diversity training, the development of adolescent girls and media images of women.
Deborah Slaner Larkin is the former executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation where she developed a broad-based advocacy network to increase female participation and equity in sports and developed National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Larkin served on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports from 1994 to 2002, where she chaired a national task force on girls and minorities in sports. She is the author of a national research study titled, "Physical Activity & Sport in the Lives of Girls: physical and mental health dimensions from an interdisciplinary approach. For the past 10 years, she has served as chair of the Westchester Fund for Women and Girls and is a member of the National Coalition of Girls and Women in Education specializing in Title IX equity issues with the National Women's Law Center. Currently, she also runs two websites: www.TitleIX.info and www.SaveTitleIX.com
Dr. Deborah L. Tolman is the Director of the Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality and Professor of Human Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University. Before relocating to San Francisco, Deborah Tolman was a Senior Research Scientist and Director of the Gender and Sexuality Project at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College. Dr. Tolman is a developmental psychologist whose research has focused on adolescent sexuality, gender development, gender equity and research methods. Her book on adolescent girls' sexuality, Dilemmas of Desire: Teenage Girls Talk about Sexuality, published by Harvard University Press in 2002, was awarded the 2003 Distinguished Book Award from the Association for Women in Psychology. Dr. Tolman is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and has received wide recognition for her contributions to female adolescent development.
Dr. Janie Victoria Ward is Chair of the Africana Studies Department at Simmons College in Boston, MA. Professor Ward, a contributor to Essence magazine, is a co-editor of Mapping the Moral Domain: A Contribution of Women's Thinking to Psychological Theory and Research (1988), edited with her thesis advisor, Dr. Carol Gilligan. Most recently she authored Gender and Teaching, with Frances Maher (2001), which provides teachers with an overview of important gender issues in education today. For over fifteen years her professional work and research interests have centered on the developmental issues of African American adolescents, focusing on identity and moral development in African American girls and boys.
Dr. Doris Capello is the executive director of CARAS (the Child Advocacy Resource Association) and assistant professor of Kean University's Department of Social Work. CARAS is dedicated to increasing the number of Hispanic families in New Jersey who are available to foster Hispanic youth. Her experience growing up in a caring Puerto Rican family along with several children her mother fostered and her D.S.W from Fordham inform her work with emotional, theoretical and practical experience.
Peggy Orenstein is the author, most recently, of the New York Times best-selling memoir, Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, An Oscar, An Atomic Bomb, A Romantic Night and One Woman's Quest to Become a Mother (Bloomsbury USA). An internationally recognized writer, editor and speaker about issues affecting girls and women, her previous books include Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Kids, Love and Life in a Half-Changed World (Doubleday/Anchor), and the best-selling SchoolGirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem and the Confidence Gap (Doubleday/Anchor). A contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, Orenstein has also written for such publications as Vogue, Elle, Discover, More, Glamour, Mother Jones, Salon, Parenting, "O: The Oprah Magazine," and The New Yorker. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Orenstein is a graduate of Oberlin College and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, filmmaker Steven Okazaki, and their daughter, Daisy Tomoko.
Jin In believes every girl and young woman has the leadership potential within herself to transform her life, her community and the world. She is the founder of 4Girls GLocal Leadership 4ggl.org, an NGO dedicated to girls and young women's leadership, globally and locally. She is also the co-founder of a women and girls-empowering organization in Lima, Peru; and she works with governments, UN Agencies, and global NGOs to advance girls' leadership. Prior to 4GGL, she created the very first girl advisory group at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health; and she spearheaded the highest leadership community service award at Global Action, Girl Scouts USA. As a champion for girls, Jin speaks frequently at conferences and events. She has also written and contributed to publications, including the International Museum of Women, Peace X Peace, One World Perspectives, and Our Bodies Ourselves. Additionally, she is a member of UN & NIKE Foundations' Coalition for Adolescent Girls, International Women's Health Coalition's New Leadership Council, and Global Women's Leadership Network. Jin was recognized at 2008 BT Executive Women and Ogunte Women's Social Leadership Awards and was named one of the 2006 REAL Hot 100 young women for breaking barriers, fighting stereotypes and making a difference in the world.
