Your LWV-RMA Board

Officers

Co-President:

Evelyn Glazier has been a member of the League of Women Voters for more than 40 years and is a former officer and board member of the Richmond Metro Area League. Voter service and VOTE411 are special interests. She attended public schools in Cincinnati, Ohio and has BA and MA degrees in Economics. She retired in 2010 after a 30-year career in economic development Research.

Anna Mason is a graduate of Virginia Tech, with a BS in Mathematics and MAEd in Education. She has taught math in various high and middle schools from Washington to Tennessee, and in Virginia. Anna loves gardening, skateboarding, and empowering all voters.

 

Vice-President, Program:

Sam Florer joined the LWV-RMA in December 2021. A native of Yorktown, VA, Sam holds a BA and MA in History from the College of William & Mary. He has lived in Richmond since 2015, working as a museum educator and sharing his love of the past with the public. Sam first got involved in civic engagement by volunteering as a local Election Officer in the fall of 2020 and looks forward to getting more involved in the community through the League's many advocacy and education efforts.

 

Vice-President, Operations:

Fran Eckenrode is a native Virginian who left the state early in her working life and recently returned to enjoy a moderate climate.  She joined the LWV of Kalamazoo, Michigan after retiring from corporate life and she served on the Board in various positions including VP for Program, VP for Organization, and Co-President.  Fran pursued a career in pharmaceutical research and now enjoys teaching pharmaceutical regulatory science for Purdue University in a program that serves sub-Saharan Africa.  Her interests include public health, voter education, and fair elections and she enjoys gardening and ballroom dancing.  Fran earned a BS in Pharmacy from VCU and a PhD in Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry from the University of Iowa.

 

Secretary:

Georgia Coopersmith last worked at the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services. Previously she worked as an art curator and Director at Longwood University, at SUNY Potsdam, and the University of Rochester Museum of Fine Arts. She has a BFA in Art from the Rochester Institute of Technology and both an MFA in Museum Studies and a PH.D. in Higher Education from Syracuse University. A first-generation college graduate, she is passionate about democracy/voting access and the power of  education to make a difference in socioeconomic status and participation in our democracy.

Treasurer:

Diane Black has lived most of her life in Texas. She moved here in 2023 after retiring from her bookkeeping business in Houston. She is looking forward to making a contribution to her new community in Richmond. LWV-RVA is doing great things and she is excited to become a part of the League.

 

Directors

Doris Bey is a retired educator, who worked in both private and public schools as an instructor and administrator. She enjoys giving back to the community as “a small token for those who paved the way for me.”

 

Victoria Parrish has been a member of the LWV-RVA for about 6 years.  Her working years began in Life Insurance and extended to Finance as an analyst.  She is a recent retiree and looks forward to being more involved in the League. Her interests are voter registration, public health, and public transportation.   She has been an active community volunteer for private and public corporations over the last 20 years.  Academic degree in Criminal Justice (JS Reynolds) Project Management (George Washington University).

 

Nancy Priddy joined the LWV-RMA in 2020. With her professional background in graphic design and editing, she was immediately put to work by her friend Deb Wake. She wears many hats: Virginia Voter editor, webmaster and advocacy alerts sender. Nancy has lived in Richmond since 1990 after growing up all over the U.S.A. as the daughter of a Marine — most excitingly in Hawaii. Her undergraduate is from the College of Charleston and graduate degree in Visual Communications from VCU. In her retirement, she enjoys gardening with native plants, kayaking, playing tennis – and pickle ball – but mostly, traveling with her sister. If you email her and she doesn’t respond right away, she is probably backpacking somewhere and doesn’t have cell service.

 

Trish Schwagmeyer joined the LWV-RMA in January 2021. She grew up in Springfield, Illinois, attended undergraduate school at the University of Kentucky, and then went on to graduate school at the University of Michigan. She moved to the Richmond area in 2013 after retiring as a biology professor at the University of Oklahoma. One of the things she most appreciates about the League is the opportunity it provides for learning, and she recently participated in the LWV-VA’s Money in Politics study.

