Our Team

LWVMA Board of Directors 2023-2024

To reach a member of the Board email lwvma@lwvma.org.

Elizabeth Foster-Nolan

Co-President | Member-at-Large

Elizabeth Foster-Nolan, served two years as an LWVMA president, one year as an LWVMA Co-President, and one year as a Director. She joined the Weymouth LWV in 2010 and became a Member-at-Large when the Weymouth League disbanded. She is an experienced moderator for local and Congressional candidate nights and previously chaired/co-chaired the LWVMA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, was a member of the Voter Engagement Committee, and chaired the Moderator Training and Mentoring Sub-Committee. Read more…

Marie Gauthier

Co-President| Local League: Franklin County

Marie Gauthier contacted LWVMA about starting a League of Women Voters of Franklin County in November 2016 and has served as its president since its founding as a Unit in January 2017. The Unit was recognized as an official local League on August 1, 2018 and has been a vibrant new League presence in Franklin County ever since. On the state level, Marie has served on the LWVMA Membership Steering Committee since November 2017. Read more…

Jacquelyn Burmeister

First Vice President|Local League: Worcester Area

Jacquelyn (she/her/hers) is the Coordinator of the Lakes and Ponds Program for the City of Worcester Department of Sustainability and Resilience, where she works with community groups to monitor and manage local lakes and assets for recreation, economic development, and climate resilience. She has a BS in Biology from Duke University and moved to Worcester in 2013 to complete her MBA and MS in Environmental Science and Policy at Clark University. Read more…

Karen Price

Second Vice President|Local League: Needham

Karen Price is the former President and Voter Service Chair of LWV Needham—currently she is webmaster for www.lwv-needham.org. She has served on past LWVMA boards, and is currently Chair of the Local League Data Collection Committee and a Field Service Rep. Karen believes in strong, visible, inclusive and growing local Leagues.

Courtney Rau Rogers

Secretary | Local League: Norwood

Courtney has been a member of the League of Women Voters since 2009 and is a former president of the LWV Norwood. Her local League has sponsored forums on the Community Preservation Act, Ranked Choice Voting, and local energy resources. They have also partnered with the Yes For Norwood Schools political action committee advocating for an operational override for the schools. On the state level, Courtney was a member of LWVMA’s 100th Anniversary and DEI Steering Committees, and helped create the Suffrage Movement “Then and Now” Civics Education Toolkit. Read more…

Tanya Roy

Treasurer | Local League: Wellesley

Tanya Roy completed her first year as a Director on the LWVMA Board and is now serving as Treasurer during the second year of her term. Tanya is a board member and Legislative Specialist for LWVMA, as well as a board member and Legislative Envoy for LWV of Wellesley. She also works with the Wellesley Students’ Aid Society, Community Fund for Wellesley, and the Wellesley ESL program. Read more…

Debra Dagwan

Director |Local League: Cape Cod Area

Dr. Debra Dagwan has been a League member for four years and has served on the LWVCCA Legislative Committee and Nomination Committee for the last two years. She is an educator, advocate, and activist with a Master’s Degree in Education, in Health Science and School Administration from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in Teaching Administration. Read more…

Samantha Giffen

Director |Local League: Salem

Samantha’s mission as a student affairs professional is to empower students with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to be change-makers in their communities. She graduated from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in 2018 with a B.A. in Psychology. While at MCLA, her involvement in student government, sustainability efforts, equity initiatives, and the campus food pantry sparked her passion for student advocacy. Read more…

Courtney Henderson

Director | Member-at-Large

Courtney Henderson is a political strategist, community leader and advocate for the youth in the South Shore area of Massachusetts. Since her move to Massachusetts back in 2016, Courtney has organized workshops for women with the Brockton Area Branch NAACP as well as organized symposiums and community events with the South Shore chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Read more…

Marcia Johnson

Director |Local League: Newton

During her 21 years as a League of Women Voters, Newton member, she has been on the Board for 6 years and president for 3 years. She has brought more relevant programming to its League Presents local access show and a substantial knowledge of government and affordable housing. She increased the League’s visibility and influence by creating stronger relationships with elected leaders, city department heads and other civic organizations. Read more…

Jeanne Morrison

Director | Local League: Cape Cod

Retired from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as the Assistant General Manager of Diversity and Civil Rights, Jeanne has over 35 years of managerial experience working in non-profit and state agencies in the health care, human services and transportation industries. She has held positions as clinical Director for Residential, Behavioral Health and Dayhabilitation programs with expertise in program development and oversight. Read more…