Sage Salzer is a top plus-size model who has appeared in top-tier publications including The O Magazine, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Glamour, People, and in advertisements for Eddie Bauer, JCPenney, Land's End, Lane Bryant, Macy's, Nordstrom's and Tommy Hilfiger. A native of Ventura, CA, Sage started modeling at the age of 15 around the world. While in college at Sarah Lawrence, Sage found it challenging to keep her weight low enough to continue straight-size modeling and subsequently shifted her goal to advocating for healthy lifestyle choices for women and decided to pursue a career in plus-size modeling. Because of her dedication to this healthier approach to living, Sage has become one of the most successful plus-size models in the country. Sage's website is www.sagesalzer.com
Nancy Gruver is the founder and CEO of New Moon Girl Media, and former executive director of Dads & Daughters. Inspired by her twin daughters, Mavis and Nia, in 1992 the family founded the groundbreaking international publication, New Moon: The Magazine for Girls and Their Dreams. She is still the publisher and is a national leader in the movement to empower girls and foster their creativity and self-confidence. Her husband Joe Kelly co-founded Dads & Daughters, the national advocacy non-profit for fathers and daughters, which owns the newsletter Daughters: For Parents of Girls. Nancy is frequently asked to speak about girls' issues and communication strategies for adults with 8 to 15 year-old girls in their lives. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband.
Our Girls Advisory Board (GAB) is made up of ten fabulous girls in 8th-12th grade. GAB works with our board of directors and staff to engage in opportunities for leadership experience, social action projects, and of course, to keep HGHW current on what's going on in girls' lives today.
Beth is the current GAB president and she lives in China. As a senior at Erskine Academy, she enjoys being on the girls' tennis team. Beth owns a horse and has been riding for about eleven years. She also got involved in Hardy Girls by coming to a bunch of Girls Unlimited conferences. When she was in 8th grade her English teacher let her know about GAB. She signed up immediately. She has made friends at GAB meetings and has really enjoyed it. This will be her 4th year in GAB and her second year as president. Beth is also the editor of G-Wave, the 'zine made by girls for girls and sits on the Girls Rock Weekend Committee.
Renee is 17 years old a senior at Erskine Academy. She loves to go horseback riding, play tennis, and read. Renee has been involved with Hardy Girls Healthy Women since she was in 6th grade when she started going to the Girls Unlimited conferences. Renee was an 8th grader when she joined GAB and has been instrumental in recruiting girls for programs and launching G-WAVE, the Girls Advisory Board 'zine. Renee is serving her second year as the vice president of the Girls Advisory Board. She co-chairs the Outreach Committee for GAB and Hardy Girls as well as sits on the committee for Girls Rock Weekend.
Devan is 15 years old and a ninth grader at Noble Middle School in Berwick. She first learned about Hardy Girls through her attendance at the Girls Unlimited Conference. By being on the Girls Advisory Board Devan already feels like she's doing something to help girls feel comfortable in their own skin. She likes reading, playing field hockey, surfing and just chillin' with her homegirls.
MacKenzie is a sophomore at Waterville Senior High School. She proudly played on the State Championship winning Field Hockey team and also plays basketball. She loves to curl up and read a good book and hang out with friends. She first got introduced to Hardy Girls Healthy Women when she went to the Girl's Unlimited Conference when she was in elementary school and then she recently learned about GAB while her mom was a member of the Board of Hardy Girls. Get in touch with Mackenzie if you want your voice to be heard through G-Wave, the 'zine created by girls for girls. This is Mackenzie co-chairs the G-Wave Committee which leads the development of G-Wave, now in it's second year of publication.
Katherine is a 17 year old senior attending Erskine Academy. This will be her second year of involvement with GAB, and she heard about the program through enthusiastic classmates. In her spare time, Kate is interested in playing the French horn, reading, writing, and performing on her speech team. Want to know more about the Girls Advisory Board's online blog? Send it along to Kate as she heads up our blogspot, G-Wave: The Girls' Movement. Kate also co-chairs the committee on Community Service for GAB and sits on the Girls Rock Weekend Committee.
Kalyn is a freshman at Erskine Academy. She learned about Hardy Girls by attending 3 Girls Unlimited conferences. She loves acting, singing, the arts, ice skating, and having fun with friends. She is the president of her school's Civil Rights Team, and the historian for the Student Council. She's also in chorus and the drama club. Kalyn is looking forward to meeting new people, and getting "real" body shapes represented in the media. Kalyn also sits on the Girls Rock Weekend Committee.
