Board of Directors

Jean Stapleton, Chair
Actor.  Star of numerous plays, motion pictures, and television productions.  Commissioner, National Women's Conference, Houston, Texas.  Leading proponent of the ERA.  Participant in the successful effort to have Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt's home, made a national historic site.

Esther Coopersmith, Treasurer 
Public Member, U.S. delegation to the 34th session of the United Nations General Assembly.  Fund raiser for political and cultural causes.  Head of multi-million dollar drive to renovate the Cairo Museum.  Member of the Finance Committee of the Democratic National Committee.  Former chairman, Capital Children's Museum-National Learning Center and National Symphony.

Elisebeth Driscoll
Wealth advisor and vice president at the Private Bank of Bank Of America advising on wealth management and distribution, business succession, trust services, customized credit and preferred banking. Former advisor with Credit Suisse First Boston and Alex Brown & Sons. B.S. University of Maryland University College; M.B.A. George Washington University.

Barbara J. Easterling
Secretary-Treasurer, Communications Workers of America (CWA).  Elected as the first-ever president of the World Women's Committee of the global labor secretariat, which represents more than 15 million workers in the telecommunications, professional, and information sectors. Former executive vice president of CWA and secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO.  Honors include Ohio's Women's Hall of Fame, Women's Equity Action League Award, and the Midwest Labor Press Association's Eugene V. Debs Award.  Other activities include the Pediatrics AIDS Foundation, executive committee member of the Democratic National Committee, vice chair of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and executive board member of the AFL-CIO's Industrial Union Department.

Elizabeth Ehrenfeld
Member of the New York Bar. For 13 years, president of the 15th Street School Foundation, New York City.  Former Director, the Putney School. B.A., Sarah Lawrence, J.D., Yale Law School, M.L.L., New York University.

Denise Gwyn Ferguson
Vice President, Government Affairs, American Express Company.  Previously legislative counsel to Congressman Robert T. Matsui (D-CA) and counsel to the Committees on Judiciary and Health of the California Assembly.  B.A., University of California, Berkeley; J.D., University of California, Davis.

Beba Cardona Gaines
Public Relations and Volunteer Coordinator, Hispanic Committee of Virginia.  Host of Conversando con Beba, a radio talk show targeted at Washington metropolitan area Hispanic families to inform them on vital topics such as job counseling, immigration issues, and workplace rights and responsibilities.  Formerly an international radio broadcaster with Voice of America.  Also served in many capacities with the Fairfax County Public Schools and the National Gallery of Art.  Other affiliations include Coalition Building Institute, Coalition for Equality and Human Values, Coalition of Hispanic Professionals and Associations, Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect, and Hispanic Task Force.  On the board of Borromeo House and Pathway Homes.

Rita Kay Green
Director for Constituency Relations with Altria Corporate Services. She worked for Philip Morris from 1983 until they were reorganized into The Altria Group in 2002. Working her way up from regional sales in the Houston and Dallas areas, Ms. Green was the manager for external affairs for the Philip Morris Companies in New York in 2002, when she took over government affairs for Altria. A Texas native, she worked for the 7-Up Bottling Company in Houston before joining Philip Morris and holds a BA in business administration from Texas Southern University.

Margaret M. Heckler
Most recently, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland.  Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.  Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, 10th District, Massachusetts.  A founder and first Republican co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues.

Dorothy I. Height, Secretary
Chairman emeritus, National Council of Negro Women, Inc.  Civil rights activist.  Author of numerous articles.  Member of numerous boards.  Recipient of many awards, including the Distinguished Service Award of the National Conference on Social Welfare.  B.S., M.S., New York University; L.H.D., Coppin State College; LL.D., Harvard University.

JoAnn Heffernan Heisen
Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Johnson & Johnson.  Former vice president for corporate affairs at Primerica Corporation.  Past president of the Financial Women's Association of New York.  Recipient of the Outstanding Women in Business Award, YWCA of the City of New York.  Current board member of the Recording for the Blind and Abbott House.  B.A., Syracuse University; M.B.A., New York University.