 

Ann Way first became a member of the LWV while living in Maryland. She joined the LWV-RMA after moving to Virginia in 2020.  Ann looks forward to helping LLW-RMA to increase the number of individuals voting in Virginia elections and to supporting LWV initiatives relating to gun violence and reproductive health. Ann was born and grew up in Ohio. She holds a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Chicago, with a specialization in demography. She has worked for four decades in international health research, providing support in more than 30 countries for the collection of maternal and child health data.

 

Louise Evans is a resident of Hanover County and has been an observer at meetings of the Hanover County Board of Elections. She is employed by the Henrico County government.

 

Joice Conyers is a retired Administrator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. She served as a Human Resources Director for several state agencies. She was appointed to serve on several state congressional committees such as the Educational and Finance Committees. Joice was born in the City of Richmond, and has witness many changes take place in Virginia, from drinking from Black only water fountains at the Courts Building on Hull Street, to watching her parents pay poll taxes to becoming block  leaders for voter registration. She has worked on voter registration drives in the community as well as at colleges and universities. She served as an Officer of Elections for Chesterfield County for 15 years. Joice has conducted Faith Based Women's Empowerment Workshops emphasizing the strengths and power women possess. She has a BS /MS in Sociology, MS in Human Resources Management and Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Public Policy.

 

Marilyn Breslow came to Richmond from Connecticut for an MSW degree and celebrates the progress of the past four and a half decades. She looks forward to working for more - especially in terms of voter engagement and access, public health, and housing. Marilyn worked for thirty-five years in refugee resettlement and is involved with interfaith social justice groups (RISC, VICPP.) A member of the Sierra Club and a supporter of climate action networks, Marilyn sees
lots of opportunities for partnerships to make our community more hospitable for all.

 

Aria Lovelace is a student at Virginia Commonwealth University studying digital journalism and international relations. She has done independent research on the origins and effects of the two-party system within the U.S. and is an advocate for young voters. She is currently an intern at Active Minds focusing on bridging the social with the political as the organization shifts its mission from awareness to action. Aria loves community engagement in any form but
specifically when it involves civic empowerment.

 

Jane Newell joined the LWV in 2017. Since then, she has served as president of RMA, worked on the Election Laws study team, founded an election modernization discussion group, and joined several issue groups. She serves on the LWV of Virginia board as well as the Richmond Metro board. Jane’s career encompassed a wide variety of technology and project management positions in government, banking, energy, and technology sectors. Jane holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from George Washington University, a Bachelors in Mathematics Education from Virginia Tech, and has held PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP) certification since 2001.

 

Nominating Committee, 2024:

Penny Adams (Chair) grew up on Long Island, moving with her family to the DC area during high school. She majored in Theatre at Marietta College, Marietta Ohio, and started her career in the theatre in northern Virginia. She moved to Los Angeles in the mid-seventies and spent 33 years working in episodic television, starting as an assistant director, and eventually, a producer. Her credits include Miami Vice, Hill Street Blues, Columbo, Cheers, ER, Reno: 911, and Turn, as well as a brief stint as a Production Executive for HBO. She and her husband, Jim Contner, retired to the Museum District in 2008. Besides her involvement with the League, she is a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, a State Election Officer, and a member of too many book clubs.

 

Karen Rosenblum is a professor emerita of sociology. During her 35 years at George Mason University, she was the recipient of two Fulbright Lecturer awards (Japan and South Korea) and university teaching awards. She also was the founding director of GMU’s Women’s Studies program.

Carol Stephens retired to Virginia after completing 30 years teaching Special Education in several different states. She also served as President of the Cobb County Association of Educators in Georgia and has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations. She has been a member of the LWV in Minnesota, Georgia, and Virginia.