Amelia is a 9th grader who has been home schooled her whole life and lives in Vassalboro. She attends Waterville Senior High part-time. She's been involved in Hardy Girls Healthy Women for about two years through the Girls Unlimited Conference and this is her second year with GAB. She learned about Hardy Girls from her mom and immediately loved the whole idea of it, and later on went to the office and picked up a application for GAB. She loves art of any kind, playing the violin and chocolate. Amelia has found that joining GAB was the perfect way to widen her community of friends and her awareness of the world around her. Amelia also sits on the Girls Rock Weekend Committee.
Courtney hails from Portland and is a freshman at Portland High School. She's excited to join GAB so that she can work with girls her age in reaching out to younger girls to help them grow and become who they will be the rest of their lives. In her spare time she also enjoys playing ice and field hockey. Courtney co-chairs the Outreach Committee for GAB and Hardy girls as well as sits on the Girls Rock Weekend Committee.
Maya joins us from our home community of Waterville and is an eighth grader at Waterville Junior High. She's thrilled to be joining GAB because she has been a part of Hardy Girls for a long time and this is her opportunity to help out on a different level and get her voice heard and help Hardy Girls. At Waterville Junior High, Maya co-chairs the School Climate Committee. Maya also co-chairs the Community Service Committee for the Girls Advisory Board.
Treva joins GAB from China and is an eighth grader at China Middle School. She's excited to be joining GAB so she can go from being a participant of Hardy Girls to being one of the leaders working with other girls her age brainstorming creative ideas and solutions. Treva is also a member of the Future Problem Solvers. Treva co-chairs the GWave Committee and the Community Service Committee for GAB.
Hardy Girls Healthy Women's staff is made up of five young women who have a passion and talent for working with girls. They're working hard alongside both girls and women to create hardiness zones throughout Maine and across the country.
Megan Williams, Executive Director, is a graduate of Colby College with a B.A. in Sociology and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS). While at Colby, Megan was the program assistant for the WGSS program and served on the WGSS Coordinating Committee. In 2004, she received the Founder's Prize for academic excellence and commitment to the activist roots of the Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Colby College. She was an intern at the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault in 2004-2005. She began volunteering at Hardy Girls in January 2003 and helped Lyn Brown pilot the first girls' coalition groups in 2004. After graduation, Megan served as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer at Hardy Girls. She was then hired as Hardy Girls' first staff person and executive director in August 2005.
Jackie Dupont, Programs Coordinator, is also a graduate of Colby College and holds a B.A. in Human Development with a concentration in Psychology. Currently, Jackie is a student in the MSW program at the University of Maine. While at Colby, Jackie was one of the original coalition facilitators for Lyn Brown's pilot program in 2004. After graduation, Jackie served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the South End Teen Center while continuing to facilitate coalition groups in the greater Waterville area. She then served as Programs Coordinator through another VISTA year with Hardy Girls Healthy Women. Jackie is now a full time employee of Hardy Girls, where she continues to oversee HGHW programming.
Gillian Bower, Outreach Coordinator, is a graduate of Nazareth College where she spent a semester in England and an internship at the Leadership Council for Human Rights in Washington, DC. Gillian is going to be working with residents in Somerset and Aroostook counties to spread the Hardy Girls' word!
Jessi Lusardi, Office Manager, chose to work at HG after spending three years in Thailand in the Peace Corps and receiving her masters in Southeast Asian studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Allison Cole, Development Coordinator, is a graduate of Colby College with a B.A. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) and English with a concentration in Creative Writing. While at Colby, she served as program assistant to the WGSS department and was the 2007 recipient of the WGSS Founder's Award for academic excellence and commitment to the program's activist roots. Allison first became involved with HGHW in 2005 as a facilitator of a girls' coalition group at Waterville Junior High, and she is thrilled to be back in Waterville raising funds for Hardy Girls programming.
HGHW Staff: back row from left to right: Allison Cole and Megan Williams; front row from left to right: Jessi Lusardi, Gillian Bower, and Jackie Dupont.
HGHW's Girls Advisory Board from left to right: Devan Brettkelly, Amelia Remillard, Mackenzie Riley, Renee Robilliard, Kate Reynolds, Beth Preston, Kalyn VanValkenburgh.
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