NWLC Staff

Emily Martin is Chief Program Officer for NWLC, leading the development and execution of an integrated policy and legal strategy across NWLC’s gender justice priorities, with a particular focus on women and girls of color and LGBTQI+ people. She was previously NWLC’s Vice President for Education & Workplace Justice, where she oversaw…

Gretchen Borchelt (she/her/they) is Vice President for Reproductive Rights and Health at the National Women’s Law Center in Washington, D.C. She oversees NWLC’s advocacy, policy, litigation, and education strategies to promote reproductive rights and access to comprehensive, affordable health care, including abortion and birth control. Gretchen testifies before lawmakers, serves as a…

Melissa Boteach (she/her), Vice President for Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning, oversees NWLC’s advocacy, policy, and public education strategies to ensure that all women and families have the income and supports that they need to thrive. Boteach is a prominent national leader in the child care and caregiving movement, harnessing the…

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Gaylynn Burroughs (she/her) is Vice President for Education & Workplace Justice at the National Women’s Law Center where she oversees NWLC’s advocacy, policy, and litigation efforts to allow women and girls to achieve and succeed at work and at school. She was previously the Director of Workplace Equality and Senior Counsel. Prior…

Angel Padilla (he/him) serves as the Vice President for Strategy and Policy where he leads the strategic direction of NWLC and the NWLC Action Fund on federal and state advocacy. Prior to joining NWLC, he was a political appointee in the Biden administration, serving as Senior Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary…

Leila Abolfazli is Director of National Abortion Strategy at NWLC. She works on a range of issues involving the protection and expansion of reproductive rights at the federal level. Before first joining NWLC in 2011, Ms. Abolfazli was a Senior Associate at WilmerHale in Washington, D.C. From 2016-2018, Ms. Abolfazli was a…

Michelle Banker is Senior Director of Reproductive Rights and Health Litigation at the National Women’s Law Center. She focuses on litigation to promote reproductive rights and access to health care, including reproductive health care. Before joining NWLC, Ms. Banker was an attorney at Murphy Anderson PLLC, where she litigated on behalf of…

Liz Maria Chacko is Senior Counsel at the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund.  Prior to joining the National Women’s Law Center, Liz spent many years providing direct services to immigrant survivors at non-profit legal aid organizations.  Immediately prior to joining the Law Center, Liz worked for over 15 years at Justice at…

Kimi Chernoby is Senior Counsel for Reproductive Rights and Health at the National Women’s Law Center. She is also a Clinical Instructor of Emergency Medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Kimiwas the first graduate of the University of Florida’s MD/JD program and previously served as a Health Policy…

Karla (she/her) is the Senior Policy Analyst on the Child Care and Early Learning team. Prior to joining the NWLC she spent almost ten years advancing policy and advocacy efforts to increase access to higher education in Tennessee. Her work has ranged across issues including access for undocumented students, adult learners, and…

Veronica Faison (she/her) is counsel on the Income Security/Child Care team, building the organization's cross-cutting portfolio on access to home- and community-based services (HCBS) for disabled people, older adults and family caregivers, and job quality for direct care workers—a workforce comprised of majority low-paid women of color. She first came to NWLC…

Toni Francis-Bowie works to identify, cultivate, and support a diverse group of leaders in the field focused on advancing women and families’ economic security and opportunity; and to facilitate development and advancement of cross-cutting policies and programs reflecting income security and child care/early learning priorities. She focuses specifically on investing and supporting…

Kelsey (she/her) is Senior Counsel on the Reproductive Rights and Health team, where she leads state birth control work. Previously, Kelsey was on NWLC’s Child Care and Early Learning team and worked to ensure affordable, accessible child care for everyone and justice for child care workers.   She is a former If/When/How…

Sarah Hassmer leads the Center's work to increase housing security, and broader economic security, for low-income women, LGBTQ+ people, and their families. Hassmer is responsible for developing and implementing NWLC’s policy goals as it relates to housing, including overseeing research projects, advocacy efforts, and disseminating materials for public consumption. Prior to NWLC,…

Andrea Johnson is Director of State Policy and Strategy, Senior Counsel, S&P at the National Women’s Law Center. In that role, she works with teams across the Center to build out an overarching vision and strategic framework for the Center’s state policy and advocacy efforts and a strategic plan for the growth…

Leila (she/her) is Senior Counsel for Reproductive Rights and Health at the National Women's Law Center (NWLC). She spearheads NWLC’s work developing legal supports for health care professionals facing employment barriers and discrimination due to their support for or participation in abortion services. She gives Know Your Rights presentations on these issues and…

Amy K. Matsui is Senior Director of Income Security at the National Women’s Law Center. She works on a broad range of economic issues affecting low- and moderate-income women and families, with special emphasis on federal and state tax policy. Her work comprises policy analysis, state and federal advocacy, and public education…

Jennifer Mondino is Director of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund.  She has been part of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund team at the National Women’s Law Center since August 2018, shortly after the Fund’s creation.  Immediately prior to joining the National Women’s Law Center, Jennifer spent eight years as a…

Laura Narefsky is a Senior Counsel on the Workplace Justice team at the National Women’s Law Center. Her work centers on improving job quality for women and caregivers. In that role, she leads NWLC’s work on paid family and medical leave and works to advance policies that guarantee predictable work schedules, prohibit…

