Women with a passion for mentoring
Our board currently consists of 10 women with various lived experiences and diverse backgrounds. Together, we have over 50 years of experience working with various populations. Our expertise lies in teaching, social work, counselling, and veterans service.

Board Chair
Lynn Anderson
Lynn is the President and Co-founder of G2W, establishing our organization after seeing a need for a mentoring program for at-risk girls. She keeps our organization strategized and supports our board and mentors through our mentor trainings. Originally from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, she is a veteran of the United States Air Force and currently serves as the Chief of Social Work Services at the VA Medical Center. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master's degree in Social Work.

Vice Chair
Teresa Woodroof
Teresa is the Vice Chair of G2W and a mentor in several circles; she is the brain behind much of the circle curriculum and supports our mentors. Originally from Tennessee, Teresa has a background in teaching and librarianship. Working with young women has been a dream of hers since she was in college. From personal experience and throughout her career in education, she has witnessed girls struggle with life's challenges. Part of her dream is to support them as they discover themselves and embrace their personal power. As one of the founding members, she is honored to work with such amazing women who share this passion for supporting young women.

Secretary
Minh Jurgens
Minh is the secretary of G2W, responsible for keeping us organized in all the ways we need to be; she has also been a mentor for the past five years! She is currently a teacher at Bailey Bridge MS, where she has taught social studies for 22 years. She remembers coming to the United States from Vietnam at the age of nine and being very timid. "Everything was new to me. It would have been helpful if I had a group like G2W to support what I was going through. This is one of the reasons I was interested in being a G2W mentor: I enjoy showing support to these young girls and empowering them to believe in themselves so they will become strong women."

Southside Coordinator
Frenchi Jones
Frenchi is our Southside Coordinator! She is a master's level Nationally Certified Counselor, trained in Clinical Mental Health Counselling and School Counselling. She also holds certifications as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor for youth and adults. She earned a bachelor's in communications from Georgia Southern University and a master's in Counseling and Human Services from the University of Colorado. She has a passion for youth, mental health, social justice, and advocacy work in every community she has lived and worked within. She considers herself a champion for individual and community-driven integrated systems and cultural change!

Executive Director
Johanna Vanarsdall
Johanna joins us after a long history of serving in nonprofits. She will be our grant writer and administrator tasked with leading us to sustained growth. Johanna is a Richmond native who settled in Fairfax, VA after college and raised her family before recently returning home. She brings a wealth of knowledge in nonprofit management, specializing in building profitable and innovative programming. Prior to nonprofit management, her “first career” was spent as a Health Educator and wellness advocate. She has mentored student interns for many years and looks forward to sharing her background in health, business, and networking with our mentees.

Fundraising/Community Outreach
Jo Downey
Jo is one of our Community Outreach and Networking leads and mentors! She specializes in building community partnerships and increasing our organizational visibility. Serving and empowering girls and women is not new to Jo; she has been involved in women’s civic organizations for the last 30 years, serving and raising money for women’s causes. Originally from North Carolina, she received an undergraduate and graduate degree from East Carolina University and is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice in NC and VA. She comes with vast experiences in the helping field from school counseling, EAPs, organizational development, behavioral health consulting/training, and private practice. Her passion for connecting and empowering others to find their own personal power has been a driving force in supporting our mentees in G2W-VA!

Fundraising/Community Outreach
Rhonda Griffin
Rhonda, a founding Board member, is one of our Community Outreach and Networking leads, specializing in fundraising, building community partnerships, and increasing our organizational visibility. However, her passion lies in working directly with our mentees as a school mentor. She received her bachelor’s in Social Work from VCU and graduated from a two-year Master’s program in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica in California. Rhonda spent the first half of life working as an actress in NYC and LA, performing on stage, films, TV, and commercials. She has always been passionate about giving back to her community and helping others, whether it be volunteering in a hospital during her high school years to working the suicide hotline while living in Manhattan. It is her intention to continue to help raise awareness on the importance of mental health and to support and empower our young girls in our community.

Social Media/Marketing
Cedricka Alexander
Cedricka is our Social Media and Marketing lead. She is responsible for creating many of our promotional materials, including our website! She has a BSW from VCU. Her career passion involves being an advocate for marginalized communities, especially as it relates to promoting equity in all social spheres and empowering people to be self-advocates. She has been a mentor with G2W-VA for over four years and has found joy in validating the experiences of young girls and sharing her own stories that they can listen to and learn from. "In all the ways I hope they learn from me, I have learned so much by being a mentor to them."

Field Instructor
Kayla Riddick
Kayla is the Field Instructor for our student interns seeking practical experience in the field of social work! She is a Clinical Social Worker, currently working in substance abuse. She has been involved with G2W-VA for many years and absolutely loves connecting with young people. She has a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Clinical Social Work from VCU.

Assistant Treasurer
Louise Lockett Gordon
Having had a pivotal mentorship with a woman OB/GYN physician during her high school senior year, Louise understands how critical mentorship experiences can be, especially for young girls, and why she joined Girls2Women-VA’s Board.
A Virginia Beach native, she has a Bachelor of Science from the College of William and Mary and a Masters Degree in Public Health from Eastern Virginia Medical School. She currently serves as the Epidemiologist Supervisor for the Virginia Department of Health - Richmond and Henrico Health Districts. Being in the Richmond area for the last 15 years, Louise is an avid runner, beholden to her two dogs Khadijah and Costanza’s whims, and reigning Halloween costume champ with her husband Reece.