OUR BOARD
2024-25 BOARD MEMBERS
LINDSAY
HARPER
PRESIDENT
Lindsay joined The Women's Club in 2021 having recently moved back to the area with her family and looking for ways to get to know her new community. She enjoys being a member of the Scholarship Fund and its incredible purpose, helping to make a difference in the lives of local college-level students.
She grew up in Northern Virginia, where she attended and graduated from James Madison University. Lindsay's career has given her the opportunity to work in PR and events for some well known brands including; NASA, Whole Foods Market, national laboratories, government contracting companies, economic development groups, and education-based non profits.
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Intrigued by the many avenues of participation within The Women’s Club, the Scholarship Fund is the perfect combination of her happy place - working with people and education, helping and caring. It is a privilege to be a part of the scholarship recipients academic journeys.
SUZANNE
CHARLESTON
VICE PRESIDENT
Suzanne joined the Women’s Club in 2021 and jumped in to volunteer for the Scholarship Fund. Professionally, she has served in various roles on boards and brings a passion for investing where we live.
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She works in the government contacting industry with a focus on healthcare and has a background in regulatory and legislative organizations. She also serves as a mentor for students for the Health Information and Management Systems Society National Capital Area Chapter where she has seen the value of scholarships in supporting student goals and financial needs regionally. She has a passion for STEM programs and looks forward to expanded support for the Scholarship Fund.
Suzanne has been involved in healthcare and government contracting for 20 years, supports Veteran Organizations like BurnPits360 and believes in the investment required to help students achieve success in our community.
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Suzanne graduated from the University of Maryland and lives in Great Falls with a few dogs. She looks forward to maintaining and growing the success of the Scholarship Fund with her fellow board members. To quote Winston Churchill, ‘the price of greatness is responsibility’ and together this board will continue the success of previous efforts.
TORIA SCOTTO
TREASURER
Toria was introduced to the Scholarship Fund in 2023 and was immediately impressed with the work the team was doing to make a difference in the lives of local students.
Toria has worked in wealth management for over twenty years. She enjoys getting to know clients on a deeper level and helping them achieve their financial goals. She studied finance at Long Island University and furthered her education with the Executive Certificate in Financial Planning program at Georgetown University to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® practitioner and studied to become a Certified Private Wealth Advisor® through Yale. Always eager to learn and grow, she is excited to work with the Scholarship Fund and help deserving students access educational opportunities. Her past volunteer work has focused primarily on animal rescue, spending several years organizing adoption events and training new foster families. She has been fortunate to host many foster dogs on their way to finding adoptive homes. Her current pack consists of three dogs but that number could grow any day.
Originally from upstate NY, Toria relocated to DC after college and quickly fell in love with the area. Toria moved to Great Falls with her husband and young children in 2021. They have enjoyed the beauty of the area and the small town feel within the community and are excited to become more involved.
JACKIE HARDING
DIRECTOR OF FUNDRAISING
Jackie joined The Women's Club in 2020 and is excited to be a part of the Scholarship Fund. She has a passion for education and looks forward to supporting students pursuing their educational goals.
Jackie has over 16 years experience in the Government Contracting industry. In her current role she enjoys working across the company to drive effective change and improve business processes that assist with the successful implementation of the corporate strategy and vision.
Jackie completed her undergraduate degree in finance and obtained a Master’s at George Washington University, where she currently sits on an advisory board for one of the Executive Programs. She lives in Great Falls with her children.
ERIN KIBLAWI
DIRECTOR OF GRANTS
Erin joined The Women’s Club in 2024 to get more involved in the Great Falls Community. She has a passion for helping those seeking further education to achieve their goals.
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She has been in nonprofit management, fundraising and marketing for over 25 yrs. Her work has included federal and state policy, educational opportunity initiatives, international women’s rights, food insecurity, childhood nutrition and more.
Erin strongly believes education is transformative, and is excited to work to expand the Fund’s donor base so it can serve even more women.
She is a graduate of Roanoke College and has lived in Great Falls with her husband and daughter since 2018. She is a VP on the Great Falls Elementary School PTA Board, an avid camper and proud GFR soccer mom.
