The Mind of the President: What’s at Stake?

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Thursday, July 9, 2026, 7:00 pm EDT

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The Team

The People Behind the Movement.

A volunteer-led community who believe democracy is worth defending — together.

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Board Officers

Our Officers lead the way in advancing BigTentUSA’s mission of education and advocacy.

Kitty Douglas

President

Melissa Kane

Vice President

John Cooper

Secretary

Kim Chirls

Treasurer

Susan Lehman

Emeritus

Board Directors

Working alongside our officers, our directors help tackle the challenges facing our society and advance our  mission.

Jill Ciporin

Director

Tracy Craighead

Director

Rachel Geltman

Director

Emilie Powers

Director

Laura Van Peenan

Director

Gail Shields-Miller

Director

Mary Ward

Director

Carolyn Wiener

Director

Staff

Our amazing staff member makes it all happen!

Adeline Johsua

Senior Engagement & Program Officer

What we care about

Three Principles

Freedom, justice, and the rule of law are the foundation of American democracy. Without them, our system cannot function.

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Freedom

ensures that every individual can live, speak, and act without fear—protecting the foundation of a just and democratic society.

Justice

upholds fairness, accountability, and equal treatment under the law—protecting rights and strengthening trust in our democracy.

Rule of Law

safeguards our rights, maintains accountability for all—including those in power—and upholds the integrity of our democratic system.

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Kitty Douglas

President

Kitty Douglas graduated from Skidmore College with a BA in American Studies. She spent nine years as a classroom teacher, earning a MEd from Antioch New England while running a 5th and 6th grade classroom at the Greenfield Center School in Greenfield, MA. Upon moving to the Bay Area, Kitty transitioned to film production working as a Production Assistant, Production Coordinator, Production Manager and Second, Second Assistant Director.

 

When her children were young, she joined the nonprofit, Reach Out and Read Rhode Island, as the Program and Events Manager. Eventually, she transitioned to full time fund raising for the national Reach Out and Read organization in Boston as Director of Leadership Gifts. Having left fundraising for activism, Kitty is excited to work with BigTent USA!

 

Kitty lives in Providence, RI, with her husband and two sons and her dog.

 

Email: [email protected]

Melissa Kane

Vice President

Melissa Kane has distinguished herself as a successful advocate, public servant, and businessperson in Connecticut, respected for her ability to set a vision and build the support necessary to make it happen. She has led numerous civic and private sector initiatives and held key elected and appointed positions.

 

Melissa is Chair of the Board of Directors of Connecticut Against Gun Violence (CAGV) and a member of the advisory board of Newtown Action Alliance. In these roles, she actively lobbies for gun violence prevention legislation on Capitol Hill and in Hartford.

 

She served as Selectwoman (member of an elected three-person Board of Selectmen) for the town of Westport, Connecticut from 2017-2021. Prior to her term as Selectwoman, she was the appointed Chair of the Downtown Steering Committee where she successfully shepherded the creation of a Downtown Master Plan for Westport. And she was also elected to Westport’s Representative Town Meeting for two terms.

 

Melissa has held leadership roles in state, municipal, and private not-for-profit organizations for many years. Her involvement includes work on behalf of the WestportPublic Library, on the boards of Green Village Initiative, The Norwalk Symphony, and A Child’s Place Preschool, and has been active with Earthplace, the Westport Arts Center, and Regional Plan Association (RPA) Connecticut Committee.

 

Email: [email protected]

John Cooper

Secretary

Born in Chicago, Illinois, John has lived in Greenwich, Connecticut for more than 50 years. During that time, he has been a passionate volunteer, and active community leader.

 

John has been a supporter and a dedicated member of BigTentUSA since 2020. Currently, John also volunteers with Call-A-Ride Greenwich, a senior transportation service that has been a staple of senior care in Greenwich since 1975.

 

Recently John served as Co-Chair of the “Fill the Build” campaign of Neighbor to Neighbor, the local food pantry, here in Greenwich. He is an advocate for GVP (Gun Violence Prevention) and spent over three years actively volunteering for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a national grassroots organization dedicated to passing laws that will help end the scourge of gun violence in the US.

 

In 2010 John concluded a six-year term on the Board of Greenwich Adult Day Care, where he chaired the capital campaign, Campaign for GADC’s Future, raising $5.2 million in support of the creation of River House, their senior day care facility.

 

Prior to GADC, John served for seven years on the Board of Directors of the Greenwich United Way. While there he held various positions on the $3 million Annual Campaign, from Leadership Chair to the overall Chairmanship of the campaign. He ended his board tenure with the United Way in 2002 after serving two years as Chairman of the Board. In 2009, he and his wife, Leslie, co-chaired the Greenwich United Way’s 75th and were honorary chairs of the 85th Anniversary Gala.

 

John was a member of the Town of Greenwich’s inaugural Selectmen’s Nominations Advisory Committee (SNAC) a bi-partisan group that searches out candidates for the town’s boards, commissions and committees.

 

John was the founder of Rockridge Consulting, a Greenwich based computer consulting firm that he ran for over twenty years. He is married and has three children.

