LEADERSHIP

STAFF

Alyse Maye Quade

Emma McBride

Karen Velez

Brittany Wallman

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Emma Faris, Chair

Kathy Murphy, Treasurer

Babette Apland

Dr. Annie L. Baietto

Cynthia Bauerly

Kathy Heltzer

Kim Isenberg

Ashleigh Leitch

Karen Hudson

Jackie Statum Allen

Betsy Sitkoff

KaYing Yang

Makeda Zulu

STAFF

Jordan Elton Foster

Alyse Maye Quade

Emma McBride

Karen Velez

Brittany Wallman

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Emma Faris, Chair

Luchelle Stevens, Vice Chair

Kathy Murphy, Treasurer

Babette Apland

Dr. Annie L. Baietto

Cynthia Bauerly

Karen Hudson

Kim Isenberg

Kathy Heltzer

Ashleigh Leitch

Betsy Sitkoff

Jackie Statum Allen

KaYing Yang

Makeda Zulu

Emma McBride

Political Director

Emma McBride is an experienced electoral strategist and organizer. Emma comes to Women Winning having managed the campaigns of two pro-choice women. She also has experience in non-profit electoral organizing. Most recently, she served as Minnesota Political Director at America Votes where she managed a coalition of 40+ organizations and built and executed campaigns in support of progressive candidates.

Emma is a lifelong Minnesotan and received a degree in Social Justice and Political Science from the University of Minnesota. Emma is passionate about building a more representative democracy because she knows first-hand that the fiercest advocates for reproductive justice are the people who are most impacted and come to the decision making table with lived experiences. She is excited to help pro-choice women build winning campaigns using creativity, community, and data-driven strategy. In her free time, Emma can be found curled up in her sunroom with a book, puttering around her garden and plants, or trying new restaurants around town.

Karen Velez

Operations Manager

Karen Velez is an accomplished organizer and immigration advocate whose passion for human rights earned her the distinction of being named “40 Under 40: Latinos in American Politics” by the Huffington Post. Before joining Women Winning, Karen worked at the Minnesota DFL, where she managed grassroots fundraising programs and organized successful donor events as Deputy Finance Director. Her own immigration story and frustrations with America’s broken immigration system helped drive her efforts as the face of DACA Sin Miedo, a Minnesota awareness campaign for DACA recipients, while she was still a high school student.

Karen grew up in the suburbs of Minnesota surrounded by a large and close-knit family and eventually moved to Washington D.C. While in D.C., she majored in Political Science at George Washington University and worked as a paralegal at the nationally renowned, full-service immigration law firm, Benach Collopy. Karen’s experience in D.C. helped her build well-rounded experience managing various teams and legal research. Despite her love for the nation’s capital, Minnesota is home. She returned to be closer to her beloved family and to help Minnesota maintain its status as the Midwest’s progressive firewall.

Outside of her busy work life, Karen loves trying new, locally-owned Twin Cities restaurants, listening to her favorite podcasts, and of course, you can always find her spending time with her close friends and family.

Brittany Wallman

Director of Advancement

Brittany Wallman has nearly a decade of events, communications, and marketing experience in the Twin Cities. Prior to joining Women Winning as the Director of Advancement, Brittany consulted with various Minnesota nonprofits, including Women’s Advocates, ArtistryMN, Trademark Theater, and The Ordway Center for Performing Arts.

Brittany is most passionate about work that centers building connections between people and their spaces, while helping them find the resources they need. In her free time you can find her baking from scratch, finding a fun class to take around town, or trying her hand at sailing across Lake Harriet.

Kathy Murphy

Board Member

Kathy Murphy is a retired business consultant with Andersen Consulting and Accenture, and a former account representative for a software company based in Silicon Valley. Kathy holds a BS in Economics and Statistics and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.

With a passion for community, Kathy is an engaged leader and volunteer. Kathy has assumed leadership roles with University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Minneapolis Institute of Art Friends Board, and the Wayzata and Minnetonka Garden Clubs.

Kathy has two adult daughters and lives in Woodland with her husband, Norm Rickeman.

