Meet the 2010 - 2012 Board Members

logo graphic The FAWCO Foundation was established over 40 years ago by the FAWCO Board as the philanthropic arm of FAWCO. The election of The FAWCO Foundation Board of Directors is held during FAWCO Interim Conferences. President, Vice-President of Communications, Secretary and Treasurer are elected by the Council of Representatives. Elections and terms of office for all officers are governed by The FAWCO Foundation Bylaws. The newly elected Board of Directors takes office at the close of the FAWCO Interim Conference. Administrators, Coordinators and Chairs are appointed by the President for the two year term. In accordance with the 1967 Articles of Incorporation which establish The FAWCO Foundation as a non-profit corporation in the State of Missouri, additional members of the Board of Directors (VP for Programs and VP for Fundraising) are elected by the out-going Board of Directors. A Parliamentarian serves in a non-voting appointed position and is named by the President. In the fall of 2007, The FAWCO Foundation Board was restructured. The current 2008-2010 Board was the first Board to be elected in this new structure. There are now six well-defined positions that more accurately reflect the work done by the Foundation Board. The new structure also gives us greater flexibility to put together teams of FAWCO Volunteers to work on all philanthropic programs and fund raising projects.

		Melissa Mash - President AW Surrey and FAUSA An active attendee of the last 10 Conferences, Melissa comes to the FAWCO Foundation with vast experience within her own club, AW Surrey and the International Women’s club of Wilmington, Delaware, as well as the FAWCO world. She has served as Presidents of both clubs mentioned, in addition to many other board positions. Within FAWCO, she has been on the Board as Secretary and 2nd VP for Reps, and later as President’s Liaison and Chair of the Nominating Committee. Her future objective for the new FAWCO Foundation board will be to analyze in depth the relationship between the two Corporations, as she visualizes an even more integrated cooperation. Always one to “jump in” and “lend a hand” if necessary – even as impromptu ‘official’ photographer one year - Melissa will be an outstanding asset to the Foundation.
		Andrée Kubilus - Vice President, Communications AWC Luxembourg Coming from the Boston area, Andrée is a fairly new American overseas resident, having moved to Luxembourg in 2007. But she immediately became active within the AWC, serving as both the FAWCO Rep and the editor of the Grapevine concurrently. Before coming overseas, Andrée obtained a MBA at Boston University in 2003 and then worked for several banks. Andrée is “eager to get involved with the Foundation, especially now, as the target program is being selected”.
		Ann De Simoni - Vice President, Fundraising AIWC Genoa A fund-raising ‘whiz kid’ is Ann. Self-employed since 2008 as organizer of group cruises for charitable non-profits, while also teaching English to young children, Ann comes with innumerable ideas and spirit for fund-raising while also having fun. And all that after working 15 years in nursing. Within her club in Genoa, Ann has held just about every position and has served on the Federation Board as 2nd VP – Reps in 2001-2003. Since then she has played an active role in various FAWCO committees, such as Membership Co-Chair and Buddy Coordinator for two recent Conferences. For the FAWCO Foundation, Ann has been Annual Giving Advisor, the Kids Help Chair and organizer of two Dream Cruises.
		Dolores Cuellar - Vice President, Programs FAUSA and AWC Bogota Dolores Cuellar is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the London School of Economics. Her professional experience includes work for the U.S. Agency for International Development as Economist and Program Analyst in both Washington D.C. and the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, and as a Financial Analyst and Planner for 2 private financial corporations in Bogota, Colombia. Dolores has worked as a volunteer in Mexico, as President Auxiliary of "Our Little Brothers and Sisters" home for 1,000 orphaned children, in Madrid, Spain as president of the Parents' Association of American School of Madrid, and in Phoenix, AZ, as a docent for the Phoenix Art Museum. She has served as President (2 years) for FAWCO's AWC Madrid club as well as being President (1.5 years) and FAWCO Rep of AWC Bogota, Colombia. She served as VP Programs on the 2008 - 2010 Foundation board. As VP Programs for the 2010 - 2012 board, she will chair the 2010 Bulls Eye Project selection committee. Dividing her time between Arizona and Columbia, Dolores looks forward to “continuing to work on the awards and DG programs, making the processes of selection more efficient.”
		Terri Knudsen - Secretary AWC Aarhus Another very experienced ‘FAWCOite’, Terri has attended all but one conference since 2000. She is also a past member of the FAWCO Board, serving as 2nd VP Reps from 2007-2009 and most recently Co-chair of the Membership Committee. Terri’s first foreign professional experience was in Paraguay as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Moving to Aarhus, Denmark, with her Danish husband, she became the epitome of the saying: “bloom where you are planted” and worked first with the Aarhus School System and for the last 20 years as a language consultant and English teacher for a large Danish company. Terri was co-founder of the AWC of Aarhus and served as its President for 4 years. She plans to not only take on the position of Secretary, but also assist where needed the other board members with their duties.
		Kathleen Coughlan - Treasurer AW Surrey With an MBA in Accounting and Finance from UCLA and years of working as a Controller for various companies in the Los Angeles area, Kathy is also a Founding Member and Advisory Board Member of a charitable foundation based in Bangkok, which is designed to help disadvantaged women and to educate children. She has more than 6 years experience as Treasurer of AW Surrey, serving first in the late 1990’s with Melissa Mash. In Kathy’s own words – “I feel that we all are one people on this earth and we who have been advantaged must support those that are not.”
		Arline Burns Coward - Parliamentarian Barcelona Women’s Network & AWC Madrid Arline is from Long Beach, California. She moved with her husband from New York City to Spain in 1975. Arline holds a B.A. degree from California State University Long Beach, a M.A. in Education from Columbia University, and a Spanish Studies Diploma from the University of Madrid. Arline is a Life Member of the US Navy League, Soroptomist International and the Alpha Phi International Sorority. She currently represents a US based international school search company and a US based relocation company in Barcelona. Arline is a past president of AWC of Madrid and currently lives in Barcelona where she is a member of the Barcelona Women’s Network (BWN) and is the club’s FAWCO Rep. Arline has been involved with FAWCO since 1996. She’s served on the FAWCO New Directions and Resolutions & Recommendations Committees, The FAWCO Foundation Awards Committee, and as co-Chair of the FAWCO Membership Committee. Arline has also been a Regional Coordinator, a FAWCO 2nd & 3rd Vice-President, FAWCO President (2003-2005), president of The FAWCO Foundation (2006-2008), and most recently, Parliamentarian 2008 - 2010. She has been an active participant in every conference since becoming involved.

