Staff

Staff

Linda Basch, Ph.D.
L Basch's picture
Linda Basch, Ph.D., President, has led the National Council for Research on Women since 1996. Under her leadership, the Council has grown into a thriving network of more than 100 research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing Corporate Circle of major companies and a Presidents’ Circle of university and educational leaders. Her areas of expertise include globalization; economic security; the impact of public policy on women and families; higher education; gender and diversity in academia, society, and the workplace; women in the corporate world, including work/life balance; human security; women’s leadership; and women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and math. An anthropologist by training, she has examined issues of migration, race, ethnicity, and gender, conducting field research in the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. Previously, Linda has held positions as Director of Academic Programs at New York University, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Manhattan College, and Academic Vice President at Wagner College. She has also worked for the United Nations as a social policy specialist and a director of research. She has written and co-authored numerous books and articles for scholarly journals and also overseen the Council’s many special reports. Her articles, letters and interviews have been featured in major media outlets including the National Public Radio, NBC's Today, CBS Evening News, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and Fox News.com. Linda serves on numerous boards and advisory bodies including Ms. Magazine and the Women’s Rights Prize of the Gruber Foundation. Linda is an Elected Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences and a current member of the National Academy of Sciences previously serving as co-Chair of its Anthropology Section. She received her PhD in Anthropology from New York University and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Allie Fernandez
allie's picture
Allie Fernandez supports the development team and helps to plan and implement all fundraising activities. In addition, she is a member of the Steering Committee of the NCRW Emerging Leaders Network, a professional development group engaging mid-level women working in both the non-profit and corporate arenas. Previously, Allie has worked as the Volunteer and Docent Coordinator at the Claremont Museum of Art in Southern California and as Assistant Supervisor of the Annual Fund Giving program at the University of La Verne. She has held Development and Outreach internships at Human Rights Watch in Los Angeles, CA and Women Thrive Worldwide in Washington, DC and is also a certified volunteer with the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), having completed a 40-hour intensive training. Allie holds a Master of Arts degree in Applied Women’s Studies from Claremont Graduate University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and Philosophy from the University of La Verne. Her thesis explored the performative work of French artist, Orlan, and how her piece, the “Reincarnation of Saint Orlan” (which uses cosmetic surgery as a means to manipulate the physical form), can be seen as a corporeal embodiment of a ‘Disidentified’ Feminist Utopia.
Vivienne Heston-Demirel
vivhdem's picture
As Director of Communications, Vivienne Heston-Demirel coordinates strategic outreach and marketing of the Council, promoting its resources and expertise. Through multi-layered communications initiatives including media relations and public information campaigns, she is raising the profile of the Council while expanding its audiences and partnerships. An experienced communications specialist, she has worked in journalism as well as in public relations for educational, non-profit, and international organizations. While working for the United Nations, she played a key role in implementing global communication campaigns, conducting media outreach and producing a wide variety of information materials. She began her career as a reporter working for newspapers, magazines and broadcasters. She has written extensively about the role of women in development and the special needs of women and girls in times of crisis, including humanitarian disasters, armed conflict, and public health emergencies, notably HIV/AIDS. Vivienne graduated with honors from the State University of New York at Stony Brook with a BA in French Language and Literature and has conducted research and completed graduate coursework in international relations at Bosphorus University in Istanbul, Turkey.
Andrea Spender
ASpender's picture
Andrea Spender is Corporate Research and Programs Manager. Her multisectoral and diversified experience in both the private and research sectors is enhancing NCRW programming and the services provided to our Corporate membership. Previously, Andrea has worked as a researcher and instructor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a Research Specialist in the M&A group of Bank of Montreal and a Senior Analyst and Team Leader at McKinsey & Company. Andrea holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph and a Master of Information Science from the University of Western Ontario. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy degree at NYU’s Wagner School.
Shyama Venkateswar, Ph.D.
S Venkateswar's picture
Shyama Venkateswar, Ph.D., Director of Research and Programs brings a strong background in international programming, particularly in the areas of poverty reduction and economic sustainability. At the Council, she provides vision and strategic direction as well as helping to develop research and policy agendas. Before joining the Council in late 2008, Shyama was the founding Executive Director of Mercy Corps’s Action Center to End Global Hunger, an interactive learning center dedicated to eradicating hunger and poverty. Previously, she served as the Director of the Asian Social Issues Program at the Asia Society and was a Program Officer at the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs. She was also an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn College where she taught courses on South Asia and Middle Eastern history and politics. Shyama’s areas of expertise include human rights, peace and conflict, and South Asian politics. Her commentary has appeared in numerous publications and outlets and she has been a speaker at high-level panels and events including at Columbia University, the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, and the Population Council. She has served in advisory capacities at the New York Women’s Foundation, the United States Institute of Peace, and for Echoing Green. She is currently a contributing editor for India Review, an external reviewer for Transparency International, as well as an advisor to Breakthrough, a human rights organization. Shyama was awarded the Harry Frank Guggenheim Fellowship for her research and dissertation work on religious nationalism in India. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science at Columbia University and is a graduate of Smith College.

Fellows

Liz Horton
Elizabeth Horton, Senior Fellow, served as Director of Finance and Administration and as Deputy Director at the National Council for Research on Women from 1997 to 2006. During her tenure, she oversaw the development and growth of the Council’s financial infrastructure, participated in the expansion of its programming and organizational reach, and oversaw the development of some programming, including Missing: Information About Women’s Linves, Taxes are a Women’s Issue and Gains and Gaps. With an MA in secondary education, Liz also has extensive experience in educational issues. She served as a classroom teacher and Assistant to the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Manhattan College. She was the Board chair of the Ethical Culture Fieldston Schools (an independent pre-K-12 school system in NYC), of the Literacy Assistance Center (an organization devoted to professional development and institutional capacity-building for adult and out-of-school youth education), and of Border Crossers (a start-up nonprofit that addresses the de facto segregation in elementary schools). She currently serves as a Board member of the Literacy Assistance Center and Border Crossers.