POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE

Congratulations to those selected for our endorsement!

2020 Endorsements

FROM PROTEST TO POWER

A 2 PART VIRTUAL FUNDRAISER

ABOUT THE MWPC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PAC)

The purpose of the MWPC PAC is to recruit, endorse, and support the candidacy of pro-choice women for local, state, and national offices. The MWPC PAC may endorse and support only those women who support its feminist and other goals (which are reevaluated by the PAC annually). The MWPC PAC consists of women of varied personal and professional backgrounds, experiences, and political affiliations who work with the MWPC staff and the regional committees to endorse, support, and elect qualified women in the MWPC’s goal to achieve gender political parity in the Commonwealth.

PAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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SAMANTHA KELLY

PAC CHAIR
Samantha is a strategic and results-driven leader who is strongly committed to success in the public

sector. She is a consultant with Public Consulting Group where she helps state governments nationwide improve their operations, finances and strategic planning related to behavioral health systems, public health program evaluations, legislative impact analysis and child welfare program rate setting. Prior to her role there, she worked for the Massachusetts State Senate as Legislative Director for State Senator Eric Lesser and was Research Director for the Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure at the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Samantha’s long-term goal is to reduce healthcare costs by preventing chronic diseases. She envisions large-scale government investments in policies and programs that acknowledge and prioritize the role of social determinants of health. A large portion of this success depends on electing visionary leaders who closely represent the electorate; as a result, Samantha also works to help elect more women to government and positions of power.

Samantha earned her B.A. in Political Science and Anthropology from Columbia University and her M.S. from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

MEREDITH BAUMANN

Meredith has spent the last 13 years of her career at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and she is currently the Director of Strategic

Planning and Alignment/Communication. Prior to her role there, Meredith worked as a Press Secretary for Attorney General Tom Reilly and as Assistant Director of Communications at the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Meredith earned her B.A. in Communications from American University.

BONNIE BURMAN

Bonnie has a long history in academia, spanning Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at California State

University, Fullerton and as an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare at UCLA. She was a Co-Principle Investigator of the Family Studies Project at the University of Southern California. Since retiring from academia, Bonnie has been involved with a number of non-profit organizations. She currently serves on the Board of Barrington Theater Company and on the Board of Advisors of both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She also seriously pursues her hobby of competitive dog sports with her Border Collies.

Bonnie earned her B.A. in History and MSW from UCLA . She also received her Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern California.

NAKEEDA BURNS

Nakeeda Burns is the Legislative Director for the Office of State Representative Michael J. Moran, 18th Suffolk District. She also

currently serves as the Chairwoman of the Aberdeen Architectural Conservation District Commission for the City of Boston and is a Ward 21 Democratic Committee member. She recently won the 2020 Outstanding Capstone Award for her research on collaborative governance and redistricting. Nakeeda holds a BA in Sociology and Japanese from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a Master's degree in Public Administration from the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies.

ESHITA CHAKRABARTI

Eshita Chakrabarti has been a global advocate for the civil rights of women and children. She represents women of diverse cultures and supports

social issues centered around mainstream America. Immigrating from India in her early twenties, she now hosts, produces and directs Faces of South Asia, a television program on Access Television in Quincy, Mass., with a focus on human trafficking, child marriage, domestic violence, opioid abuse, gender equality, LGBTQ and LGBTQ senior issues, postpartum depression and mental health, educating to men regarding abuse towards women and pre- teen and teen violence and issues regarding rape and recovery.

Using her own diverse experiences, Eshita has developed time to assisting vocationally inexperienced women with assimilating into modern American culture. She is also a global political fundraiser for the progress of women and children. She has fundraised for Akshaya Patra USA, the world’s largest non-profit organization providing mid-day meals to 1.6 million children, is an advocate for DOVE, an organization devoted to end domestic violence and Saheli an organization dedicated to the empowerment of South Asian women and their families. Eshita is also an associate to Friends of Shelter, an organization that works to build toilets, stopping open defecation and protecting women from sexual abuse. She is a graduate of Jamshedpur Women’s College and has a Bachelors in Economics. Eshita resides in Canton Massachusetts with her husband Dr. Aniket Chakrabarti and is the mother of two daughters.

