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Women with a passion for mentoring!
Our team currently consists of 7 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 Members
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.
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!
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."
Board Member
Brittany Murphy
Brittany joins the G2W Board with a background in driving technology-driven strategy through product leadership and analytics. A Virginia native, she has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from James Madison University. Professionally, she is a product leader building tools to protect users from harmful and unwanted experiences online.
Throughout her life, Brittany has volunteered with organizations supporting youth and young professional development in a variety of ways - through Women in Tech, Society of Women Engineers, financial literacy programming, early coding education, and more. Brittany is especially passionate about helping girls build confidence early - something she wished she had growing up in male-dominated STEM environments.
Social Media/Marketing
Eboni Allen
Eboni Allen serves as a Social Media and Marketing lead for Girls2Women-VA, helping share the organization’s mission through digital storytelling, community engagement, and strategic communications.
She is a high school Biology teacher with nearly a decade of experience in education, and is passionate about creating opportunities that empower young women to grow in confidence, leadership, and purpose. Through both education and nonprofit service, Eboni believes in using her gifts to inspire others, build meaningful connections, and amplify stories that create lasting impact. She is honored to support the organization in its mission to mentor and empower the next generation of young women.
Staff Members
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.
Interested in joining our Board?
Submit your resume to: empower@girls2women-va.org