Board of Directors

Many Hands is an all-volunteer organization with a working board of up to 15 members that sets strategy and manages operations. Board members are appointed for three-year terms and may serve two consecutive terms. Board members who have served two three-year terms are eligible for re-election to the board after a hiatus of one year.

In recruiting board members, we seek to reflect the diversity of our membership, as well as to meet our needs for specific skills. For more information about board qualifications, please click here.

Kathryn ZeccaPresident

Kathryn worked as a commercial litigator for 25 years, most recently as a partner in a boutique litigation firm in Washington, DC. She has lived in the Washington area nearly…

…continuously since moving here in 1987 to attend Georgetown University. Kathryn is an active school volunteer. She resides in McLean, Virginia with her children.

Charis KeitelmanVice President

Charis was a commercial real estate lawyer in Washington, DC for 20 years, serving as a partner at Rudnick Wolfe Piper & Marbury (now DLA Piper), before finishing her…

…career in-house as Deputy General Counsel for Quadrangle Development Corporation. She has been an active volunteer at the Lowell and Maret Schools, as well as various community and charitable organizations and political campaigns.

Frazier SchulmanTreasurer

Frazier worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and in marketing for pharmaceutical and consumer goods companies. She serves on the board of the…

…Parents Council of Washington. She previously served as board treasurer for the Junior League of Washington and Norwood School.

Karen MurrellSecretary

Karen is founder and president of Higher Heights Consulting and Training, a consulting firm in Silver Spring, Maryland that helps clients develop programs, products, and…

…policies that improve the financial well-being of all Americans. She previously served as Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation and held leadership positions at Fannie Mae. Karen is co-author of You and Your Money: A No-Stress Guide to Becoming Financially Fit, published by Financial Times Press.

Deborah Arrindell

Deborah Arrindell is Vice President of Health Policy for the American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) and heads ASHA’s Washington, DC office. She has more than…

…30 years of experience in public policy, including work for women’s economic justice, reproductive and sexual health, and employment and training at organizations including the Home Care Aide Association of America, the American Nurses Association, the League of Women Voters, and Wider Opportunities for Women.

Deborah is past Chair of the Board of Advocates for Youth and serves on the board of the Center for Health and Gender Equity. Previously, she held leadership roles with the Partnership to End Cervical Cancer, Global Campaign for Microbicides, and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. She is a member of the Trojan Sexual Health Advisory Council and served on the sexual health editorial board of CosmoGirl! magazine.

Lynne Battle

Lynne worked for many years as Manager of Legal and Governmental Affairs for the College Placement Council (now the National Association of Colleges and Employers).

… She has also been a litigator in private practice. A native Washingtonian, she has lived in the DC area since returning to attend Georgetown Law School in 1974. Lynne has been and remains an active volunteer with various schools and many other nonprofit organizations.

Claudette Christian

Claudette, now a Senior Counsel at Hogan Lovells, was Partner in Charge of the firm’s Brazil offices until her retirement as a partner in mid-2019. Prior to her five years…

…starting up and supervising the Brazil offices, Claudette served as co-chair of the firm’s Global Board and was an active partner in the firm’s Corporate and Finance practices. Claudette has been active in mentoring women attorneys and college students. She resides in the Forest Hills DC neighborhood with her husband and two cats.

Mary Kwak

Mary is a board member at Philanos, the national network of women’s collective giving organizations. She previously served on the board of Horizons Greater Washington…

… and as president of the Many Hands Board from 2020 to 2022.

Mary volunteers as a reviewer for Spur Local and the Unfunded List and as a nonprofit strategy consultant for Compass Pro Bono. She previously worked as acquisitions editor at the Brookings Institution Press, as a research associate at Harvard Business School, and as a freelance business writer. She is co-author of Judo Strategy: Turning Your Competitors’ Strength to Your Advantage (Harvard Business School Press, 2001).

Ellen Oshinsky

Ellen (she/her) is the founder and lead educator for DMV EcoAdventures, an afterschool outdoor education program for elementary students, and the DC Manager…

…of Strategic Partnerships for Avodah The Jewish Service Corps. A graduate of University of Miami (BA) and Teachers College (MA) she cares deeply about education, the environment and catalyzing philanthropy. Ellen also serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.

Dianne Rudo

Dianne has spent her career advising and educating governments, development aid agencies, and private sector entities in the financing of public infrastructure…

…principally in developing countries. She served in senior positions at the Export-Import Bank of the United States and as a partner on Wall Street. She has also served on a number of expert committees and boards for organizations that provide financing and grants targeted at improving economic development and reducing poverty alleviation in emerging markets. Locally, she is an active community volunteer with organizations including Compass Pro Bono DC and Temple Sinai in Washington, DC.

Nasim Shojaei

Nasim has more than two decades of experience in the financial investment, financial accounting, and real estate sectors, including working with high net worth…

…clients at a boutique asset management firm in Bethesda, Maryland. She is strongly committed to leveraging her accounting and financial expertise to help nonprofit organizations achieve their goals. Nasim has volunteered in various capacities, including serving as PTA President for a public high school in Montgomery County; Treasurer and VP of Communications for a private elementary and middle school in Bethesda; and team manager at the Bethesda Soccer Club. She lives with her family in Bethesda, and in her leisure time, she enjoys working out, hiking, skiing, cooking, reading, and watching movies.

Lori Sostowski

Lori Sostowski practiced law for over 40 years, focusing on business matters. Immediately prior to her retirement, she served as Associate General Counsel…

…of Dartmouth College for eight years, representing the College on transactional matters. Previously, she was engaged in private practice at several law firms, most recently as a partner in the Washington, DC office of Hogan Lovells, where for 17 years she represented public and private companies, governmental agencies, and nonprofit educational and other institutions in a broad range of areas. At Hogan, she also served as the deputy Practice Group Administrator of the US Corporate and Securities Group. Lori chairs the Advisory Board of Millions of Conversations, a nonprofit organization devoted to bringing Americans together, and is a K-4 reading tutor for the District of Columbia public school system through the DC chapter of Reading Partners.

Chrissy Spigel

Chrissy worked as a case manager for Goodwill Industries of Atlanta before pursuing a master’s degree in special education. She has taught in both public and private…

…schools, including The Lab School of Washington. An active community volunteer, Chrissy has co-chaired numerous committees, councils, and fundraising events at Norwood School, Holton-Arms, and Landon. She has two children in college and two Australian labradoodles.

Margaret Vassilikos

Margaret has extensive professional experience in the nonprofit sector, including leadership positions at educational and scientific foundations, a trade association,…

…and a professional society. She serves as board chair for Communities in Schools of the Nation’s Capital. She also enjoys engaging with visitors as a docent at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. Margaret served as Board Treasurer for Many Hands from 2021 to 2023.

Elizabeth Whitmore

Elizabeth joined Jackson Partners in 1999 and leads the acquisition of service and technology companies in diverse industries, including healthcare, legal services, and…

…software. Elizabeth also makes direct venture investments and participates as a limited partner in several private equity, mezzanine, and venture firms. Prior to joining Jackson Partners, Elizabeth worked in nonprofit management and fundraising at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.