Board of Directors

Marian Wright Edelman
Founder and President
Children’s Defense Fund
Washington, DC

Lan Bentsen
Executive Vice President, Frontera Resources
Houston, TX

Carol Oughton Biondi
Child Advocate/Commissioner
Los Angeles County
Commission for Children and Families
Los Angeles, CA

Angela Glover Blackwell, Vice Chair
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
PolicyLink
Oakland, CA

Geoffrey Canada, Vice Chair
President and Chief Executive Officer
Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc.
New York, NY

Leonard Coleman, Jr.
Cendant Corporation
New York, NY

Leslie Cornfeld, Esq.
Director
Mayor''s Task Force on Child Welfare and Safety
New York, NY

DD Eisenberg
Child Advocate
Coral Gables, FL

Pat Fallon
Chairman, Fallon Worldwide
Minneapolis, MN

James Forbes, Jr.
Senior Minister Emeritus
The Riverside Church
New York, NY

James Forman, Jr.
Associate Professor
Georgetown Law School
Co-Founder, Maya Angelou Charter School
Washington, DC

Winifred Green
President
Southern Coalition for
Educational Equity
New Orleans, LA

Dr. Dorothy Height
President Emerita and Chair of Board
National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
Washington, DC

Ruth-Ann Huvane
Child Advocate
Los Angeles, CA

William Lynch, Jr.
President
Bill Lynch Associates, LLC
New York, NY

Katie McGrath
Child Advocate
Los Angeles, CA

Ivanna Omeechevarria
Child Advocate
Alexandria, VA

Wendy Puriefoy
President
Public Education Network (PEN)
Washington, D.C.

J. Michael Solar, Esq.
Solar & Associates, LLP
Houston, TX

Thomas A. Troyer, Esq.
Partner
Caplin & Drysdale
Washington, DC

Laura Wasserman
Movie Music Supervisor
Los Angeles, CA

Reese Witherspoon
Actress
Los Angeles, CA

Deborah Wright, Esq.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Carver Bancorp, Inc.
New York, NY

CDF Staff

National Office Senior Management

Marjorie Newman-Williams
Chief Operating Officer

Casey Aden-Wansbury
Director of Communications

Susan Gates
General Counsel

Karen Lashman
Vice President of Policy

Janice Mantell
Vice President for Field Operations

Kristin May
Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer

Dr. Jean Middleton-Hairston
National Director of CDF Freedom Schools® Program

Carmel Owen
Vice President of Development

State Office Directors

Jim Koppel
Director
CDF-Minnesota

Emma Jordan-Simpson
Executive Director
CDF-New York

Ron Browder
Director
CDF-Ohio

Oleta Fitzgerald
Director
CDF-Southern Regional Office

Barbara Best
Executive Director
CDF-Texas