GABRIELA COLETTA

Gabriela is a Boston-area civic leader with over five years of experience successfully executing large-scale projects and operations in the

political, non-profit, and public sectors. She is the Chief of Staff for Boston City Councilor Lydia M. Edwards. Gabriela is also currently the Committeewoman for the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex Senate District. Prior, Gabriela was the Associate Director for the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus.

She received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Boston and her MBA from Boston University.

AVA CALLENDAR CONCEPCION

Ava Callender Concepcion is a member of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission.

Commissioner Concepcion has an extensive background in public safety and experience working with a range of stakeholders including law enforcement, advocacy organizations, and constituents on important policy matters.

As a lifelong resident of Boston, Commissioner Concepcion has dedicated her career to social justice. Most recently, she served as Director of Governmental Affairs and External Partnerships for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office where she advised on legislation and policy.

As Counsel to Senator William Brownsberger, Commissioner Concepcion served as staff to the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Conference Committee on the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2018, a comprehensive legislative package designed to reduce crime and improve public safety. In that role, she gained extensive experience working with a range of public safety stakeholders, advocates, and constituents.

Commissioner Concepcion is a graduate of New England Law | Boston and a member of the Massachusetts Bar. She holds a B.A. in Criminology from Johnson C. Smith University and is a graduate of Boston Latin Academy.

Commissioner Concepcion started her career as a Victim Witness Advocate in Boston Municipal Court where she worked with victims and survivors, and provided crisis intervention and in-court guidance to victims and families suffering from crime-related trauma.

AMY F. DIAMOND

Amy F. Diamond is a senior executive with extensive knowledge and management experience in three
key business sectors – finance,

energy development and strategic advisory, both domestic and
international. She has worked for more than thirty years within a corporate environment as well as
managing her own private business enterprises She has a successful track record of identifying early
energy market trends, creating an investment vehicle to capture this “first mover” advantage and
affording its targeted investors the ability to secure additional investment premium. Earlier in her career,
she held senior positions at Triumph Securities, Lazard Freres and ABC News among others. Ms.
Diamond serves on the board of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus, is Co-Chairman of the
MWPC Political Action Committee and founded the Western Massachusetts MWPC (MWPC
Berkshires) in 2017. She has a BA in Psychology from New York University and an MBA in Finance
from New York University Graduate School of Business.

CATHERINE DRENNAN LYNN

Catherine is the Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs with The Greater Boston Food Bank.

She specializes in media, government relations and fundraising, with a demonstrated history of working in the civic & social organization industry. Catherine is skilled in coalition building, policy analysis, media interviews, and social media. Catherine received her BA from Saint Anselm College, and she received her Master’s of Public Administration from Northeastern University.

CABELL EAMES

Cabell is the Legislative Manager at Better Future Project where she manages operations and oversees a statewide team and their

relationships with local and state representatives. She is also the Founder for the League of Better Health and Safety. Cabell has managed numerous political campaigns such as Cassandra Page for Housing Authority and Bob Massie for Governor, and she also worked in Field for Bernie Sanders for President. Cabell earned a degree in Psychology from North Essex Community College. She is now working towards her B.A. in Psychology.

DANIELLE FLEURY

Danielle Fleury is currently the Director of Government Affairs at the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network (MNN). Previously, she was the

Northeast Regional Lead of the Office of Community Food Systems at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has also held positions in Development at Reach Out and Read and in the Massachusetts State Legislature as a Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst.

Danielle holds a BA in Political Science and French from the University of Vermont and a Master's degree in Public Policy, Philosophy, and Social Policy from George Washington University.

GAIL JACKSON-BLOUNT

Gail is the President of Jackson Communications, a public relations, marketing & communications consultancy where she provides

strategic communications programs, business development, fundraising and events for public and private companies and non-profit organizations – including the American Red Cross, Avon Corporation, Partners HealthCare, Pfizer, Catalyst Ventures LLC, BCEC, Kage Growth Strategies & Millennium Partners, and major sports teams.Throughout her career, Gail has counseled executives while leading campaigns and teams to address global communications and crisis issues. Her executive experience includes serving as Chief Outreach Strategist for Martha Coakley’s US Senate

Campaign, as Senior Director of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, as Executive Director for Outreach and Political Affairs of the 2004 Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) leading state-wide and regional political and community outreach, Director of the Ad Club Foundation where she worked with CEO’s and senior leaders to develop programs to increase diversity in New England’s Advertising and Communications Industry, as Executive Director of Communications at Roxbury Community College, Public Information Director at Action for Boston Community Development, Inc., the nation’s largest and oldest anti-poverty agency, Marketing Manager at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and as global Communications Consultant for Wang Laboratories, Inc.