Babette Apland

Board Member

Babette Apland is a senior executive with a proven track record in launching new and innovative health care solutions. Her passion is creating patient-centered health care and developing successful strategies for organizations to grow and succeed in complex and changing marketplaces. Babette began her career building new and innovative health care delivery services. After studying international health care systems in Sweden, she joined HealthPartners, an integrated health care financing and delivery system serving 1.5 million members and 1 million patients with over 1,700 physicians. During her career at HealthPartners, Babette launched and grew several divisions including provider relations and partnerships, population health and behavioral health. Most recently Babette joined American Public Media Group to lead a new national initiative to measurably raise the American public’s and key stakeholder’s awareness and understanding of mental health. Her goals include activating public conversation and creating a platform for change through leveraging APMG’s innovative media and convening capabilities including new on-air programming, on demand programming, digital content, civic engagement and live events.

Dr. Annie L. Baietto

Dr. Annie Lili Baietto is a board certified doctor of chiropractic. She has been providing holistic health care to families in the twin cities since 2019. Her experiences in women’s health fuels her passion for equal health care rights for all genders. She is an avid supporter of women’s reproductive rights, and believes that as a health provider, it is her duty to provide the best care and support to her patients.

Born and raised in China until the age of 10, she immigrated to the United States with her mother in hopes of finding more opportunities that can be earned by anyone through hard work. Prior to becoming a doctor of chiropractic, Dr. Baietto worked in the art world with auction houses and art dealers in New York, and later museums and galleries in the twin cities. Finding her true calling to serve others in her thirties has given Annie the world view of “it’s never too late”. She will carry this mantra forward into all future endeavors.

As one of the newest board members, she is looking forward to the guidance and mentorship from tenured, passionate women who make up this team. Her eagerness to learn and grow alongside this organization during a pivotal moment in our nation’s history will translate to future opportunities to provide the same mentorship and leadership shown to her through this board of accomplished women.

Annie lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband, Jon and their son, Ethan.

Cynthia Bauerly

Board Member

Cynthia Bauerly has extensive experience in law, management, and public policy, serving in key public sector leadership and management roles in Washington D.C. and in Minnesota. She has also worked and volunteered for national, state, and local campaigns and recounts for over thirty years.

Most recently, Cynthia served as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Revenue from 2015 to 2020. She led over 1,400 employees as they helped Minnesotans access the economic opportunities of the tax code and collected over $23 billion annually to fund state services. Prior to joining Revenue, she served as Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Development at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) where she led the department’s work of providing economic security for transitioning workers and workforce training and readiness.

From 2008 to 2013, Bauerly served as a Commissioner of the United States Federal Election Commission and as Chair of the agency in 2011. She also served as Legislative Director for Senator Chuck Schumer developing and implementing a broad policy agenda that included working with the Senate Rules, Judiciary, and Finance Committees and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. She has also worked in private practice in both Minnesota and Washington, D.C.

Bauerly earned a B.A. from Concordia College in Moorhead, a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, and a M.P.A. from Indiana University’s School of Environmental and Public Affairs. She grew up in central Minnesota and now lives in Minneapolis with her husband and their dog, Kiko.

Kathy Heltzer

Board Member

Kathy Heltzer serves as the Director of BSW/MSW Field Education in the Department of Social Work at the University of Minnesota Duluth where she has been on the faculty since 1998. Prior to this Kathy was a social worker for the Professional Association of Treatment Homes (PATH) working with children and families in the foster care system. Kathy grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota and moved to Duluth after spending a year in New Zealand as a Rotary Exchange student. She graduated from UMD with a Bachelor's Degree in Social Development and then worked two years in child protection before attending graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where where earned a Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW). She is active in the Duluth community and was recognized in 2014 for her community work with the Chancellor's Award for Public Service by UMD. Prior to this she received the College of Education and Human Service Professions Outstanding Service Award. Non-profit board work has included serving as the President of the Duluth Family Area YMCA, a trustee for the Duluth Area YMCA Foundation/Board of Trustees and the Human Development Center. She received the Albert and Louise Ordean "Making a Difference" Award in 1991 for her volunteer work as a long-term mentor with the Mentor Duluth program. She is a graduate of the Blandin Community Leadership Program. More recently, she is working on a collaborative effort, "Dementia Friendly Duluth" and has been involved in launching an initiative for people with dementia and their care partners to participate in the "Victory Chorus". She can often be found emceeing community events and helping raise money through live auctions for a variety of non-profit organizations.

Kim Isenberg

Board Member

Kim has significant political, policy and advocacy experience. She works with healthcare advocacy organizations to maintain open access to life saving therapies for people living with rare disease. Kim’s career began in youth leadership development. Her passion for working to make a difference led her to a career in public policy. Kim was a candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1992. Her past positions have included roles in federal and state government, the University of Minnesota, pharmaceutical associations, biopharmaceutical manufacturers and public relations firms.