Josiah Morrow

Director | Member-at-large

Josiah Morrow is serving his first term as a director of LWVMA. He has been an active member at the state level, serving on the resolutions, governance, nominating, and budget committees. Josiah was also deeply involved with the League of Women Voters of Greater Haverhill, serving as its president from January 2022 until its disbandment in January 2023. He previously served for nearly two years as LWVGH’s secretary after being elected as the youngest ofﬁcer and executive board member in League history in July 2019. Read more…

Melinda Murphy

Director | Local League: Northampton Area

Melinda Murphy is an Educator of the Springﬁeld Virtual School, for the Springﬁeld Public School District. Although a transplant from Brooklyn, New York, she is a product of the Springﬁeld School System. Upon graduation from Central High School, she went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services from Springﬁeld College, and her Master of Science in Guidance and Counseling from Cambridge College. Read more…

Himaja Nagireddy

Director | Local League: Acton Area

Himaja Nagireddy is a proud daughter of South Indian immigrants. Himaja currently serves as a health equity research fellow at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at the CDC and as an elected Select Board member in Acton. Read more…

Judith Reilly

Director | Local League: Salem

Judith Reilly joined the League as a founding member of the LWV Salem Unit (2018) and is currently finishing her term as the Salem League’s first Voter Services & Civic Engagement chair. She is a native New Yorker who loves her adopted home of Salem. A mid-life career-changer, she earned AS, BS, and MBA degrees from Johnson & Wales University and has worked for 12 years as a performance auditor for a federal agency. Read more…

Christy Torres

Director | Local League: Northampton Area

Christy Torres is currently the CEO/ President of the Western Mass Tiny Home Initiative and a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. of the Springfield Chapter. The focus of her whole professional life has been on making families’ lives better. Her experience teaching and facilitating within the public school system, working with the Special Education Department and public schools in different capacities, is combined with the knowledge she gained navigating through the public school system and the special education system of Springfield. Read more…

Eva Valentine

Director | Local League: Brookline

Eva Valentine has dedicated her professional and leadership talents to the League of Women Voters over the years. Eva ﬁrst formed and served as president of the LWV of Greater Haverhill, joined the State Board as Treasurer and then was elected President of LWVMA in 2011. Read more…

Staff

Patricia Comfort

Executive Director| pcomfort@lwvma.org

Pattye joined LWVMA in November of 2019. She comes to LWVMA after seven years as Executive Director of the Women’s Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Foundation of Massachusetts. Pattye began her legal career as in-house counsel to the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) where, among other things, she was responsible for maintaining First Amendment access for the PIRGs political canvassers throughout the U.S. She also worked at the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation as the Director of the Equal Justice Coalition, building support among the private bar for access to justice through increased funding for civil legal aid programs in Massachusetts. She is an experienced community organizer having worked with tenants in Boston’s public housing developments as well as with low-income tenants in Lowell. Pattye is a graduate of Boston College and Northeastern University School of Law.

Brynne Gorman

Membership and Community Engagement Manager | bgorman@lwvma.org

Brynne Gorman joined LWVMA in April of 2014. Prior to joining LWVMA Brynne served in Data Governance at Covidien. Previously, Brynne managed the office of Business Network International and interned on a congressional campaign in the 2012 election. Brynne holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Lily Sweeterman

Administrative and Program Associate | lsweeterman@lwvma.org

Lily is a recent graduate from the University of Dayton, where she received a B.A. in Criminal Justice Studies and Sociology while completing minors in English, Political Science, and Women’s & Gender Studies. She worked in the University of Dayton’s Office of Recruitment and Admission as a Student Service Representative for 2 years. During her undergraduate career she also served as the Chief of Staff for her Student Government Association and was a member of numerous organizations such as Students Advocating for Gender Equity. Lily has previously been a Political Research Associate Intern for a non-profit organization called Vote Smart as well as a Prosecutor’s Office Intern in the Euclid Municipal Court’s Law Office.

Susan Garvey

Director of Development | sgarvey@lwvma.org

Susan joined the LWVMA as Director of Development February, 2022. She comes to LWVMA with 30 years of experience in senior-level nonprofit management supporting under-resourced communities in health and human services, the arts, hospitals, health care and advocacy. Her success included building equity and inclusion through the power of communication, education, and volunteerism. Susan’s areas of expertise include; annual corporate sponsorships, major and planned gifts, capital and endowment campaigns, event management and memberships. In addition, she has experience in marketing, communication, and branding strategies. Susan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations/Marketing from Ashford University.

Martha Maguire

Business Manager | mmaguire@lwvma.org

LWVMA Legislative Specialists

To reach any of the legislative specialists, email specialists@lwvma.org