Our Mission
SHE VOTES' mission is to support those who identify as women in becoming registered and responsible young voters. We achieve this through providing online voter education resources, hosting webinars, maintaining a national network of community ambassadors, and conducting voter registration drives. SHE VOTES is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all of our work is nonpartisan.
The notable women of history featured in the gallery below inspire our mission and the work that we do. Click on each image to learn more!
Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman in Congress (1968) and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties (1972). Chisholm famously championed the campaign slogan "unbought and unbossed".
Champion of temperance, abolition, the rights of labor, and equal pay for equal work, Susan Brownell Anthony was one of the most visible leaders of the women’s suffrage movement in the 1800s. In 1872, Anthony was famously arrested for voting in her hometown of Rochester, New York, and convicted for her "crime" in a public trial.
Ida B. Wells was a prominent investivatige journalist, activist, researcher, and civil rights leader in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was also one of the founding members of the NAACP. Her many publications and public speaking tours advocated for women's suffrage and shed light on the horrors of lynching and other acts of racism in the US.
Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman in Congress (1968) and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties (1972). Chisholm famously championed the campaign slogan "unbought and unbossed".
Shannon Lynch
Founder & Executive Director
Shannon Lynch was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. As part of a military family, Shannon has always felt a strong call to public service. Shannon started working on political campaigns at the age of 16, and has since worked on local, state, and federal campaigns. She ran for public office for the first time in 2018 when she sought out a nonpartisan commissioner position in DC.
Shannon holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and a master's degree from American University. She is also a graduate of the Women's Campaign School at Yale University. She currently works as a podcast producer and audio engineer at a think tank in Washington, DC.
Ana Clara Blesso
Secretary for the Board of Directors
Ana Clara Blesso (she/her/hers) is an alumna of the Women's Campaign School at Yale, a trained salary negotiation facilitator through the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and a Connecticut Women's Education & Legal Fund (CWEALF) Development Committee member. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Wake Forest University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Assumption College.
A proud Brazilian-American immigrant, she is passionate about the power of women and non-binary individuals at the polls, and strives to enter political spaces to support those underserved by current systems and structures. She serves as MBA Program Manager for the Toigo Foundation and a graduate instructor at the Wake Forest University's Department of Counseling.
Dr. Charla Burns
Treasurer for the Board of Directors
Dr. Charla Burns is an alumna of Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry. She also holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine and a diploma from the Women's Campaign School at Yale. Dr. Burns is currently employed as an epidemiologist at the Texas State Department of Health Services. She is currently serving her third term on the Ouachita Parish Democratic Executive Committee and is the former North Regional Director of the Young Democrats of Louisiana. Her areas of interest are voter targeting, Get Out the Vote (GOTV), digital campaigns, and grassroots organizing. In the community, Dr. Burns serves as a notary public, motivational speaker, political consultant, and youth mentor.
Jesyca Hope
Member of the Board of Directors
Jesyca attended James Madison University in Virginia where she became their youngest graduate in 1997 with a BA in Musical Theatre. She went on to receive an MA in Communication Studies with a Rhetoric emphasis from Kansas State University where she was also the Assistant Director of the Public Speaking program.
A 9-year career in broadcasting culminated with Jesyca receiving the Broadcaster of the year award from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters in 2006. Jesyca left that field of endeavor to become involved with non-profit community service work serving for 5 years as the Communications & Outreach Director for Kansas Community Action Programs, and now the Director of Member Programs and Outreach for the Kansas Independent College Association. Jesyca also owns Hope Communications Consulting.
Jesyca makes her home in Topeka, Kansas.
Aariyana Britton
Member of the Board of Directors
Aariyana Renee Britton (she/her) is a current Biomedical and Health Science Doctorate Student from Richmond, Virginia. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Sciences and Biology from Averett University (2020) and a Master's of Science in Biology from Liberty University where she focused mainly on public health and medical US policy (2022). With her accolades, she has become a Clinical Coordinator for the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center where she conducts research experiments and provides state-of-the-art genetic and biomedical cancer treatment to those with the disease. Her life’s and career’s work has been dedicated to finding the cures for some of the world’s toughest diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and autoimmune disorders.
