Minoti Amin
Minoti Amin has been a Together Women Rise member since 2018 when she started a local chapter. She currently co-leads the Fremont, CA chapter and volunteers on the Grants and Partnerships Committee. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Minoti has had a technology career in software product management and marketing. She has also volunteered for multiple non-profit organizations focused on women's and child development issues in various capacities including fundraising, marketing, and board leadership. Currently, Minoti is a Principal at ProductWise providing digital transformation and product strategy consulting. Outside of work and volunteering, she enjoys gardening, hiking, travel and being a sounding board for her two college-age children. Minoti lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their canine companion. Follow
Debra Berman
Debra first became aware of Together Women Rise while living in Kigali, Rwanda, during her search for potential donors for the Rwandan Orphan Project. She was so impressed with the vision and mission of Together Women Rise that she became a member of the Birmingham chapter upon returning to the US. This marked the beginning of her involvement with both the chapter and the organization. With each meeting she attended, she developed a stronger interest and commitment to the success of Together Women Rise and subsequently started the Ann Arbor, MI chapter in August 2021. She is happy to see the chapter grow and to establish relationships with women who share a common vision and are willing to take an active part in its success.Follow
Margot Bradley
Margot Bradley is a member of Together Women Rise's board of directors and belongs to two Together Women Rise chapters: one in Ambler, PA and the other in Ponte Vedra, Florida, the closest chapter to her winter home in St Augustine. She travels south each winter with her wife, two dogs, and their flock of chickens. Margot joined the Grants and Partnerships Committee following a 2019 Rise trip to Kenya where she visited five grantees and became a sponsor for a rural Kenyan girl who just graduated from high school at the top of her class and has received a full scholarship to college. Margot holds a Masters in Maternal Child Health from the University of Pennsylvania and practiced as a nurse-midwife in the Philadelphia area. She also has a Masters in Organization Development specializing in nonprofit strategic planning and board development. She is a founder and former CEO of a nonprofit, sustainable, organic farm and farmer education program that celebrated its 20th year in 2023. Margot’s attraction to Together Women Rise was based on our founding principle of community fundraising, and she is committed to expanding Rise's community in order to make a larger impact. She is passionately committed to reproductive rights, recognizing that access to quality sexual and reproductive health care is essential for women to take their place as equals in global society.Follow
Vicky Bush-Joseph
Vicky is a member of Rise's board of directors, chairs the board's Community Building & Learning Committee, and a member of Rise's Book Club Committee. She traveled with Rise to Malawi in 2024, India in 2023, Guatemala in 2020, and Bhutan in 2019. Vicky is a retired attorney and was in-house counsel for AT&T and Illinois Bell before starting her own law practice with two other women specializing in adoptions and reproductive technology like surrogacy and egg donation. She also taught a class on adoption law at Loyola's Law School for many years. Vicky lives in a Chicago suburb with her husband of over 40 years where they raised three children. Vicky served on the Advisory Council for World Bicycle Relief, which provides bicycles to girl students and home health care workers in Colombia and Zambia. She is also a member of the League of Women Voters, a volunteer for Election Protection through the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, and active with Chicago Impact Grants, a giving circle that awards grants of $100,000 each to four Chicago not-for-profit organizations. Vicky loves to read, bike, garden, cook, and eat and drink her way around the world.Follow
Lindy Cater
Lindy spent most of her career working on women’s issues in non-profit organizations. She co-founded a Together Women Rise chapter in Spokane, WA eight years ago when she realized that she had found a perfect fit for her volunteer time and her donations. She has enjoyed working with kindred spirits on the Grants and Partnerships Committee and, previously, on the Grant Selection Committee. Lindy also reads a lot, binge-watches scary TV, walks Henry the cockapoo, and enjoys time at her Idaho lake cabin with family and friends.Follow
Kathy Fitts
Kathy has been a member of Together Women Rise’s GA, Marietta-1 chapter since 2013. She joined the Finance Committee as an advisory member in 2016. In 2018, she joined the Rise board as Treasurer. Kathy has spent over 35 years as a financial executive in corporate America. In 2016, she transitioned to a consultant role. She specializes in financial and accounting projects supporting chief financial officers. As a child of a career Army Officer, Kathy was born in Germany and has lived all over the U.S. including Hawaii. These culturally diverse life experiences formed her world view very early on. Her desire to work for better outcomes for women and girls led to her involvement with Together Women Rise. She is an avid world traveler.Follow
Mary Ellen Graham