Kim Chirls

Treasurer

Kim Chirls began her career in the corporate sector leading large, global projects at Thomson Reuters. Her longtime passion for social impact with a focus on reproductive rights led her to begin a consulting firm that advises nonprofit boards and staff on governance, fundraising and communications.

 

She is actively involved in a variety of nonprofit organizations, including currently serving as the founding Board Chair for Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.  She is a founding member of the President’s Leadership Council for Search for Common Ground, the largest NGO dedicated to peace building in areas of conflict around the globe.  Her passion for progressive values is reflected in her activism in state and federal electoral politics.

 

She grew up in Kentucky and South Carolina, is an alumna of the University of South Carolina, and now resides in New York City and the Hudson Valley.

Susan Lehman

Ex-Officio
Director

Susan is a Founding Member of BigTentUSA. She is involved in every aspect of the organization – from booking speakers to forging strategic partnerships to legal and messaging.

 

Susan has a B.A. degree in Political Science from Duke University;, a Masters in Public Policy from the University of California School of Public Policy, Berkeley; and a J.D. from Pace School of Law. She began her career as a legislative aide to several congressional representatives in North Carolina and San Francisco. She worked as a project manager for a non-profit housing developer in San Jose, CA.

 

Susan is committed to her local community through her service in non-profits and her advocacy efforts. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors for Reach Prep and The Greenwich Historical Society. She is a member of the Buddy Group, an advocacy committee in New York City.

 

Susan was elected as a Representative Town Member (RTM) for District 7 in Greenwich in 2005 and served as secretary of the Town Services Committee until 2011.

 

She currently lives in Connecticut.

 

Email: [email protected]

Jill Ciporin

Director

Spanning her professional career, Jill held positions as a video editor and a producer at CNN and a corporate video producer at Drexel Burnham Lambert. She worked in marketing communications and international event planning at Shearson Lehman Hutton and MasterCard International. She later founded and served as president of the corporate video division at the Burnett Group, a New York City-based graphic design and digital marketing agency.

 

Jill serves as Board Chair of Horizons at Brunswick School, an organization committed to educating under-resourced and academically at-risk public school boys in her community. She has served as a Board Member of “Hand in Hand,” which fosters peaceful co-existence between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel through its integrated bilingual K-12 schools. She spent three years as Chair of the Duke University Annual Fund Advisory Board and served as a board member for seven years. Her board service also included roles with the national Breast Cancer Alliance, the New York Junior League, and Brunswick School.

 

Jill earned an A.B. in Public Policy from Duke University and grew up in Asheville, N.C. She and her husband, Dan, have two sons and reside in Connecticut.

 

Email: [email protected]

Tracy Craighead

Director

Tracy Craighead began her career in advertising and marketing in NYC, but her passion for activism and event-organizing surfaced in college when she joined her first rally in DC.

 

Many years later, while living in London, Tracy raised money and awareness for Women for Women International. She travelled to Kosovo, Rwanda, and Bosnia on behalf of WfWI and women’s rights. In Bosnia, she participated in the three-day annual March of Peace walking in solidarity with survivors of war everywhere. She’s done this not once, but twice.

 

After nearly 15 years abroad, Tracy returned to the US and her fundraising efforts and community-building has been mostly local in nature but is increasingly more political after our 2016 presidential election. Tracy is eager to work with BigTent to engage more women in our nation’s politics.

 

Tracy has a BA from Colgate University and a design degree from Parson’s. She is a Reiki Master, avid golfer, keen gardener and photographer. Tracy resides in Northern Westchester with her husband and their two daughters.

Email: [email protected]

Rachel Geltman

Director

Rachel grew up in Boulder Colorado, got her BA (Phi Beta Kappa) in French at UC Santa Barbara and MBA at Thunderbird School of Global Management/Arizona State University.

After business school, Rachel moved to New York City to work in marketing research and strategy at ad agencies including Ogilvy, Havas and Wells Rich and Greene, where she honed her ability to synthesize data into transformational insights that take businesses to the next level.

Rachel started her own consulting practice in 1997, working across every possible demographic, product category and methodology. With a never-ending quest for a better way, Rachel launched Video Chat Network (VCN) in 2008.

VCN pioneered the use of video chat technology to bring clients alongside customers in real-time as they are engaged in product and digital experiences.  These authentic real time insights are impossible to glean using traditional “focus group” methods, when consumers are recalling stories after the fact.

Rachel’s story telling abilities further developed over the years using engaging video to bring insights to life.

Since the run-up to the 2016 election, Rachel has been on a quest to better understand the electorate with real time research conducted during several of the presidential debates including work with CNN. She also produced a series “Two Sides. One Story” to get underneath the divisiveness in our country since President Trump began his second term.

Email: [email protected]

Emilie Powers

Director

Emilie Powers grew up in Mississippi and her father was an Episcopal minister in North Carolina, who participated in Civil Rights protests in the 60’s. She was baptized in an African American church. She graduated from University of Virginia Law in 1989 and worked in litigation in Washington, D.C. and NYC. She continued my education with an LLM(Hons) from London School of Economics in 1996 and taught Comparative Law in London at The Institute for European Studies Abroad and the Oxbridge Academic Program.