LAURYN NASHI
SECRETARY
Lauryn has been a Great Falls resident since 2021 and quickly got involved with the Women's Club of Great Falls and the Scholarship fund. She believes strongly in the mission of the Scholarship fund and its purpose. Lauryn and her husband support several civic and charitable organizations that have an Education focus.
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A native of the Philadelphia area, Lauryn's background includes fundraising for Charter Schools as well as tutoring and teaching students in various after school and instructional programs. Additionally, she worked several years in Human Resources in various financial firms.
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With a heart for global travel, Lauryn enjoys visiting various countries but is happy to call Great Falls home with her husband and daughter. She is thrilled to serve on the board to expand Education, opportunity and hope to non traditional students.
CONNIE COLABATISTTO
DIRECTOR OF PR
Connie joined the Women’s Club of Great Falls in 2019. Since then, she has served on committees in support roles until joining the Scholarship Fund Board in 2023.
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Connie has always been passionate about the importance of education. She is a United States Air Force veteran. After leaving the active duty force, Connie joined the West Virginia Air National Guard where she served as the manager of the Education & Training Office. This is where she fell in love with education and helping others. As manager, Connie was able to help numerous fellow service members complete their college degrees. In 2020, Connie continued her strong support for education by endowing a named scholarship for Military Women at her alma mater, the University of Maryland.
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Connie brings a wide range of volunteer experience to her new board position. She was an active member of the Junior League of Northern Virginia for 8 years, supporting Women and Children initiatives, and has continued to support the league as a sustaining member for the last 17 years. Most recently, Connie completed a 4 year volunteer commitment with the Parent Teacher Student Association at Langley High School as the Lead Class Parent for the Class of 2023. There, she was involved in faculty-parent engagement events as well as fundraising for student events.
Connie is a native of Cumberland, Maryland and has lived in Great Falls since 2005 with her husband, 3 college-age children and two dogs. She enjoys tennis, pilates and travel. Connie loves the small town feel and community of Great Falls.
MISSY PERKINS
DIRECTOR OF SCHOLARSHIPS
Missy has been an active member of the Women’s Club of Great Falls for the past 9 years. She has served on the board for 7 of those years, including past President, which allowed her to work closely with and support the Scholarship Fund. Missy is now excited to be bringing her talents and enthusiasm for philanthropy to the Scholarship Fund Board.
Missy has extensive professional experiences in real estate, marketing, and sales. Outside of her professional responsibilities, she has been an active volunteer in many fundraising organizations, including the Spreckels Union Education Foundation on the central coast of California, where she was responsible for fundraising up to $120k per year to support music, arts and library programs. She has been a fundraising and auction chairperson for the Celebrate Great Falls Foundation golf tournament, supporting our local elementary schools. Most recently, she has been the two time chairperson of the All Night Graduation Party at Langley High School, raising funds and coordinating events for a safe graduation night for our graduating seniors.
Missy and her husband have lived in Great Falls since 2013 and have 3 adult children.
SUMAIRA
MALIK
DIRECTOR OF EVENTS
Sumaira has been a resident of Great Falls since 2015, and prior to that, she has lived in 5 other states. She has been a part of the women’s club since 2021, and she was the Event lead for the successful Miami Vice themed Scholarship fundraiser in 2023.
Sumaira grew up in Milwaukee, WI and graduated with a Degree in MIS and Organizational Management. She has held several positions with General Electric in program management, six-sigma, and international trade.
Sumaira is dedicated to giving back to the community. She and her family have been heavily involved supporters of the Best Buddies organization. She is excited to be a part of the Great Falls Women’s Scholarship fund and to giving back to the education of youth in the greater VA community.
SALLY ANNE
ANDREW PYNE
PRESIDENT EMERITUS
Sally Anne has been a member of the Women's Club of Great Falls for over 15 years and served as the marketing board member in 2008, the Foodies, Lettuce Munch, Sip n' Sup Club activity leader, as well as the coordinator of the 4th July parade for many years and has additionally produced numerous holiday parties for the club.
She served as the Fundraising Executive for the Scholarship Fund in 2016/2017 and returned to the board for a two year tenure as co-president in 2021/2022 and president in 2022/2023. She will now serve as an advisor to the current board and is president emeritus.
"Our mission is to provide scholarships to local students attending
George Mason University."
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