Mary Ellen Graham spent her professional life in three arenas all related and informing one another. As an educator, she taught English and developed programs for the gifted and writing support services beginning in secondary education, and then in higher education where she directed a writing center, provided academic support services, and taught courses in business writing, the social sciences, and the life sciences. Her years in academe, especially those at the University of the Sciences and at the Community College of Philadelphia, prepared her for her second career. While continuing to teach, Mary Ellen became a social worker, advocating for women while serving as a senior case manager, coordinator of day services, and chart reviewer at Mercy Hospice, a residential facility: one for women in recovery and the other for women and children experiencing homelessness. At Mercy, she created programs for the women that enlarged their horizons and prepared them for independent living. Mary Ellen supplemented her work at Mercy Hospice by inaugurating social services at St. Vincent’s Health Center where she collaborated with the nursing coordinator. It was Mary Ellen’s experience at the Health Center that led to the creation of an innovative project to house chronically homeless men. After five years of intensive groundbreaking work, My Place Germantown became a reality, bringing Housing First to the city of Philadelphia. My Place Germantown stands as testimony that it is still possible to persist, despite obstacles, to create and sustain innovative projects that improve lives. Mary Ellen holds a BA degree in English with a minor in philosophy and theology, a Masters in Education with a concentration in Written Communication, as well as an Advanced Certificate in Cultural Competence for Health Care Providers.Follow
Lisa Halsted
Lisa Halsted is the founder of Adventures Cross Country, Inc., a leading business in the adventure travel and community service sector for teenagers. Lisa’s travel and her experience volunteering with those in need, have led her to focus on the areas of human trafficking and women’s education and equality. Lisa has served on the boards of Daraja Academy, a girls’ school in Kenya, the Send It Foundation, outdoor programs for cancer fighters, and is a founding member of Friends of Challenging Heights, an organization supporting the fight against human trafficking and child slavery in Ghana. Currently, she helps manage a women's empowerment center affiliated with Challenging Heights. The Center provides a two-year program for local Ghanians to learn sewing and tailoring skills. Lisa started a Together Women Rise chapter in Mill Valley, CA in 2022 and has joined the Grants and Partnerships Committee. She is an active outdoorswoman and enjoys hiking, biking and anything in the mountains. She lives in Mill Valley, CA with her husband and is the mother of four adult children, and a new grandmother to Wesley.Follow
Tessa Hart
Tessa Hart lives in the Philadelphia area (Wyncote, PA) with her husband, Frank, and their rescue dog, Addie. She is a member of the Elkins Park, PA chapter of Together Women Rise and joined the Grants and Partnerships Committee in 2024. On the professional side, Tessa earned a PhD in Clinical Neuropsychology and devoted her career to treatment and research to benefit people affected by traumatic brain injury. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and has received numerous awards for her work. Now mostly retired, Tessa is engaged in volunteer work including tutoring people who are seeking a GED. She enjoys reading, writing, cooking, and working out. Tessa is a passionate traveler who loves to learn about people, history, art, and culture.Follow
Mary Hughes
Mary Hughes lives in northeast Ohio and is a member of Rise's Hudson chapter. Mary worked as a financial officer in various local governments before retiring from her position of 10 years as the Fund Administrator for the local community foundation. She recently celebrated her 40th anniversary with husband Bill in the Arctic. She has two daughters. She enjoys reading, hiking, and pickleball. Reading grant applications has been eye-opening, and would recommend others to volunteer for this unique experience. Follow
Nancy Janus
Recently retired, Nancy had been a Professor of Human Development at Eckerd College for 29 years. Teaching part-time since a disabling bicycle accident in 2012, she has taught courses in human trafficking and global children’s issues. Along with these courses, she has taken students to Vietnam, Malaysia, Tanzania, Thailand, and Cambodia for a field study of child sex trafficking. Growing out of her early three-year Peace Corps experience, travel and international cultural exchange have been central to every academic effort she has undertaken. Her academic life began with a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Massachusetts. Before moving to Florida in 1994, she was a Professor of School Psychology and Counseling at Southern Connecticut State University.Follow
Danuta McCall
Danuta joined Rise's Santa Barbara-2 chapter in 2015, and loves spreading the word about Rise's mission and impact. She joined the Grants and Partnerships Committee in 2023 and feels fortunate to volunteer with a group of talented women whose dedication to Rise's mission of global gender equality is inspirational. While still co-owner of a small software firm focused on improving outcomes of group brainstorming and decision making, Danuta is gravitating towards retirement and finding time to play tennis, tame her wild garden, and visit her two daughters in New York and Los Angeles. She volunteers on the Education Committee for the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, a collective donor organization whose grants address the critical needs of women, children and families in South Santa Barbara County.Follow
Lisabeth (Beth) Medlock
As a coach, consultant, and psychologist, Beth's mission is to help people and organizations do better by building capacity, fostering change, and finding solutions that lead to better results. In her 30 years of consulting, she has worked with hundreds of nonprofit organizations in all phases of their life cycle, from strategic planning to program development to evaluating outcomes, impact, and sustainability. As an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Board-Certified Coach with 15 years of experience, she works with clients of all ages and abilities to help them design and direct their desired futures. Her approach is rooted in positive psychology and design thinking. She has invested in community impact and change through volunteering and service. She has been a nonprofit board chair and member, started a nonprofit, served on and chaired city government committees, and written and reviewed grants. She believes in sharing knowledge and tools. To that end, she has been a blogger for the Huffington Post, a TEDx speaker, and an author. She has been published as a researcher and has developed myriad reports, training manuals, and self-help booklets. She is a mother, a voracious reader, an enthusiastic traveler, a fitness buff, and a music lover.Follow