Our Team - Elect Women NJ

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Kerri Kennedy

Founding Member and Chairwoman

Kerri Kennedy is Founder and Chairperson. She is a global peacebuilder, international executive and co- editor of the book Indivisible: Global Leaders for Shared Security. Kerri has dedicated more than twenty years to lead international peace, disaster relief, and humanitarian organizations in the US and across 50+ countries and has spent her career working to reduce conflict, advocate for human rights and women’s leadership in politics and the private sector globally.

Currently, she is the International Associate General Secretary for American Friends Service Committee, overseeing operations in 17 countries. After her time supporting women politicians in Afghanistan, she created Represent PAC to support progressive women candidates in Pennsylvania, and beyond, to ensure that all have a voice in policy and politics. She is a Truman National Security Fellow, a board member of the Alliance for Peacebuilding and has an M.S. from American University.

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

She 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, she 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.

Kathy Williams

Vice Chairwoman

Kathy is a Founding Board Member. She is a longtime educator with over 25 years of experience leading, teaching and advocating for fair and equitable treatment for children and their families in education. Kathy is currently the Founder/Executive Director of a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Friends in Need Children’s Center (FINCC). She also holds the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SeBriN Technology, Inc; A technology consulting company that provides consulting and support for technology businesses in the field of STEM. Kathy has been imbedded in the thick of politics since a young age. She came from a family in New York City that is heavily involved in the political arena, fighting for the rights of underrepresented people including the African American community, women and children.

She has continued with her advocacy work throughout her 30 plus years of being in New Jersey through her non-profit organization and her partnership with various activist groups. Kathy has been a candidate for Township Committee and her local school board. She is currently a County Committeewoman for her local district. She is also currently an appointed member of the Monmouth County Supreme Court District IX C Arbitration Committee. Kathy holds a BS from Syracuse University, a MA from Adelphi University and a MA from Kean University.

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.

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.

Saily Avelenda

Founding Board Member

Saily M. Avelenda is the current Executive Director of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. Prior to becoming ED of the party, Ms. Avelenda ran the Currie/Shaffer chair campaign in 2019-early 2020. Ms. Avelenda was a founding Steering Committee member of NJ 11th for Change in 2016 and 2017, and served as the group’s Executive Director from February 2018 to January 2020. Until May 2017, Ms. Avelenda was employed as Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at a community bank in northern New Jersey. Ms. Avelenda left her position shortly after her then-congressman, Rodney Frelinghuysen (R; NJ-11) alerted a member of her employer’s Board of Directors about her activities with NJ 11th for Change. Ms. Avelenda, in turn, alerted the media about Congressman Frelinghuysen’s actions, and he announced his retirement in January 2018. In November 2018, NJ’s 11th Congressional District overwhelmingly elected Mikie Sherrill (D) to take his seat. NJ 11th for Change is widely credited with having paved the way for the Congresswoman’s victory. Ms. Avelenda received her J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.A.from New York University.

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.

Gina Trish

Board Member

Gina is a secondary art and art history teacher. She was previously appointed as a communications professional with the State of New Jersey, serving as a writer, spokesperson, senior advisor and digital communications lead to Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver. She has previously taught technology and design in the art department at Centenary University and worked independently on digital design and web development projects for education, technology, manufacturing, not-for-profit, and political campaigns. In 2017, she ran for State Assembly in the 24th Legislative District in Northwestern New Jersey. She currently serves as a Democratic County Committeewoman and is the Municipal Chair of the Blairstown Democrats in Warren County. She is an activist and community organizer who believes in order to achieve equal representation for women at all levels of government we must organize, engage and support each other. Gina holds a degree from the George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Betsy Driver

Board Member

The first openly intersex person elected to public office outside of Australia, Betsy Driver is a journalist by training and an LGBTQIA advocate by birth. Betsy’s involvement in local politics began after she started blogging about her community and the governing body at work. When challenged to run for local office, she did. And she won. Betsy served as a Councilperson and then as Mayor in Flemington Borough.

Betsy’s path to public service began when she discovered her own medical history that had been hidden from her until she obtained her childhood medical records when she was in her mid-thirties. Using the information she gleaned about her own history and the very early internet, she co-founded the first online intersex peer support organization in 2001 and called it Bodies Like Ours. She is a frequent speaker about her own history as an individual with an intersex variation throughout the world, including testimony at the United Nations. Betsy was one of ten international community heroes honored at the World Pride event held in NYC in 2020. Her advocacy was recognized and honored by the NJ State Democratic LGBTQIA Caucus in 2021. Betsy is on the Hunterdon County Democratic Committee in Flemington.

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.