Officers

Jackie Brock – President

Jackie Brock joined Talk for Change Toastmasters in September 2010.  Jackie works in sustainable income generation for communities in developing countries through ecotourism. She recently returned from Peace Corps Service in Mexico where she developed natural resource management planning for the Comision Nacional Areas Naturales Protejedas in the La Encrucijada and Sierra Gorda Guanajuato Biospheres. Jackie joined Talk for Change to meet motivated and passionate people from the DC area and improve her public speaking.

Laura Bornfreund-Vice President Education

Laura Bornfreund joined Talk for Change in November 2010. She began her career as a teacher in Florida and moved to Washington DC in 2008 to work in education policy. Laura currently works for the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation.

Melissa Williams- Vice President Membership

Melissa joined Talk for Change in October 2010. New to the area, TFC represented a unique opportunity to improve her public speaking and communication skills as well as interact with nonprofit professionals committed to social change. While completing her graduate studies, Melissa also works on implementing federal health programs that assist low-income children, families, elderly, and disabled individuals.

Jan Ahlen – Vice President Public Relations

Jan joined Talk for Change Toastmasters in January 2011. Jan works as a lobbyist for National Farmers Union (NFU), a grassroots general farm organization representing small farmers, ranchers and fishermen. In this role, Jan leads NFU’s advocacy efforts surrounding renewable energy.

Dianne Price – Treasurer

Dianne Price joined Talk for Change Toastmasters in January 2010. She decided to become a member after meeting like-minded participants dedicated to improving their communication abilities and making positive contributions to society. She currently works as a Program Officer in the Center for International Exchanges at the Academy for Educational Development (AED) developing short-term exchange programs for rising leaders from across the globe.

Catherine Baum-Secretary

Catherine Baum joined Talk for Change Toastmasters in March 2011. She joined TFC after moving to DC from the Pioneer Valley region in Massachusetts, where she earned her Competent Communicator Award. Baum is an associate producer at Double R Productions, a TV and video production company in Dupont Circle.

Tanya DeRivi- Sergeant-at-Arms

Tanya joined Talk for Change Toastmasters in February 2011 to further improve public and impromptu speaking skills.  She is a native Californian, having worked as an energy and environment policy advisor for the City of Los Angeles for 8 years. She now works at Washington’s top-rated lobbying firm, Patton Boggs LLP, as a federal lobbyist.