She began her career in radio broadcasting as a pubic affairs talk show host, and is a frequent speaker about women in politics and leadership. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the ALCU of Massachusetts and is a member of its Nominating Committee.

A staunch supporter of programs benefiting women and young girls, Gail has served on the boards of the YWCA, Girl’s Golf Program of New England, the Young Black Women’s Society of Massachusetts, Boston Center for the Arts, Harvard Health Center, YMCA, and on the President’s Council for the Urban College of Boston. Gail is the recipient of several awards including GK’s 100 Most Influential People in Boston, the 4A’s for Diversity Leadership and a
2018 Leading Women’s Award by the International Multi-cultural Symposium Series.

NANCIE KOENIGSBERG

Nancie is currently the Senior Director of Development Partnerships at the League of Conservation Voters where her

mission is to connect with and inspire people to make the world safer, saner, and more sustainable. Nancie has worked for close to 30 years in environmental and public health advocacy and politics. Prior to LCV, Nancie worked at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Nancie earned her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

CARA OKOPNY

Originally hailing from Michigan, Cara serves as a Training Supervisor for the Commonwealth’s Department of Transitional Assistance, helping to

empower low-income residents. Prior to joining the Commonwealth, Cara spent fifteen years as a professor of critical race, gender, and sexuality studies, most recently at American University in Washington, DC. As an independent consultant, she has developed diversity and communication training for non-profit and corporate audiences. Prior to joining MWPC’s PAC, Cara served on the Board of Trustees at the Cambridge Women’s Center–the longest-running women’s center in the country. Cara is passionate about equality and is excited to help increase women’s political representation in the State.

Cara earned her B.A. in Liberal Studies from Grand Valley State University, her M.A. in Women’s Studies from University of South Florida, and her Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and Culture from the University of Maryland.

DELORIS PETTIS

Deloris Pettis is a C suite executive with broad experience in audit, general management and risk management across the public and

private sectors and in higher education. She is currently serves as CFO for Quality Interactions, a leading provider of health care cultural competency training. Deloris previously served as the VP for Enterprise Risk Management at Northeastern University where she was responsible for the implementation of an institution-wide enterprise risk management program. Her work led to the effective incorporation of risk analysis with university strategy and stronger governance practices.

Earlier Deloris served for thirteen years in roles of increasing responsibility at Harvard University. As Director of Risk Management and Audit Services where she chaired Harvard’s international projects committee. As Associate Vice President for Sponsored Programs Administration, Deloris was
accountable for a portfolio of over $600MM of federally sponsored awards; and as Director of the $70 million PEPFAR (AIDS) program transition initiative at the School of Public Health.

Deloris, held audit leadership positions at Digital Equipment Corporation, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and Barone & Associates; and held financial and compliance roles at the Bank of Boston. Deloris began her career in public accounting at KPMG.

Deloris earned her MBA in accounting from Tulane University and has a BSc in Political Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and has a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA). Deloris is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors and Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics. In addition, Deloris serves on the Board of Directors of OneUnited Bank and as Audit Committee Chair; Board of Directors of Boston Urban League and as a member of the Finance Committee, President of Newton Chapter Jack and Jill and a former Town Meeting Member in Framingham.

DAWNE SHAND

Dawne Shand grew up in Alabama’s Black Belt and attended Selma’s public schools during their first two decades of integration. Since then,

she has lived and worked in Nice, London, and Boston. Author of a forthcoming memoir, her work is published in Southern Cultures, Scalawag, The Georgia Review, and Kenyon Review. In 2017, she founded what is now MWPC’s North Shore Committee. In 2020, she managed a Congressional campaign. She will serve as MWPC’s president, 2021-2023.