Board Appointees The new structure also contains appointed positions that support the work of The Foundation. We welcome their expertise.

		Liz Hemminger - Assistant Treasurer AW Surrey Liz Hemminger is a member of AWS Surrey and FAUSA. She has lived in both Sydney, Australia and Surrey, England. Back in New Jersey, she continues her volunteer work with FAWCO, having served as Director of Special Projects for the 2006 - 2008 board and currently as treasurer of The Foundation. A native of New Jersey, she has a BS from Baldwin-Wallace College, Ohio, and completed her graduate work in Prosthetics at Northwestern Medical University and Orthotics at New York University. She is an active volunteer in the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts having been honored with many awards for her service to youth. Her husband of 36 years is a consultant working presently in Washington, DC. Their three children live and work in New York and Philadelphia.
		Nan de Laubadere - Education Awards Program Administrator AAWE Paris Nan de Laubadère, from Toledo, Ohio, earned a B.A. in art history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and completed a year of graduate studies at the University of Chicago. She then went to Florence, Italy, where she spent two years working at the Palazzo Pitti and teaching English. After moving back to the States for a short period, she worked at the St. Louis Art Museum. She came to Paris in 1980 and continued art-related work with a brief stint in the catalog department at the Louvre. That ended when she met her French husband while vacationing in Spain. They have three children, all now pursuing career and studies in the U.S. Nan enjoys reading, golf, travel, crafting and patchwork quilting. She has been very active in her club, AAWE Paris, holding various board positions, President among them. Nan caught the famous FAWCO Fever at the Washington, D.C. 2000 conference and has been feverish ever since!
		Beth Arena - Development Grants Program Administrator AW Eastern Province Beth Arena spent her first 50 years stateside, raising a family and juggling successful careers in real estate, health care administration and higher education. Raising two young boys and supporting her orthodontist/lawyer in his pursuits, Beth became consummately adept at juggling schedules, organizing the home front and, as every working mother does, chairing the occasional PTO and Women’s groups. Circa 2002 Beth embarked upon the adventure of her lifetime with her husband Steve. The decision to relocate to Saudi Arabia and begin a life as an ex-pat was not easily reached, yet infinitely the best decision of their lives. Now, some six years later, Beth and Steve cherish their life in Saudi Arabia as it has afforded those adventures and experiences that before of which, they barely dreamed. And, most importantly, Beth’s work with FAWCO has helped her to forge a new “career”. In Beth’s own words: “Blessed is an understatement. And as such, I look forward to and challenge myself to give back, where and whenever possible. That is why I so appreciate and honor my role with FAWCO.”
		Ann De Simoni - Kids Help Project Coordinator AIWC Genoa Ann met her Italian ‘dreamboat’ on a dream cruise, married him and moved to Genoa, Italy, to raise her family. Looking for a worthy cause, Ann became active with FAWCO five years ago when a close friend introduced her to the organization. She has since then been the creator and driving force for Kids Help fundraising, and organizer of several Dream Cruises for benefit of The FAWCO Foundation Kids Help. Ann served as FAWCO 2nd VP from 2001-2003. In addition, she has served as Rep for her club twice, and Regional Coordinator for Region 8 for the past 6 years.