We would like to extend our gratitude to the current GBF board members. We also want to honor previous board members, as well as offer information about the diversity of our boards and staff members.

Mariela G. Alburges works as a Sexual Assault Community Educator at Mujeres Latinas en Acción. Born in Venezuela and spending most of her formative years moving from city to city, Mariela understands the importance of fostering positive connections and developing a strong sense of self. She says her nomadic existence has resulted in an eclectic, never stagnant, and always progressive perspective of what it means to be a Queer Woman of Color. Mariela has collaborated with a variety of organizations in the U.S. and abroad committed to anti-violence and anti-oppression work within underrepresented communities, including Latino and LGBTQI communities. Mariela has been learning and laughing with GBF board sisters since 2004.

Nikita Buckhoy has centered her life and career on the belief that people are individually and collectively powerful. She has supported progressive change through political activism/advocacy, direct service, program design, administration, evaluation, and fundraising. Active in African American lesbian, gay, and HIV-impacted communities, Nikita recently relocated to Michigan. She was elected to the GBF board in 2002.

Tiffany Chiang's belief in girls' leadership began when she founded and coordinated Girl World, located in the Uptown and Edgewater neighborhoods. After stints in the trading and education fields, she has returned to a community-based organization, Alternatives, as a grant writer. She will also be exploring entrepreneurial ventures in the coming year. Tiffany joined the GBF board in 2000.

Jackie Lynn Coleman is Co-Director of the National Community Tax Coalition, a project of the Center for Economic Progress. Her background includes community banking, development (community, organizational, economic, and workforce), and public policy. Women and girls' access to nontraditional training and employment opportunities, job development for women and women with disabilities, and tax services for low- and moderate-income workers are among her greatest interests. Jackie Lynn joined the GBF board in 2004 and is Treasurer.

Tracy Fischman is Vice President of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area. Her career has included policy, advocacy, legislative and political posts in the areas of STD/HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, and reproductive health care. Tracy is a key instigator of the dynamic Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education and serves on the boards of Health and Medicine Policy Research Group and the American Jewish Congress of the Midwest. Tracy is committed to social justice and to eliminating barriers that divide communities. She loves GBF because the organization -- and the people involved in it -- exemplifies those principles both in theory and practice. Tracy became a GBF board member in 2002, and is board chair. 

Stephanie Kanter is co-owner of Suvi, a small women's shop in Frankfort, Michigan, and a local consultant focusing on disability-related issues. Her professional experience includes public relations and marketing for Access Living, a disability rights and services organization; and marketing and program development for VSA arts, bringing arts to all youth and adults with disabilities, and the Center for Health Fitness at the Rehab Institute of Chicago. Stephanie is a past member of the board of Women in the Director’s Chair, a feminist media group. Stephanie has been a member of the GBF board since 2000.

Cynthia K. McLachlan, Founder, has made Girl's Best Friend Foundation one of the central parts of her life since creating it in 1994. A former owner of a small chain of retail galleries of American jewelry designers in Chicago and Oakbrook and a lay chaplain at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital, Cyndie moved to Washington. There, she has been a hospice volunteer and a co-founder of an after-school program for girls. Cyndie was recognized in 2001 by the Women's Funding Network for her extraordinary work in philanthropy and on behalf of girls and young women, and she was the subject of special paper from Women & Philanthropy.  Cyndie is a permanent member of the GBF board. For more, see "Our Founder's Story."

Kate McLachlan is the creator of Belly Fruit, a midwifery practice in Portland, Oregon. She previously worked in healthcare policy, with an emphasis on the health of adolescents, mothers, children, and women; reproductive rights; and health care access. Kate co-founded Martinez Street Women's Center in 1999 with a small group of friends and colleagues in San Antonio, Texas. Influential in her mother's planning of GBF, Kate was a board member from 1996 to 1998 and returned to the board in 2002. She is Secretary.

Suleyma Pérez is Associate Director of the Northeastern Illinois University Chicago ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities in Education) and the Legislative Liaison/ Assistant to the President at NEIU. Suleyma's expertise includes higher education research and state and foundation-funded initiatives. She has a keen interest in developing young Latinas/os to become future community leaders. Suleyma joined the GBF board in 2002.

Karen Tamley is Commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities. She has dedicated her career to advocating for the rights of people with disabilities to live independently in the communities of their choice. Her powerful record in the disability rights movement includes initiating and building the Illinois Disability Vote Project, designed to organize Illinois' thousands of eligible voters with disabilities into a powerful voting bloc; program management at Access Living; and co-founding the Disability Rights Action Coalition for Housing. Karen was elected to the GBF board in 2004.

Presita May West is an Assistant Public Defender, the mother of two, and a longtime advocate for children and adults in the criminal justice system. She is committed to creating a voice for young girls in the criminal justice system. Presita is dedicated to the goals of GBF and enthusiastic about SES. Presita joined the GBF board in 2001.