Christine M. Zimmer is a Senior Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Cincinnati in the General Counsel Section, which is responsible for advising the City’s elected officials and various departments. Prior to working for the City of Cincinnati, she taught Legal Research and Writing to first year law students at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and was in private practice with Taft, Stettinius and Hollister in Cincinnati focusing on litigation. Christine graduated from the University of North Carolina Law School and remains an avid Tarheels basketball fan. She became involved in Women Writing for a Change as a result of her daughter’s taking and loving the classes offered to girls and teens. Christine lives in Wyoming with her family, and her two older children circle back to Wyoming from Wisconsin and Pittsburgh.

Mary Wood-Constable is an independent development professional whose experience includes serving as Director of Development at Center for Respite Care, Capital Campaign Officer and Director of Gift Planning and Stewardship for The Seven Hills School, and Development Director for Sycamore/Anderson Senior Centers. Mary served on the board of the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council as co-chair of Leave a Legacy and co-chair of the National Philanthropy Day Luncheon. At Knox Church, she was a member of the Knox Preschool Board and the Memorial and Endowments, Adult Education, and Mission committees. She currently serves on the Stewardship Committee. Prior to working in fund development, Mary was a flutist and teacher. She was first affiliated with Women Writing for (a) Change through her daughter’s involvement in the Young Women’s classes and leadership program. At that time, Mary recognized the powerful, positive impact of the program. In 2011, she began to participate in classes herself and to expand her involvement with the organization.

Mardee is a partner with the Cincinnati law firm of Robbins Kelly Patterson & Tucker, LPA, where she practices in family law. She is a member of the Cincinnati Academy of Collaborative Professionals, which offers a dignified no-conflict alternative to the traditional method of litigating divorce. Before becoming an attorney, Mardee was a theatrical costumer who worked for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Cincinnati Opera, and designed and coordinated numerous theatrical and operatic productions across the country. Mardee graduated from the University of Cincinnati and earned her J.D. from Salmon P. Chase College of Law in Northern Kentucky . She is on the fundraising committee for Mercy Neighborhood Ministries, a non-profit community outreach center in Walnut Hills, and is also an advocate for sustainable and local farming. She is a charter member of the Cincinnati Regional Food Policy Council, and serves as secretary to the southwest chapter of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association. Mardee loves traveling, biking and gardening. Her most frequent trips, however, are to Minneapolis to visit her daughter, son-in-law and her two grandchildren.

Brittany Ballard, Development Director at Cincinnati Union Bethel, started her career in education and was honored as Teacher of the Year from the Ohio Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts before moving into marketing, communications and development. Brittany started classes at Women Writing for (a) Change when it was housed in the Ironworks building - she can’t even remember when. For the past two years, she has volunteered with Leadership Scholars, going to Armleder School for one hour each week to work with junior high and high school students. She has also been active with Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and her condominium association. She is a graduate of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s WE Lead program and an indoor cycling instructor at Central YMCA. She enjoys being an aunt, riding her bike and reading.

Laurie Fitzgerald Althaus is a business owner and certified Coach. Her relationship with her clients is as their Personal Coach. She coaches, educates and trains a diverse field of business owners, executives and their teams. In their personal life she helps them align their personal goals with the business to create satisfaction. The result of our work is success and satisfaction in life and in business. Laurie’s unique value comes from her 25 years as an entrepreneur coupled with her 10 years of management experience within fortune 500 companies. She opened her first business at the age of 21 and grew it to include 2 locations. Laurie’s credentials include coaching certification with ActionCOACH Business Coaching, a global business and executive coaching and training company. Laurie received her bachelor’s degree from Xavier University. She was awarded Exceptional Customer Service awards, Most Improved Coach of the Year, captured as Entrepreneur of The Month in Cincy Magazine, been featured in Cincy Chic online magazine and has been quoted in publications and marketing books. She was selected as a coach for the distinguished Regional Chamber’s WE Lead program, she has mentored with the University of Miami Entrepreneurial Studies and was on the selection committee for the Cincy Athena Awards and Small Business Awards Selection Committee with the Regional Chamber.

Rabbi Burstein is originally from Wellesley, Massachusetts. He earned a BA in English Literature from The Colorado College in 1989, and an MS in Experiential Education from Minnesota State in 1992. He was ordained in 2001 from Hebrew Union College –Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, and came to Temple Beth Or in 2001 as our Rabbi Educator. Rabbi Burstein also served as an adjunct faculty member at Earlham College from 2001-2003 and served Temple Beth Boruk in Richmond, Indiana from 2001-2004. Rabbi Burstein has been the Director of The Cincinnati Reform Jewish High School since 2003 and has been a guest lecturer in the Tri State area on topics of Jewish Mysticism, War in Judaism, Jewish Meditation, Parenting, Issues of Adolescent Masculinity in the Classroom, Sports Psychology and Coaching, Sacred Drumming, and Prayer. He has presented at numerous youth programs and served on the faculty at the Para-Rabbinic Summer Program at HUC in Cincinnati since 2000. He is the director of Temple Beth Or’s religious school and leads classes on Spirituality and Meditation for the congregation. He assists his congregants in spiritual counseling and facilitates a very successful Men’s Circle. drumrebbe@gmail.com

Rachael Davis comes to the board from the ArtsWave Program, Boardway Bound. Her semester was spent learning how a non-profit organization is run and how to be a successful and contributing board member. Through the program she was connected to Women Writing for (a) Change, aligning her love for the written word and passion for helping people better understand themselves. Rachael graduated from Miami University with a B.S. in Accountancy and currently works for Johnson Investment Counsel as an Operations Associate. She enjoys volunteering with Winner’s Walk Tall, a character coaching program in Elementary Schools and is active at Crossroads Community Church. Rachael is happiest on her porch with a cup of coffee and a good book.

Susan is new to WWfaC and is looking forward to serving on the board and taking classes. Her educational accomplishments include a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and French studies from the University of Cincinnati. In addition, she worked on a PhD in anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, where she taught introductory courses. Susan comes to WWfaC after a 20-year career at GE where she was Manager of Executive Communications at the Cincinnati location. In this position, she designed and directed the communications of the GE transportation business’s CEO and many of the vice presidents. As part of her responsibilities, Susan designed and orchestrated all communications and logistics associated with high-level meetings. She also served on cross-functional teams, such as quality improvement, which improved the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes, and on the integrity team, where she led the communication effort. Prior to her tenure at GE, Susan was vice president and treasurer of Center Four Communications and was responsible for business planning, client relations, and public relations, as well as developing communication projects for clients.

A longtime member of our core classes for women, Nike has a Masters degree in Arts non-profit management. She has served a various boards through the years.

Jane has been a core class participant for several years. She & her husband Randy Weeks own a website design company called Netcrafters.

Christy has been in classes with Women Writing since 2000. She served on the foundation board in previous years, prior to our becoming 100% non-profit.

Lauren Young moved to Cincinnati in 2005 after 20 years in the Boston area. While there, she served as Director of Continuing Education at Montserrat College of Art and as Director of Education at the Boston Center for Adult Education. She earned an undergraduate degree in Education from Indiana University and a masters in Critical and Creative Thinking from the University of Massachusetts. Lauren brings to the Board a passion for promoting life long learning and community engagement as well as years of experience in non-profit organizations. Currently she resides in Wyoming with her husband, two kids and happy dog Stella Mae.