Katie O’Connor is the Director of Federal Abortion Policy at the National Women's Law Center. Before joining NWLC, she served as Deputy Chief Counsel at Demand Justice, an organization fighting for progressive change in our courts. Katie has also served as Director of Policy Development and Programming at the American Constitution Society,…

Whitney Pesek  is the Senior Director of Federal Child Care Policy at the National Women’s Law Center. Pesek leads NWLC’s federal child care policy work, which includes developing and implementing policy goals and advocacy strategies at the federal level. Pesek is a trusted resource for lawmakers and has strong relationships on Capitol…

Amy Royce is Senior Counsel for Income Security at the National Women’s Law Center. She manages a portfolio of issues affecting women’s economic security with a focus on federal tax policy and gender and racial wealth gaps. Her work includes publishing and presenting policy analysis, federal advocacy for a more progressive tax…

Lexi Rummel (they/them) is Counsel for Health Equity and Justice for the Reproductive Rights and Health Team. Lexi works on state health equity issues including sex education, insurance coverage of fertility care, and gender-affirming care. Their portfolio of work also includes highlighting how state bans and restrictions on abortion care impact people’s…

Karen Schulman is NWLC's Senior Director of State Child Care Policy. She researches and writes about child care and early education policies. She received her bachelor's degree from Williams College and her master's degree in Public Policy from Duke University. Prior to joining NWLC, she worked at the Children's Defense Fund. She…

Heather Shumaker is Director of State Abortion Access at the National Women’s Law Center. She works to advance state laws and policies that protect reproductive rights and promote access to comprehensive health care. Prior to joining the Center, Heather was the State Policy Director at the National Abortion Federation and the Senior…

Sky is the Program Manager for the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund and Legal Network for Gender Equity. Prior to joining the National Women’s Law Center, Sky was a research fellow at the American Voices Project, a national study interested in how policies are impacting individuals across the country. Sky played an…

Clara (she/her) is Senior Counsel for the Abortion Access Legal Defense Fund, a part of the Reproductive Rights and Health Program at the National Women’s Law Center. Clara is also a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, where she teaches a course on reproductive rights law. Prior to joining the National…

Danie is the Program Associate for the TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund and the Legal Network for Gender Equity. Danie is coming to the Center from DC SAFE where she was a bilingual supportive services advocate for survivors of domestic violence in the DC area who were in active crisis. She graduated from the University of…

Elizabeth (she/her) focuses on ending sex-based harassment (including sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking) in schools through know-your-rights education, policy advocacy, and litigation. She has also advocated at NWLC for the rights of LGBTQI+ students, including transgender and nonbinary students in school athletics. Prior to law school, she interned at the American…

Elizabeth (Liz) Theran is Senior Director of Litigation for Education & Workplace Justice at NWLC. She focuses on federal and state antidiscrimination litigation advancing equal opportunity for women and girls in school and in the workplace. Before joining NWLC, Ms. Theran worked in the Office of the General Counsel at the Equal…

Kenna Titus is a Georgetown Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellow working on the Reproductive Rights and Health Team at NWLC. Kenna’s work is focused on expanding and defending equitable access to health care through legal and policy advocacy. She works on issue related to health care access—including abortion and birth control…

Julie Vogtman (she/her) is Senior Director of Job Quality for the National Women’s Law Center. At NWLC, Julie engages in research, policy analysis and advocacy, and public education to advance federal and state policies that benefit both women in low-paid jobs and their families, including higher wages, fair work scheduling practices, and…

Lauren Wallace (she/her) is Counsel for the Reproductive Rights & Health team where she focuses on expanding birth control access at the state-level. Lauren also manages NWLC’s CoverHer hotline, a resource for individuals navigating contraceptive coverage issues with their health insurance plans. Prior to joining NWLC, Lauren received her MPH from The…

Jackii Wang (she/her) is the Senior Legislative Analyst for the Federal Reproductive Rights and Health Team. She previously worked at an anti-sexual violence organization advocating for reforms at the state and federal levels. Prior to that role, she served as a Legislative Assistant for Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and supported the Congresswoman’s…

Kyra Miller (she/her) is NWLC’s Senior State Policy & Outreach Manager on the child care and early learning team. She cultivates relationships with state advocates, national partners, and strategic stakeholders to provide technical and developmental support. Kyra focuses on expanding access to high-quality, affordable child care and early learning. She received her…

Clarke Wheeler (she/her) is a Senior Policy Analyst on the Reproductive Rights and Health team at the National Women’s Law Center. In this role, she engages social justice movements and policymakers in the fight for abortion access on the state level. Previously, she was the Federal Policy Manager at Black Mamas Matter…

Alison Tanner (she/her)  is Senior Litigation Counsel for Reproductive Rights and Health at the National Women’s Law Center. She focuses on litigation to promote health equity and access to reproductive health care. Before joining NWLC, Ms. Tanner was a staff law clerk with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Previously,…

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Vogel (she/her) is Senior Counsel at the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund and Legal Network for Gender Equity.  Immediately prior to joining the National Women’s Law Center, Lizzy was the Managing Attorney at the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP) where she provided national appellate representation to…