Priscilla Hill-Ardoin
Senior Vice President, AT&T. Previously, she was the President-Missouri for Southwestern Bell, where she served as chairman of the board for the SBC Foundation and worked on telecommunications issues with the International Operations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Honors include the Phenomenal Woman Award from Spelman University; the Woman of Distinction Award from the Houston NewsPages; and inclusion in Dollars & Sense magazine's "America's Best & Brightest Business Professional Men & Women." Serves on the boards of the National Exchange Carrier Association and the National Association of Black Telecommunications Professionals. MBA, Washington University; MA, Perdue University; Juris Doctorate, St. Louis University.

Matina S. Horner
Recently retired as Director of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association and College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF).  Former president of Radcliffe College and associate professor of psychology and social relations at Harvard University.  Author of numerous articles in scholarly publications and papers presented at meetings and professional societies.  Recipient of many honorary degrees and awards for outstanding service.  Member of the boards of TIME Warner, Inc., New England Board of Higher Education, Higher Education Research Institute, Groton School, the Population Institute, the National Science Foundation, and Catalyst.  A.B., cum laude, Bryn Mawr College; M.S., Ph.D., University of Michigan.

Robert M. Kaufman
Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP of New York. Expert in legal issues surrounding non-profit organizations. Previously legislative assistant to Senator Jacob Javits; attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division; and economist, New York State Division of Housing. Served on the Board of Visitors at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and for many years on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). Vice Chair of New York Community Trust. Director, September 11th Fund. Trustee, Brooklyn Law School.

Juanita M. Kreps
James B. Duke Professor of Economics and vice president emeritus, Duke University.  Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce.  Retired director of the New York Stock Exchange and several corporate boards.  Trustee of the Duke Endowment, Berea College and UNC at Wilmington.  President of the Board of Overseers of TIAA-CREF.  Author and editor of several books and numerous articles in economics journals.

Judith Paulus
Private Consultant. Formerly, Director, Civic and International Affairs, Sara Lee Corporation.  Also served as corporate director of communications at FMC Corporation and vice president strategic planning/chief of staff of Citibank's retail banking operations outside New York City.  Earlier, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and senior international staff member of the Treasury Department. Current member of the board of the Children's Memorial and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.  Former director of the Illinois State Libraries, the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs, and Gateway. B.A., Stanford, M.A., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University.

Alma E. Rangel  
Producer of C-Span cable broadcast "Ask Congress."  Former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation.  Member of numerous boards including the National Coalition of 100 Black Women and the New York Foundation for Senior Citizens.  Active in New York civic and community organizations.

Barbara Reinke
Manager, Community Relations, Lockheed Martin Aerospace Corporation. Winner of the YWCA Leadership Award, the Technology Corridor Leadership Award, and the Business Communications and Marketing Association of Los Angeles Award of Merit for Excellence in Advertising and Communications. On the board of the Economic Club of Washington, the Montgomery County (MD) Red Cross Board, the Washington Board of Trade, and the Young Musicians Foundation Board (LA).  B.S. Perperdine University.

Lisa Rickard
President, Institute for Legal Reform, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a branch of the business group that advocates civil justice reform. Formerly vice president, Federal and State Government Affairs, The Dow Chemical Company. Former partner and associate with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P. Previously worked on the hill in the offices of U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and U.S. Senator Richard Stone (D-FL). Member of the District of Columbia Bar Association and a founding member of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee-Women's Council..

Diane E. Watson
Elected to fill the open Congressional seat in California's 32nd District in June 2001. Previously, U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia. Member of the California State Senate, to which she was the first black woman elected (1979).  Former chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus.  Founder of the National Organization of Black Legislators/Women.  Recipient of numerous awards and honors.  A.B., Los Angeles City College; B.A., University of California, Los Angeles; M.S., California State University; graduate study at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Ph.D., Claremont Graduate School.