Woman Within Eastern USA Board Members

Donna Elser

President

Mission: With compassionate awareness, I create opportunities for healing and growth for myself and others.

Donna’s WWE journey began in November 2005 at Appel Farm in Elmer, NJ. Her passion for this work resulted in her being honored with a Rose Award in 2009. To date, she has staffed more than 30 times, is certified to present the Staff Training and Circle Intensive Workshops, and is pursuing full certification as a member of the Facilitation Team.

Before she “retired,” Donna was an elementary school teacher, worked for Hartford Insurance and co-owned a packing and shipping company with her husband of 40+ years, Mike Elser of the Mankind Project (MKP), WWE’s brother organization. She has 2 grown children and two fantastic granddaughters.

Donna became President of WWE in July 2017. The President of Woman Within Eastern USA is the designated executive of the Corporation. She holds the organization’s Vision, chairs the Board of Directors and leads the organization.

Mandy Redman

Secretary

Mission: To nurture myself and others with compassion and grace.

Mandy joined WWE in October 2013 at Diamond Ridge, Jamison, PA. She found a Circle the following February 2014 and has staffed nearly every WWE Weekend in MA and PA since 2014. In July 2015, Mandy attended the Level 2 workshop, describing it as one of the most transformative and inspirational weeks of her life. She is working toward her goal of serving on the Leadership Track.

Mandy is currently a dispatcher for the Horsham Police Department. She is married to her best friend, Jason Redman, and has four amazing children. She enjoys spending time with her friends and family.

Always seeking an opportunity to give back to the WW Community, she jumped at the chance to serve as Secretary for the WWE Board. The Secretary is responsible for the oversight of the corporate recording of minutes, logistics of the monthly phone conference meeting, documentation management and limited general correspondence.

Kimberly Thareja

Treasurer

Mission: To lead with whole-hearted connection and grace.

Kimberly’s Woman Within journey began September 2011 in Jamison, PA – the first time the Weekend was held at Diamond Ridge. She loves staffing and has done all the staff jobs at least once. Kimberly has also served as Assistant Team Leader for Level 2 several times and, to cover as Marg Renaud retired, took on the Team Leader (TL) role to lead the past few Level 2 workshops and is excited to complete the TL track.

Married with two twin grown sons, Kimberly works for her husband who graciously supports her efforts with WWE. She has a pilot’s license, deciding that if her husband was going to fly them around, she’d better learn to land the plane!

Kimberly joined the WWE Board as Director of Circles in April 2018.  She became our treasurer in July 2020.  The Treasurer serves as Chief Financial Officer of the organization and is responsible for auditing, reporting and maintaining the Corporate Financial Records and support for all bookkeeping tasks.

Megan Quinn

Director of Community Affairs

Mission: To celebrate the unearthing of life.

Megan went through her Weekend in March 2014 at Diamond Ridge, Jamison, PA. Since then, she has fallen in love with the work and Community. She staffs regularly on the East Coast, serves on the DEVA Region Council and attended Level 2 in 2017. Once frightened, confused, repressed and lacking direction, Megan says this work has ushered her into being a woman of integrity, desire, assuredness and creativity.

Megan is a Performing Artist, Pilates Instructor and Community Partner based in Philadelphia. She serves as Assistant Director of Archedream for Humankind, an internationally-touring dance theater company. She is also Adjunct Professor of Pilates at Temple University and has worked for the nonprofit Dress for Success.

In June 2017, Megan began her term as Director of Community Affairs. The Director of Community Affairs focuses on increasing involvement in WWE Circles, workshops, programs and the Community at large.

Ali Lodise

Director of Communications

Mission: To live in fierce love and full being

Ali (she/her) began her Woman Within journey in March 2018 in Jamison, PA. Ali attended the Woman Within Level 2 training in 2019 and has staffed the WW Weekend several times. Ali participates in a closed circle and coordinates a monthly online open circle, through which she continues to welcome women into the organization.

Ali is a queer movement artist in Philadelphia, PA, which she acknowledges as traditional Lenape land. Ali values a holistic approach to embodiment. She is currently pursuing a doctorate of physical therapy degree while working as physical therapy aide, Pilates instructor, and movement educator.

Ali is an independent thinker who found her way gradually into the WW organization. While her experiences in WW have been, at times, confrontational to her resistant and rebellious energies, Ali believes the work of the Woman Within community is transformative and necessary. Within the Woman Within community, Ali has learned to partner with herself in healing and power.