Ashleigh Leitch

Board Member

Ashleigh is a lawyer at Best & Flanagan LLP and focuses on labor and employment law, appellate advocacy, and general civil litigation. She has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the Minnesota Supreme Court. She was recently recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers. Ashleigh graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School and the College of Saint Benedict. She got her start in politics by interning in the White House during the Obama Administration, for Senator Amy Klobuchar, and for the City of Minneapolis. Ashleigh also serves on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Justice Foundation.

Karen Hudson

Karen Hudson is the chief sales officer for Grant Thornton. She leads the firm’s national business development team, which is responsible for building long term client relationships, understanding client business challenges and bringing the breadth of Grant Thornton expertise and services to provide client value. Her role also encompasses sales recruiting, training, enablement, and compensation as well as advising on broader growth strategies and initiatives. Before joining Grant Thornton, Karen held a variety of sales, technical and executive roles at IBM. In addition to Women Winning, Karen also serves on the board of directors of the Center for Economic Inclusion and the Minnesota Technology Alliance. Karen lives in St Paul with her husband, Harley Gee, and has three young adult children. She enjoys door knocking and phone banking for Women Winning candidates.

Jackie Statum Allen

Board Member

Jackie joined the Bush Foundation as the Education Portfolio Director in 2018. She manages the strategy, programs, and partnerships for the Foundation’s education initiative, which focuses on making education more relevant for students in terms of who they are, how they learn, and where they want to go.

Prior to the Bush Foundation, Jackie spent over a decade working in public school district administration. Most recently, she led the Office of Strategic Planning, Policy and Grants Development for Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS). In that role she led several high-impact projects including developing and implementing multiple district strategic plans, developing inclusive policies, and managing informational campaigns for two successful referendum ballot issues. Prior to SPPS, she worked in operations and budget management with Chicago Public Schools. She also has experience working in brand marketing and manufacturing engineering.

Jackie currently serves on the board of Genesys Works - Twin Cities (GWTC). GWTC works with over 350 high school and college students, most of whom are from low-income households and/or are first gen college students. The students receive training and are placed in year-long internships in information technology. She is also on the Executive Committee for Generation Next, which uses a collective impact model to improve outcomes for students at SPPS and Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS.)

Jackie is originally from St. Louis, Missouri. She has a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a master's degree from Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two young daughters.

Betsy Sitkoff

Board Member

Betsy Sitkoff is a consultant with Process for Peace, LLC, a practice she founded in 2013. Process for Peace provides leadership to organizations, community groups, and schools addressing a broad range of needs including support for immigrant and refugee families, and family and community violence.

Betsy is community activist and a past board president of the National Council of Jewish Women MN.

Betsy holds a BS in Child Psychology and a Parent Education License from the University of Minnesota, and a MA in Public Administration from Hamline University. In 2016 Betsy completed her 230-hour yoga teacher training certificate.

Betsy has two children and lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Steve.

KaYing Yang

Board Member

KaYing Yang is a social justice advocate who has built and led community development efforts in the US and in Asia. Over twenty years ago KaYing began her career as a community organizer and nonprofit leader providing social services and advocacy to refugees and immigrants. Nationally and globally, KaYing worked in coalition with civil rights groups and international development agencies to address educational, economic and gender inequities. In 2013, she became the co-founder and President of RedGreen Rivers, a social enterprise working with women and girls in the Mekong Region to build sustainable communities. Today, she is the Director of Programs for the Coalition of Asian American Leaders. She is also a recipient of a 2019 Bush Fellowship from the Bush Foundation.

Makeda Zulu

Board Member

Makeda Zulu is the University of Minnesota Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center’s (UROC) chief executive officer. She provides executive oversight of strategic planning, revenue generation, financial stewardship, organizational development, staff management, and operational activities. She has been a part of this University-community place-based innovation since 2006.

Over the last 25+ years Zulu has served her community personally and professionally. She has served on boards of Juxtaposition Arts and Towerside Innovation District. Makeda is a former Senate District 59 party chair, and has been instrumental in a few campaigns for office. She is currently a board member of Parents in Community Action Head Start and Black Storytellers Alliance. Her impact spans work in youth development, childcare and family programming for almost a decade with the Twin Cities YMCA, then added community development, as an organizer for the Northside Residents Redevelopment Council. The University awarded her the Outstanding Community Service Award (2014).