 

Taking a break from law and politics, she lived overseas where her three children were born. Returning to the US in 2010, with a better perspective of the changing place of America on the world stage, she became involved in charitable work, mostly to do with her children and her church.

 

Since 2016, she has devoted the majority of her time to supporting progressive candidates who stand for ethics, clean air, civility in government and rights for all Americans. With several Women’s Marches under her belt, BigTentUSA is her guiding force for advocacy and positive change. She may live in Connecticut but Mississippi is always on her mind.

 

Email: [email protected]

Laura Van Peenan

Director

Laura Van Peenan is a Partner & Managing Director at William Blair, where she has been for over 25 years. She is the Global Head of Alternative Private Equity Coverage for Investment Banking, leading the firm’s relationships with family offices that acquire/make direct investments in private companies. She is also Co-Chair of the firm’s Community Impact Steering Committee and was a founding member of the firm’s Global Inclusion Council.

 

Laura serves/has served on many non-profit boards/advisory councils, including Chicago Public Media (WBEZ + The Chicago Sun-Times), The Chicago Public Education Fund, The University of Chicago Charter School, MAPSCorps, EarthHeart Foundation, HFS Chicago Scholars, and The University of Chicago Women’s Board.

 

Laura received her AB from Duke University and her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

She lives in Chicago and has two adult daughters.

 

Email: [email protected]

Gail Shields-Miller

Director

After attending Chatham College  and graduating from Adelphi University with a MS in Speech Pathology & Audiology , Gail taught the hearing impaired  at B.O.C.E.S. and was a supervisor at S.L.H.I.C. in NYC.   Her true calling and passion was always the world of art and design and in 1988 she  founded Shields & Company, a leading  interior design firm in NYC. She has spoken at  major design events and written for several  formidable design blogs. She has been featured in numerous  publications, including Interior Design & The New York Times and made her on-air debut when she was tapped for Open House NYC on NBC. She has  been a featured designer in the prestigious NYC Kips Bay Show House and the Southampton Designer Show House. An ardent supporter of the arts, she is passionately committed to the NYC Museum of Art and Design (MAD), where she has served on the Acquisitions Committee.

As an active  member of the New York Buddy Group, and now BigTentUSA, Gail has plied her passion for politics. She has focused on strategically raising money for Democratic political organizations and candidates and  affiliating herself with organizations that promote, preserve and protect  our environment and women’s rights.

Gail currently resides in New York City and Fire Island.

Mary Ward

Director

Mary is an Architect, licensed to practice in New York, Connecticut and Illinois. In her 20 years of practice, Mary has led the design and delivery of projects for the City of Chicago, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Lincoln Park Zoo, and many residences nationwide, receiving awards for both design, sustainability, and historic preservation. Prior to architecture, Mary worked in the fields of marketing and graphic design where she was responsible for strategy, development and delivery of national campaigns for VISA USA, AARP and many major banks.

 

Mary earned a B.S. from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and a M.Arch from IIT’s College of Architecture. Mary has served on the boards of Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University, Winnetka Historical Society, Winnetka Caucus Council, Garden Guild of Winnetka, and, as a founding member and Chairman of the Winnetka Public Schools Foundation. She is an avid gardener, traveler, photographer, and mother of two children and two labs. A native of New Jersey, she and her husband recently relocated to New York after living in Chicago for 30 years.

 

Email: [email protected]

Carolyn Wiener

Director

Carolyn received her BA from Cornell University (Alpha Lambda Delta), an MFA from Yale University, and a J.D. from Columbia University Law School, where she was a Kent Scholar and Stone Scholar.  She served as counsel to the Republican leader of the Senate, then Senator Bob Dole of Kansas from 1989-1991, and had previously been a partner at Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy in Washington, D.C.  She lives in Greenwich with her husband, Malcolm and four children.

 

Carolyn is currently a Member of the Board of Fellows of Weill Cornell Medicine and is the Chairwoman of the Foundation for a Civil Society.  She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (Delegation to China 1992) and was formerly on the Boards of Greenwich Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall, the New York Historical Society, the Center for National Policy, Reach Prep, and the Horace Mann School.

 

Email: [email protected]

Adeline Joshua

Senior Engagement & Program Officer

Adeline Joshua is Senior Engagement and Program Officer, where she supports strategic partnerships, member engagement, and programming to advance BigTent’s mission of protecting and strengthening American democracy.

 

Before joining BigTent, Adeline spent over six years at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), serving most recently as the Senior Regional Gender Advisor for the Asia Bureau, where she provided technical assistance to help integrate gender equality across USAID’s regional and country programs. She previously served as a Desk Officer for Pakistan, managing portfolios focused on gender, education, and humanitarian assistance. Earlier in her career, Adeline spent nearly seven years at the U.S. Department of State as a Government Information Specialist, processing Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act cases.

 

Adeline holds a B.S.F.S. in International Affairs from Georgetown University and an M.A. in International Development Studies from George Washington University. She’s thrilled to bring her background in inclusive development and public service to BigTent’s dynamic community.

 

Email: [email protected]