Throughout obtaining her Doctorate degree, Aariyana has been able to give back to her community by mentoring young STEM professionals, advocating for women and people of color in medicine, and bringing medical resources to underrepresented populations around the US. She is currently a member of several honor societies, public health groups, and VCU’s Minorities in Oncology team leader.
In her free time, Aariyana enjoys reading, writing, traveling, advocating for women's engagement in corporate settings, doing pageants, and spending time with her fiance’ - who is a Senior Airman in the U.S. Air Force. She is a previous member of the She Votes 2022 Ambassador class.
Lauren Cleary
President of the Board of Directors
Lauren Cleary is a military spouse and mother to three boys living in San Diego, California. Lauren earned her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Arizona State University and is studying Law at the graduate level at the University of Southern California. She works as a Compliance professional within the financial industry.
Throughout her undergrad, Lauren completed several meaningful internships that would inspire her perspective; A Congressional Internship at the Office of Congresswoman Susan A. Davis and a Legislation Advocacy internship with the United Nations Association – San Diego, where she would conclude her time serving the organization as Committee Co-Chair of San Diego for Sustainable Development.
Lauren is passionate about promoting civic engagement within her community, but also within military communities stationed around the globe.
Jayne Ponder
Vice President of the Board of Directors
Jayne Ponder (she/her/hers) was born and raised in East Tennessee, and she is a current member of the Washington, D.C. community. As a long-time volunteer in state, local, and national elections, she has seen first-hand the power of civil engagement and turnout at the polls to empower communities and individuals. Jayne seeks to increase participation in every election at all levels of government.
Jayne holds a Bachelor's degree from Wake Forest University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She currently works as an attorney in Washington, D.C.
Alicia Calvin
Member of the Board of Directors
Alicia Calvin is an Application Developer and Educator with 19 years of experience as a political and social justice advocate. She currently serves as the State Director of Build Louisiana Blue and Chair of the Social Justice Initiative of the Epsilon Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Calvin is a Louisiana community organizer, championing education issues. She notably helped to successfully secure the first teacher pay raise in ten years in Louisiana. She has also served as an organizing consultant for the Louisiana Association of Educators' East Baton Rouge Institute and the National Education Association’s Pre-UniServ Academy. Calvin has worked on numerous political campaigns, including the historic 2008 Obama For America Campaign for Change to help elect former President Barack Obama.
Calvin’s national organizing efforts include adjusting the ground game in Augusta that helped turn Georgia Blue in 2021. She successfully led a team to pass Oregon’s Initiative Petition 14 to hold legislators accountable with the lowest margin of error in the state’s history.
Calvin was a candidate for Louisiana House District 16 taking on the fight for common sense solutions for the Morehouse and Ouachita parish area. She is active in local politics including chairing the Women in Blue Legislative Committee on behalf of the Louisiana Democratic Federation of Women and serving on the Ouachita Parish Democratic Executive Committee.
She is a graduate of Louisiana State University, the Inaugural Class of Emerge Louisiana, Leadership Ouachita, Leadership Louisiana, The Campaign School at Yale University, and President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Yes We Can Training Program.
Amelia Wolf
Member of the Board of Directors
Amelia is a graduate of University of Toledo Law School and a 1LT in the District of Columbia National Guard. She previously worked for 4 years in government relations in the defense industrial industry and received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from George Washington University in political science.
Jamie Mayes
Member of the Board of Directors
Jamie Mayes is a retired educator turned entrepreneur passionate about serving underrepresented communities. She owns Jamie Mayes Educational Consulting & Literacy Services, LLC., a company designed to bridge the gap in communities, organizations, and schools through educational support and DEI & Racial Healing through engaging activities, writing, and speaking. Mayes has earned degrees from LSU, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and Northcentral Univerity. She also has a Dimensions of Diversity certification from the University of Chicago. Mayes is also the author of seven books that center the stories of Black Americans and women and empower others to use their voices. She also shares her speaking platform with her eight-year-old son, Lee, to promote the beauty of family and motherhood. Mayes believes education and resources are the keys to empowering individuals and creating the change humanity needs; thus, she has committed herself to help others access their power through knowledge. Mayes says she votes because her vote is power; her vote is rooted in knowledge, and her vote carries on the legacy and work of her ancestors.