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Grambling State University and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

Makeda believes in Ubuntu – I am because we are; self-determined people who work collaboratively in purpose and creativity to make positive change. She lives in North Minneapolis.

Alyse Maye Quade

Political Director

Alyse Maye Quade is an accomplished political operative and organizer who joins Women Winning after more than four years at the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) Party. As the DFL Political Director, Alyse strengthened relationships among partners, allies, and activists to continually build the progressive, pro-choice movement and position for electoral victories in the next election cycle. As the Director of the DFL Coordinated Campaign, Alyse managed winning Minnesota field programs and supported voter protection, Get Out The Vote, and Coalition teams.

Alyse was raised on a farm in Southwest MN, and attended the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, where she got her start in politics, working on a local house campaign. From there, she worked at various non-profits and electoral campaigns, including for the U.S. Senate and for Everytown for Gun Safety / Moms Demand Action. Outside of campaign work, Alyse enjoys golfing, cooking, and drinking in taprooms all over Minnesota to find the best local IPA. She lives in Apple Valley with her wife and their two rescue dogs.

Luchelle Stevens

Vice Board Chair

Luchelle Stevens is a senior strategist and advisor to national and local campaigns. She has led winning progressive issue battles at the state and national level including healthcare reform, comprehensive immigration reform, raising the minimum wage, and voting rights. An expert political and community organizer, Stevens served as the Campaign Manager of Our Vote Our Future, the coalition campaign that helped Minnesota become the first state in the nation to defeat a voter ID constitutional amendment.

Stevens previously served as chief of staff for the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Prior to that, she held numerous leadership roles with Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Earlier in her career, Stevens served in the U.S. Navy as an air traffic controller and as an aerographer’s mate (meteorology). Stevens is a Gulf War Veteran.

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Mia Parisian

Robbinsdale City Council, Ward 3

Mia Z Parisian has spent most of her life in Robbinsdale. Mia’s mom raised her and her siblings in a little blue house with a red door in Ward 3. Mia attended Robbinsdale schools, and her first job was with the Parks and Recreation Department. She graduated from St. Olaf College and moved abroad to teach at a University in Southeast Asia. Upon returning home to Robbinsdale, she now works as an Instructional Designer and lives with her husband in that very same blue house with the red door in Ward 3. She is passionate about inclusion, the environment, and representation. Mia serves as the Chair of Robbinsdale’s Planning Commission. Robbinsdale has never had more than one woman serve on its City Council at one time. Mia is now the only woman on the Robbinsdale City Council ballot and looks forward to serving her community in a new and impactful way.

Visit Mia Parisian's website here.

Kindra Ramaker

Olmsted County Commissioner, District 4

My name is Kindra Ramaker and I was born in Spring Valley, Minnesota. My family and I have lived in rural High Forest, just outside Stewartville, for the past 10 years. I graduated from public high school in Spring Valley and went to college at Creighton University and got a graduate degree from the University of Minnesota. I’ve spent most of my professional career as an analyst and a project manager. I’ve found these skills very valuable in every aspect of my life. It involves understanding the big picture first, and then breaking it down into actionable steps. It requires leading diverse groups of people and getting them to see the same vision and do their unique part to accomplish it - all within the timeline and on budget. I thrive on tackling some of the most difficult, sometimes even gnarly problems. I love looking at situations and finding the most wins for everyone rather than competing for one group of people to win the most. My best satisfaction comes from seeing teams thrive and problems getting solved. Trophies have never been important to me.

Visit Kindra Ramaker's website here.

Therese Kiser

Crystal City Council, Ward 1

Therese Kiser is running for re-election to Crystal City Council, Ward I. She was first elected in 2018 and wants to continue the work during a second term. Therese is a long time Crystal resident and has been involved in her community in many ways. She has volunteered for many organizations. Currently, she serves on the Community Board of the New Hope YMCA and is Vice-president of the Crystal Historical Society. Therese and her husband, Randy, have been married for 35 years, they have two grown sons and love to travel.

Visit Therese Kiser's website here.

