Meet the Education Fund team.

The core Education Fund staff, headed by Nancy Tate, is composed of Zaida Arguedas, Jeanette Senecal, Lisa Ruben and Nancy Connors. They promote the League's domestic and international education activities, covering elections to civic participation. Words like HAVA, Free Airwaves, DNet and Judicial Independence describe some of their activities. In addition to these staff members, Ed Fund activities, including publications, are carried out by staff members in other departments whom you have already met via previous Voters--Cheryl Graeve and Kelly McFarland Stratman in Membership/Outreach; Kelly Ceballos, Lyndsey Farrington and Shirley Ponomareff in Communications; and Lloyd Leonard in Advocacy.

Nancy Tate, LWVUS/EF executive director, oversees the Education Fund's operations, focusing on elections, civic engagement and e-democracy. Prior to joining the League, she was the chief operating officer of the National Academy of Public Administration, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to improve the effectiveness of government at all levels. Nancy has held a senior position in a management-consulting firm and has served in the federal Department of Energy, Department of Education and Office of Economic Opportunity. She has a BA in political science from Stanford University and a Master's degree in public administration from George Washington University.

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Zaida Arguedas, LWVUS/EF deputy executive director, wears a number of hats. Within the Education Fund, she is in charge of global democracy and the Judicial Independence project. She received a BA, magna cum laude, in International Relations and Political Science, University of Alabama, and an MA in Public Policy and Latin American Studies, University of Kansas, and completed postgraduate studies in Social and Health Services at the University of Maryland. Zaida has served on the Montgomery County Central Democratic Committee and the Montgomery County Board of Elections. More recently, she was an international election observer in Paraguay for the International Foundation for Election Systems, and headed the League's work in Malawi preparing for their May 2004 election.

Jeanette Senecal, senior manager for Elections, joined the League in October 1999 as part of the edemocracy team. Her recent projects include the Presidential Selection Position Update, HAVA monographs, DemocracyNet, and countless activities that focus on the 2004 elections and on engaging America's youth in civic participation. Jeanette worked for the International Women's Forum prior to coming to the League and acquired a great deal of experience in multicultural environments and on community improvement issues. Jeanette has a BA in government and environmental studies from St. Lawrence University and a Master's degree in international affairs from George Washington University.

Lisa Ruben, manager for Elections and Civic Engagement, is the newest member of the team. She manages the DNet program and other related efforts. Prior to joining the League, Lisa worked in both nonprofit and political worlds--for a Los Angeles councilman running for mayor, the House Judiciary Committee and at organizations dedicated to promoting racial and ethnic tolerance, preventing homelessness and improving health care for Medicaid recipients. She is very excited to be able to use her public policy and political experience in her League work. Lisa has a BA in history from Brandeis University and a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Southern California.

Nancy Connors, manager of the Open Society Institute grant project on Judicial Independence, works closely with and provides guidance and support to all of the Leagues participating in this project. She is a member of Montgomery County's Commission on Juvenile Justice. Nancy has worked in the Maryland state legislature and U.S. Congressional Research Service. Among her other talents is her fluency in sign language; she was program coordinator for the National Center for Law and the Deaf. Nancy earned a BA in history from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master's degree at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs.