Board of Directors 2011-2013
President
Deirdre Macnab
Deirdre Macnab is President of the League of Women Voters of Florida. Now in her second term as state president, her League experience includes four years on the state Board of Directors, as well as four years as president of the League of Women Voters of Orange County, one of Florida's largest local Leagues. Graduating with an M.B.A. from Columbia University in marketing and finance and a B.A. from New York University in history and political science, Macnab has worked for Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, Manville Corporation and Bankers Trust and was president of her own direct marketing consulting firm.
In addition to working in the prisons of New York City for the Board of Correction, a watchdog agency, Macnab was elected to the Board of Education in Nashville, TN (70,000 students) and appointed by Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta to serve as her designate on the Fulton County Library Board, prior to moving to the Orlando area. Macnab is a former member of the Board of MyRegion.org, a seven-county visioning coalition in Central Florida; former member of WMFE's Citizens Advisory Board; and recognized by The Orlando Sentinel in 2008 and 2010 as a runner-up for the Most Influential Central Floridian of the Year.
First Vice President
Pamela S. Goodman
Pamela Goodman is First Vice President of the League of Women Voters of Florida. Educated at the University of Iowa in journalism and business, Goodman spent her professional career in retailing, rising to President/CEO of Limited Express, with $1.5 billion in revenue. She served as president of the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County from 2005 to 2009 and has been serving on the League of Women Voters Florida Board of Directors from 2007 to the present. While serving in that role, Goodman was appointed by the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections to head a review and audit of voting machines and processes for the 2006 and 2008 elections. Since 2006, she has chaired the Fair Districts campaign statewide for the League and was responsible for coordinating all League work during the most recent campaign to secure passage of the two Fair Districts constitutional amendments.
Goodman has also served on the League of Women Voters of the United States Nominating Committee and Membership Recruitment Committee. In addition to being a member of the first “Sisters Across the Straits” delegation that traveled and met with women in Cuba, she has received numerous awards, including the 2008 Susan B. Anthony Award for Outstanding Feminist from the National Organization for Women.
Goodman also serves as vice president on the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County Board of Directors and serves on the Community Advisory Board for WXEL radio and television PBS stations for the Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast areas. Goodman volunteers with Junior Achievement business preparation classes for high school seniors, teaches underserved adult communities with The Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County and volunteers at her local community hospital. Goodman resides in Gulf Stream with her husband, Barry.
Second Vice President
Marilynn Wills
Marilynn Wills is the Second Vice President of the League of Women Voters of Florida and outgoing President. She has held various leadership positions on the Board of Directors for many years and has been at the helm of the League Lobby Corps as Action Chair. Wills has been a League member since the 1970s and is currently a member of the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee.
Wills is a former teacher of high school mathematics and coached boys' and girls' cross country teams. She continues to volunteer with track and cross country activities and helps judge the county History Fair. Wills has two sons in Tallahassee and one daughter in Tampa. She has one grandson.
Secretary
Lisa Meyers
Lisa Meyers is the Secretary of the League of Women Voters of Florida and has been an active League member since 2007. She has served as Program and Action Chair where she coordinated local voter education and advocacy efforts for the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area. Meyers strengthened her commitment to the League by serving as Vice President and most recently as Co-President of the local League. Other community involvement includes Human Rights Council, Proofreading/Editing for the Distributed Proofreaders Foundation, Audiobook Reader for LibriVox and volunteer fundraiser for the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Strengthening the League’s social media presence has been the focus of Meyers's work at the state level. Since becoming an administrator for the League Facebook page, the number of fans has nearly tripled. Meyers is interested in making sure the League remains a strong voice on the state and local levels. She believes that by providing opportunities for involvement, membership will increase. Meyers has extensive professional experience in customer service, logistics, sales training and marketing. She holds an A.A. from FSU and is currently working towards a B.A. in Sustainability Management from St. Petersburg College.
Treasurer
Sandra Colyer
Sandra Colyer is in her second term as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Florida. She learned of the League after eye-opening experiences in Miami serving as a poll worker and assistant clerk. She brings to the League more than 25 years of business experience, beginning her career as a small business owner and progressing to senior management positions with multinational corporations, including AT&T, Lucent Technologies and Getronics. Colyer has an M.B.A. from Seton Hall University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). She looks forward to using her budget management, team building, customer care and project management skills in serving as Treasurer and an active voice on the Board of Directors.
Director
Annie Betancourt
Annie Betancourt is a Director of the League of Women Voters of Florida. A League member for more than three decades, Betancourt has shown true dedication to the cause of citizen participation and good government. She learned the ropes by conducting voter registration drives, monitoring local elections and participating in study groups focusing on Florida's fiscal policies.
Betancourt served as President of the League of Women Voters of Miami-Dade County from 1988 to 1990 and was later appointed by Governor Lawton Chiles to serve on the South Florida Water Management District. Elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1994, Betancourt championed laws that promoted job opportunities and access to higher education. In addition, she fought public corruption on several fronts along with law enforcement agencies. Betancourt served in the House until 2002 when term limits forced her to step down. Between 2007 and 2009, she served a second term as League of Women Voters of Miami-Dade County President.
Director
Jamieson Thomas
Jamieson Thomson Thomas is a new member with the League of Women Voters of Florida. Her grandmother was President of the National Woman Suffrage Association in Albany NY. She is assisting the League with marketing efforts and product development to create retail products to generate income for the League. Prior to joining the League, Thomas served on the boards of the Museum Store Association, Orlando Rowing Club, Council of 101, All Saints Episcopal Church, PTA and her neighborhood Association.
Thomas is currently involved with two online retail ventures, The Rowing Store has been in operation since 2010 and Plum Curio will launch in 2012. She worked at the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) from 1999-2010 as Manager of the Museum Store and Curator of the Florida Artist of the Month Gallery. During her tenure with OMA, the OMA Museum Shop was nominated for the Niche Magazine Top Retailer Award in different categories each year for five years was voted Best Shop in Orlando in the Orlando Sentinel for 9 years in a row.
Thomas holds a B.A. in Art and Business and a Minor in Art History from Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY. She has extensive experience in the retail industry and owned and sold a manufacturing and product development business that provided product to museum shop industry as well as other retailers. She has worked with Associated Merchandising Corporation in New York in product development and with Federated Department Stores as a buyer.
Thomas is a nationally ranked masters rower and enjoys painting and photography in her spare time.
Director
Elizabeth C. Pines
Elizabeth C. Pines is a Director of the League of Women Voters of Florida. Pines is founder of Elizabeth C. Pines, PA, with an extensive family and business client base in her immigration practice. Her cases include family-based petitions, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), naturalizations and business/work visas. She has a B.A. in business administration and an M.B.A. from the University of Miami and a J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law. Pines has appeared on many TV talk shows and radio programs advocating in favor of immigration. She has authored immigration advice articles for various newspapers and written letters-to-the-editor regarding immigration issues. Her work has also included immigration seminars for various educational and nonprofit institutions.
Pines is also a graduate of the Wedgworth Leadership Institute, a program created to develop and refine the leadership capabilities of young leaders who, in turn, will be prepared to become increasingly involved in policy formation at the state level.
She has been on the South Florida Board and remains a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association since 1996.
Voter Service Chair
Charley Williams
Charley Williams is a Voter Service Chair of the League of Women Voters of Florida. He is Director of Business Development with Geotechnical and Environmental Consultants in Orlando. Williams worked to lay the groundwork for the first Super Tuesday regional primary on March 9, 1988, when he served as director of the Atlanta office for the Council of State Governments. Southern states worked in concert to move from caucus to primary, requiring coordination and agreement between executive and legislative branches in fifteen states. Community-based projects for Williams include the 1994 World Cup, 1996 Olympic Soccer and Legacy Soccer Foundation. Williams is a graduate of Davidson College (B.A., political science) and grew up in Jacksonville. He has been a Central Florida resident since1990 and lives in Winter Park.
LWVF STAFF
Executive Director
Jessica Lowe-Minor
Executive Director Jessica Lowe-Minor worked as a women's rights advocate for six years before coming to the League of Women Voters of Florida. Most notably, she represented the Business and Professional Women of Florida and the Florida National Organization for Women as their lobbyist at the state Capitol. In addition to her legislative work, Lowe-Minor has worked as an organizer for the Service Employees' International Union and as an instructor at Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College. She has a M.A. in humanities from FSU and is currently completing her doctorate in the same program. She is recently married to Rick Minor, chief of staff for Tallahassee Mayor John Marks, and enjoys cooking, reading, horseback riding and registering young people to vote.
Office Manager
Maggie Lawrence
Office Manager Maggie Lawrence graduated in 2010 from the University of Florida with bachelor's degrees in English and journalism and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from Florida State University. A Tallahassee native, Lawrence is excited to be playing an active role in Florida government, especially as part of an organization as fair and balanced as the League. After working for a newspaper, magazine and publishing house in Gainesville, Maggie is seeking a career in marketing communication for nonprofit organizations working in the public interest. She enjoys reading, writing, editing and playing with her cats and friends.
Event Planner
Michelle Lezcano
Event Planner Michelle Lezcano is a senior at Florida State University and is graduating this August with bachelor’s degrees in women’s studies and psychology. She is active on Florida State’s campus and is the Vice President of Trafficked, a registered student organization that focuses on raising awareness of human trafficking on a local, state, and national level, and a member of Women in Business and Without Words. After graduating, she hopes to pursue a master’s degree in international affairs and European studies before applying to law school this fall. She was born and raised in Miami and enjoys reading, playing tennis, and watching professional sports.
GET INVOLVED
Find a Local League | Contact your elected officials