Kriystauhl Fitchett

Burnsville City Council

Kriystauhl Fitchett is no stranger when it comes to making strong inroads in political affairs. Having grown up with parents who sparked her interest in becoming active in community action, she knew her purpose in life and the direction of her personal and professional career. After earning a BA in political science and an MA in public administration, the Ohio native stepped away from her hometown to establish new beginnings in Minnesota. In 2006, she immediately began volunteering with the city of Burnsville to learn, first-hand, what the strongest needs of the community were. While working in numerous government positions with the Minnesota Legislature, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, and the Minnesota District Courts, Kriystauhl has seamlessly worked with Mayor’s, elected and appointed Officials, Judicial Officers, Law Enforcement, business owners, private citizens to members holding local office. She firmly believes building relationships and a coalition to work together to achieve common goal will help Burnsville become a model city. While actively serving as the Chair for the Burnsville Economic Development Commission, Chair for Minnesota MAPE employees, and previously serving with the Dayton Administration as Co-Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, her sights are focused on becoming the first African American female to sit on the Burnsville City Council where she hopes to apply more than 25 years of knowledge and experience working with economic development, government budgets, block grants and public programs to help the city achieve its goal to provide more affordable housing, accessibility and expansion of broadband, and to revitalize its under-developed commercial real estate. Kriystauhl believes these efforts will help to make Burnsville a more vibrant and inclusive community for all its ever-increasing diverse residents.

Visit Kriystauhl Fitchett's website here.

Karen MacLaughlin

Olmsted County Attorney

Karen MacLaughlin is a candidate for Olmsted County Attorney (Rochester, Minnesota). Ms. MacLaughlin received her law degree with honors from William Mitchell College of Law and has been a successful trial attorney in Rochester for 19 years and counting. She served as an Assistant Olmsted County Attorney from 1999-2016, and now practices family law for a local legal aid agency representing low-income clients. She was elected to the Rochester School Board in 2020, and currently serves as Treasurer. She previously served on the boards of the local Women’s Shelter, the League of Women Voters, and the Olmsted County Human Rights Commission. Ms. MacLaughlin is an active and visible member of the community, and is a passionate advocate for human rights, safe communities, crime victims, and reducing systemic barriers to justice. She is fiercely pro-choice and a strong advocate for reproductive justice. She believes every person has a right to a safe, legal and accessible abortion. She believes in every person’s right to bodily autonomy and the individual right to make healthcare decisions. If elected Olmsted County Attorney and if abortion becomes illegal in Minnesota, Ms. MacLaughlin is committed to using her prosecutorial discretion to deny prosecution of anyone who has an abortion, provides an abortion, or assists with an abortion in Olmsted County.

Visit Karen MacLaughlin's website here.

Emily Rousseau

Arden Hills City Council

Emily currently works as the Data Privacy Manager for a publicly-traded corporation. She believes all of us have a right to privacy and to have our personal information protected. Emily analyzes state and federal privacy laws and develops policies to protect our clients’ personal data. She also values government openness. Previously, Emily was the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s Data Practices Compliance Officer, responsible for ensuring its employees faithfully complied with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. Emily’s MBA is from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Visit Emily Rousseau's website here.

Susan Pha

Minnesota Senate, District 38

Susan Pha is the SD38 DFL candidate for State Senate. She currently serves as the Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Brooklyn Park. She was elected to the City Council in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. She is a Commissioner of the Economic and Development Authority and a Board Member of the Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth. For almost 20 years Susan has organized and built community power to uplift women and girls through mentorship, addressing gender inequities, and creating economic opportunities. Susan is known as a leader and champion for youth programs, education and economic opportunities, livable wages, and affordable housing. She is a passionate advocate for access to mental health services, and affordable healthcare. Susan is ready to work and fight hard for policies that improve the lives of the people in her district and across Minnesota.

Visit Susan Pha's website here.

Michelle Boyechko

Minnesota Senate, District 11

Michelle Boyechko is a small farmer in Northern Minnesota raising Dexter Cattle, KuneKune Pigs and two teenagers. She felt obliged to rub after the Roe decision was leaked, followed by the Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX shootings. The thought that she may never see her kids after hugging them good-bye the morning after Uvalde was too much. Michelle is a strong proponent for abortion rights, common sense gun legislation and rebuilding rural areas by supporting small to medium farms.

Visit Michelle Boyechko's website here.

Mary Supple

Mayor, Richfield

Richfield At-Large Council Member Mary Supple is running for Mayor of Richfield. Supple is an active local leader and was a teacher in Richfield Public Schools for 33 years. She currently serves on the City Council and is chair of the Richfield Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Council Member Supple was active as a local union leader in Education Richfield serving as local president as well as lead contract negotiator. She was also a member of the Education Minnesota Governing Board, a member of the National Education Association Board of Directors, and a trustee of the Minnesota Teacher Retirement Association. Supple is excited about the future of Richfield and wants to work together with residents to dream about and build the future of our thriving community.

Visit Mary Supple's website here