Our Team
Executive Committee
Founder & Treasurer
Vice Chairwoman
Board Members
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Founding Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Emeritus Board Members
Founder
Tricia Maguire
Founding Member and Executive Director
Tricia Maguire is Founder and Executive Director. Owner of 3E Grassroots Political Consulting, she has twenty-five years of experience as a community focused professional, advocate, and executive board level volunteer. She is a graduate of the Emerge New Jersey training and a two time candidate for municipal office.
Tricia is a life long champion for women; beginning in the 1990’s interning for a Women’s Health Clinic in Chester, PA as well as researching, presenting, and programming on campus rape; serving on numerous committees to boost female representation in education and politics; and her current fierce support of female candidates in elections.
A local activist, Tricia is a former Steering Committee member from Indivisible CD4, Community Action Team Leader with Planned Parenthood, Now Committee Chair, and County Co-Chair of the Shore Area Action Together NJ. Tricia holds a M.Ed. from Lehigh University.
Linda Peng-Grooters
Founder and Treasurer
Linda Peng-Grooters is a communications designer by trade, working for a worldwide publishing company. In her spare time she volunteers her services for women run businesses and women’s rights and health organizations.
As a local activist, Linda is involved with Indivisible Bayshore, Mom’s Demand, councils for survivors of domestic violence, she is a commissioner on her town’s Environmental Commission, and is a County Committeewoman for her district.
Linda holds a BFA and MFA from The New School University.
Cara Parmigiani
Founding Board Member
Cara earned her law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law and was admitted to the Bars of the States of New Jersey and New York. As a general practitioner/litigator in her own firm, she solves a wide variety of problems every day to assist adults and children through our legal system. In particular, she has provided pro-bono legal assistance for women in arranged marriages, as well as represented vulnerable populations of patients in psychiatric facilities.
Cara co-founded Morris County Pride, a continuing organization that promotes visibility and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. She has run for both county and local offices, and is an exhibiting graphic artist and writer.
Shelly L. Bell
Board Member
Shelly L. Bell is Robin Bell Consulting’s Co-Owner and Chief Operations Officer. This woman and veteran-owned business specializes in government relations and business development by providing innovative and advisory services and is committed to making complex business issues simple.
Initially inspired by the civil rights movement, Ms. Bell got involved in politics at a young age as a volunteer for local campaigns in her hometown of Newark, NJ. A trailblazer with more than a decade of experience in federal, local, and state government affairs working for many high-ranking Democratic candidates, Ms. Bell is herself the first African-American elected to the Montgomery, NJ, Township Committee where she served as Deputy Mayor.
Ms. Bell motivates everyone she meets with an infectious smile and jovial personality. She is an ordained clergywoman, a prolific speaker, a best-selling co-author, and a Distinguished Fellow of Princeton Seminary’s Black Theological Leadership Institute. Shelly holds a B.A. and M.A. from Pillar College. Her formal training includes Family Development credentials from Rutgers University and successful completion of the Emerge NJ program.
Mary Knowles
Board Member
Mary Knowles is a media and communications consultant and former late-night television producer. Both of Mary’s parents were active in local and state politics while she was growing up. She saw first-hand the positive impact local elected officials and activists can have on their communities.
Mary has helped prepare more than 300 Democratic candidates to run for office in New Jersey. She became involved in New Jersey politics in 2014 with the founding of Emerge New Jersey, organizing the program’s candidate training sessions for several years. Mary began her involvement with Elect Women NJ as a Founding Circle donor, then as Program Chair and currently as a Board Member.
As the senior producer on HBO’s late-night topical talk show, REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER, Mary booked and prepared hundreds of politicians, journalists, policy experts and authors to appear on high-stakes, live TV. Earlier in her career, Mary worked in more traditional news and informational venues, including CBS News, WNET and ABC News. Her current consulting firm is Mary Knowles Media.
Mary earned her master’s degree in political science from Rutgers University (Newark). Her thesis was titled, Why Women Run: Motivations for Entry into Local Politics. She has a BA from Tufts University in international relations.
Anna Alexander
Board Member
Passionate about civic responsibility, Anna Alexander founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting civic engagement and education. Her vision is to inspire active participation in governance at local, state, and federal levels, with the ultimate goal of making governmental bodies more representative of the communities they serve. Through her multifaceted career and community involvement, Anna continues to make a lasting impact on both individual lives and broader societal structures.
Anna holds a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Drexel University. A cornerstone of Anna’s practice is her focus on systems theory, which involves a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between individuals, their environments, rules, boundaries, and communication patterns.
Anna Holds a Bachelors degree in behavioral science. Currently, Anna oversees operations for three outpatient locations.
Rachel Green
Board Member
Rachel C. Green is the Founder and CEO of Women of Color Coalition. Rachel has served many years as the President and Vice President of the Deptford Township Board of Education. The first black women to serve as President of the Board of Education. A community advocate for children, women and all marginalized groups for many years. Rachel currently is the Interim Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Acenda, Inc. Rachel holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, a postgraduate degree in Public Administration and currently pursuing her Doctoral Degree in Management of Organizational Leadership. Rachel has served and advocated on many boards and organization.
The following are just a few of the many boards, committees and awards she has received and served on over the years for the community: 2021 NJ State Women’s March Steering Committee Member, Founder of Jersey Girls4Joe/Kamala/Women for Biden/Harris New Jersey and State Director/now Jersey Girls for Democracy, 2020 Presidential Biden District Delegate-New Jersey, 2nd Vice President NJ State Federation of Democratic Women 2021-2023, Action Together State Civil Rights Director, Gloucester County NAACP Executive Board Member-present, Member of the SNJ Black Political Caucus, Former Member of Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholder’s Tolerance Project and Parks and Recreation Committee, Gloucester County NAACP Image Award in Education 2010, and SJ African American Chamber of Commerce President’s Award 2014. Former Member of Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholder’s Tolerance Project and Parks and Recreation Committee.
Suchitra Kamath
Founding Board Member
Suchitra Kamath is an entrepreneur. Currently, she runs the Minuteman Press of Edison, whose core business is printing, graphic design and promotional products. Before making this career change to a business owner, was directing and managing the strategy and compliance of global programs for regulatory and policy change for Tier-1 investment banks on Wall Street, New York City.
Suchitra holds a degree in Instrument Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Delhi), India as well as a Masters in Library and Information Sciences with a concentration in Digital Information Organization from Rutgers University.
An EMERGE alumni, Suchitra has been politically active in the past several years, helping with election day and poll workers management in Edison township and statewide fundraising for several Democratic candidates.She is the Executive Director and President of ISAAW (Inspiring South Asian American Women), an organization which educates, empowers and mobilizes South Asian American Women for political and civic engagement. She is the founding President of the Democratic Club in Edison, NJ. Suchitra also sits on the board of the Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce and Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey.