She leads by challenging the process and provoking change in herself and within her communities. She values inclusivity and engagement in the Woman Within organization. Her hope is to bring transparency, transformation, honesty, love, and compassion to the Director of Communications position.  She hopes to utilize this role to support a diverse array of people in finding and accessing their own personal empowerment.

June Fisher

Director of Governance

Mission: To heal myself and hold safe space for others by honoring the sacredness of every being.

June was introduced to Woman Within in 2002. She was so grateful for the support received during her Weekend, she volunteered for the roles of Director of Circles and then Director of Training for six years. Within two years of her Weekend, June completed Circle training, Skills and Level 2. She has staffed several Level 2 workshops, more than 30 Weekends and entered the Facilitation track.

June has had careers in Nursing, Law and currently is employed by a pharmaceutical company. She provides preventive benefits to persons within the United States and globally. She is married to Bob Walters and has two children. Her daughter Lauren Weiss serves as WWE Staffing Coordinator.

In June 2017, June was appointed Director of Governance, a new position on the WWE Board. The Director of Governance oversees the organization’s processes, protocols, succession planning, on-boarding of new directors, strategic planning, and internal and external communications.

Natalie Robbins

Director of Training

Mission: To create sacred space for healing myself and others.

Natalie began her Woman Within journey in Jamison, PA in October 2013, when she gifted herself the Weekend for her 40^th birthday. With a great fear of vulnerability and a matched desire to heal, she quickly became involved in the organization. Natalie attended Level 2 a few months later and staffed her first Weekend in March 2014. She quickly attended Skills and Circle Intensive and continues to regularly staff Weekends and other workshops in the region. In 2015, Natalie began her work on the Facilitation Track, is a former director of The New England Area Council and continues to be an active member of the community. She sits in Circle biweekly and stays connected with other Woman Within women around the world. Natalie joined the WWE Board as Director of Training in June 2017; The Director of Training is responsible for coordinating the Woman Within Weekends and other training opportunities that support the development of community members.

Natalie maintains a full-time psychotherapy practice in Danbury, CT and Manhattan, NY and continuously learns new tools to help support healing in herself and those she works with. She recently began an Equus Coaching program and in her free time, reads, travels, meditates, hangs out with Brandon and her dog Bob and daydreams about moving to Africa to live with elephants.

Arlene Leach

Director of Circles

Mission: To live with meaning.

A rebel and non-joiner by nature, Arlene very reluctantly attended the Woman Within Weekend in 2017.  Since then, Arlene has served as staff, completed Circle Training, Skills Training, and Level Two – each profoundly impactful experiences.

Despite initial skepticism, Arlene sees Woman Within with gratitude as integral to her personal growth, strength and healing.  She is currently an active member of circle in her Finger Lakes New York community, where she lives on a small permaculture farmstead.

Her passions include environmental sustainability, resilient living, and social and economic justice for all people. To this end, she is a steadfast advocate and active ally for marginalized people and the Earth.

In the Woman Within community, Arlene has found what she sought for much of her life: A circle of high-integrity women, who support her with compassion and curiosity as she empowers herself. In her capacity as Director of Circles, she works so that this may be true for you as well.

If you’d like to learn more about circles, if it may be a space for you to be seen and heard, to connect and be inspired, Arlene will gladly assist

Julie Posmantier

Weekend Administrator

To create a world of understanding and acceptance through kindness, listening and respect.

Julie Posmantier began her involvement with Woman Within in October of 2010 when she went through her original Woman Within training at the Clara Barton Center in Massachusetts.  She was so excited to be a part of this community that she immediately jumped into helping to build a new Woman Within Circle in Cambridge, MA with several of the women from her weekend.  She has continued since then to sit in circle closer to her home in CT.  She completed the Skills workshop in 2014 and the WW Level 2 workshop in 2016.  Additionally, she staffs WW weekends at least once per year, has staffed both the Skills workshop and WW Level 2.

Julie was asked to join the Woman Within Eastern USA Board in January of 2013 and was thrilled to accept the position.  She was honored to hold the role of Treasurer for 7 years.  In early 2021 she was offered and happily accepted the position of Weekend Administrator.  She looks forward to many years of serving the Woman Within community with an open heart.

Julie is happily married to her husband of 28 years and has two beautiful daughters who participate in and staff Father/Daughter weekends regularly.