Board of Directors
Ruth Ehresman
Ruth Ehresman is a Distinguished Alumni of the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. She is a former teacher and social worker, and spent the past 17 years working as a policy analyst and organizer for several statewide public interest groups. Ruth has served on many boards and advisory groups, both locally and statewide. She loves dogs, tennis and playing the piano, but her greatest passion is social justice.
Susan Glassman
Susan Glassman was formerly the Executive Vice President of Urban Strategies, a non-profit that works to build human capital in revitalizing communities around the country. Prior to that she was Executive Director of the American Lung Association of Eastern Missouri and the Deputy City Manager of University City, Missouri.
Mary Schuman
Mary’s degrees in political science and urban affairs led her to her first career in community planning, but after the birth of her second child, she chose to be at home with the boys and quickly found her way into civic and other volunteer organizations. For 25 years she served her local community on boards and commissions, in the schools and as an elected official. For the past 15 years, Mary has volunteered as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) with Voices for Children. She currently serves as Co-Chair of Women’s Voices’ Campaign for Common Sense Gun Solutions.
Andrea Bauman
Andrea Bauman is a retired registered nurse after having worked about 40 years. She graduated from the Jewish Hospital School of Nursing in 1967 and received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Webster University in 1986. Andrea spent the majority of her nursing career at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in management and as a staff nurse, primarily in preoperative and postoperative care. She is passionate about reducing gun violence and has enjoyed being involved with WVR and the LIFL project for several years. This past year she was Co-chair of the CCSGS committee.
Andrea loves all animals, reading, traveling, and most of all her wonderful family including her grandchildren.
Lise Bernstein
Lise Bernstein is a consultant to nonprofit organizations in the areas of fund development, marketing and public relations. She has been a board member of several nonprofits and is a former president of the National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis Section. She was a CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocate) with Voices for Children.
Jenny Birgé
Jenny Birgé is a Brown School adjunct faculty member and the fund administrator at a technology-focused education foundation based at Cortex. Before returning to St Louis in 2018, she was a Research & Development executive at Frito-Lay in Plano, TX. She was on the board of the Plano Education Foundation and active in the North TX Food Bank, United Way and American Heart Association.
Susan (Tonie) FitzGibbon
Tonie FitzGibbon is Professor Emerita at Saint Louis University Law School where she taught for 29 years and served as Director of the Wefel Center for Employment law from 1994 to 2013. Currently Tonie teaches a Citizenship class at the International Institute of St. Louis and is an Oasis volunteer reading tutor at Jackson Park Elementary. She has been an active member of the Campaign for Common Sense Gun Solutions committee since 2018 and is passionate about reducing gun violence, especially in the St. Louis community. She is also passionate about movies, travel, family and friends (not necessarily in that order).
Karen Francis
Karen Francis is a retired high school administrator. She currently is the Chair of the American Association of University Women's (AAUW) Public Policy Committee , on the Board of Safe Connections, a facilitator for the YWCA's Witnessing Witness program and past president of the Ballwin Chesterfield Branch of AAUW. She is passionate about women’s issues and social justice. To quote former first lady Michelle Obama, “Find people who make you better” and that truly is Women’s Voices of St. Louis.
Gwen Wesley
Gwendolyn J. Wesley is a founding member and immediate past president of the Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund (SOS). Her corporate work experience includes information systems technology, governmental and regulatory affairs, and corporate director of diversity and equal employment. Gwen has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in St. Louis County Family Court and on their board of directors. She is a charter member of the St. Louis Symphony In Unison Chorus, where she serves on the Advisory Committee. Gwen and her husband are blessed to be the parents of a wonderful daughter and son-in-law and grandparents to two beautifully gifted granddaughters.
Linda Zazove
Linda Zazove was the Deputy Director for Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, a civil legal aid program serving low income people in 65 counties in central and southern Illinois. She worked in their East St. Louis office for over 30 years. She specialized in health and welfare issues, moving into resource development and strategic planning. She serves on the Women’s Voices Advocacy Committee, the Planning Committee and serves as the Health Care Liaison.