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.

Women Supporting Women

We make grants to support women, children, and families in socioeconomic need.

Maximum Impact

100% of required membership contributions go to our grantees.

Member Collaboration

Members drive the grantmaking process in our all-volunteer model.

Kathryn Zecca
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 Keitelman
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.

Margaret Vassilikos
Margaret VassilikosTreasurer
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 treasurer for Communities in Schools of the Nation’s Capital. She also enjoys engaging with visitors as a docent at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens.

Karen Murrell
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
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.

Prior to joining ASHA, Deborah held numerous positions in health and social policy, including serving as Executive Director of the Home Care Aide Association of America, as Senior Director of Governmental Affairs for the American Nurses Association, Director of Social Policy for the League of Women Voters, and Vice President of Public Policy for Wider Opportunities for Women.

She 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.

Deborah is the recipient of the Mentor of the Year–Sharing the Legacy Award from Choice USA and the Outstanding Leadership Award in Cervical Cancer Prevention from Women in Government, a membership organization of women state legislators.

Lynne Battle
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 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.

 

Melissa Rose Dennis
Melissa Rose Dennis
Melissa is a regulatory attorney in the United States Federal Government. For more than a decade she has worked to help assure the security of retirement, health, and other…

…workplace-related benefits of America’s workers and their families. Melissa serves as treasurer for her neighborhood association and on the board of the Parents Council of Washington. She served as secretary of the Many Hands board from 2018 to 2022.

Mary Kwak
Mary Kwak
Mary served as acquisitions editor at the Brookings Institution Press, where she developed books on a wide range of public policy issues. She previously worked at…

…Harvard Business School, researching and co-authoring case studies, articles, and a book on competitive strategy, with a focus on the tech sector. She is a member of the board of Horizons Greater Washington and served as president of the Many Hands board from 2020 to 2022.

Jane Paul
Jane Paul
Jane is a non-profit director and volunteer with a focus on education and the environment. As a former museum professional, she managed the national…

…traveling exhibition program and the federal leadership lending program for the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Most recently she was Chair of the Board of the Rock Creek Conservancy. She is currently Parents’ Association VP at St Albans School.

Anna Gunnarsson Pfeiffer
Anna Gunnarsson Pfeiffer
Anna built her career in sales and marketing with AT&T. She has served on the boards of various local and national nonprofit organizations, including Duke University…

…the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, the Capital Speakers Club, the Parents Council of Washington, Holton-Arms School, and St. Francis Episcopal Day School. Anna graduated from Duke University with a degree in economics and earned her MBA in marketing from the George Washington University.

Dianne Rudo
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.

Susan M. Sarver
Susan M. Sarver
Susan recently retired as a program officer with a national foundation where she developed a portfolio of education and research projects that supported…

…community-based efforts to improve financial security, particularly among lower-income employees. She continues to consult with nonprofit organizations across a range of topics, including program development and implementation, strategic partnerships, small-dollar lending, program evaluation, and governance. Susan holds a degree from the George Washington University Law School, where her scholarship focused on dispute resolution and consumer protection.

Frazier Schulman
Frazier Schulman
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.

Lori Sostowski
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, including research collaborations, major asset acquisitions, international ventures, and technology transfer transactions. 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 for-profit companies, governmental agencies, and non-profit educational and other institutions in a broad range of areas. While at Hogan she also served as the deputy Practice Group Administrator of the US Corporate and Securities Group, with responsibility for certain recruitment activities, attorney staffing, attorney mentoring and feedback, and assistance to practice subgroups in setting strategic goals. She presently serves as Chair of the Advisory Board of Millions of Conversations, a non-profit organization devoted to bringing Americans together, and is a K-4 reading tutor for the District of Columbia public school system.

Past Board Members

Sydney Bath*

Elizabeth Bausch

Susie Berenson*

Robin Berkley

Ana Collins*

Tracy Ganti

Wendy Lynn Gray

Regina Hall*

Ellen Kay

Leslie Lawley*

Noni Lindahl

Betsy Marmet*

Sandra McCoy

Jill Rosenbaum Meyer

Katy Moore

Lisa Opsahl

Kim Quyen Pham

Tara Brennan Primis

Madeleine Said*

Julie Citren Smith

* Founding Board member