Leadership & Governance
Leadership
The leadership of naræ International Foundation is shaped by people who bring more than credentials — they bring conviction. Together, they help carry this mission forward with care, integrity, and purpose.
Board of Directors
Governance and oversight
Board members serve staggered terms of five years and provide governance, fiduciary oversight, and long-term stewardship of naræ International Foundation. They volunteer their service and are responsible for strategy, financial accountability, and safeguarding the mission.
Public service leader, survivor, and founder of naræ.
A public service leader and two-time breast cancer survivor, her life and work have been shaped by immigration, illness, and decades of service to others. Through years of volunteer service, she received the President's Volunteer Service Award. During chemotherapy, she continued her graduate studies and completed her MBA at Frostburg State University. She remains actively engaged with organizations working at the intersection of community and service. Everything she has lived through is woven into naræ.
Financial expert, global development leader, and institution builder.
With more than 23 years of experience in global finance and international development, he has led complex donor-funded programs across multiple countries with precision and integrity, including through his work with Jhpiego, a global health nonprofit affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. His expertise in budgeting, compliance, and financial analysis gives naræ the institutional backbone it needs to grow responsibly and serve women well. He holds an MBA from Cambridge International College in the United Kingdom and is currently pursuing a second MBA at Johns Hopkins University.
Environmental engineer, safety professional, and avid sailor.
An environmental engineer and safety professional, she works in environmental and safety leadership within the federal government, bringing decades of experience in environmental stewardship, regulatory practice, and occupational safety. She holds credentials as both a Professional Engineer and a Certified Safety Professional and earned a master's degree in environmental law from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. She brings that same discipline and steadiness — and the endurance of a lifelong sailor — to her commitment to naræ and the women it serves.
Guardian of dignity, cultural advocate, and community voice.
A funeral director who has spent more than 27 years serving families during moments of profound loss, her work centers on guiding people through grief with dignity, compassion, and cultural understanding. Based in Washington, D.C., she has long supported families from diverse cultural backgrounds through life's most difficult moments. She holds an Associate of Applied Science from the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science. Her understanding of grief, dignity, and cultural care brings grounding and humanity to naræ's work — and to the women it holds.
Advisory Council
Strategic Leadership & Advocacy
Members of the Advisory Council serve in a voluntary capacity and offer strategic insight, professional expertise, and global perspective to support the mission of naræ International Foundation. Advisory roles are flexible and may evolve as the organization grows.
Law, executive leadership, and institutional expertise — voices that advocate for justice, equity, and the communities naræ serves.
Attorney, thriver, and global advocate.
With a career spanning law, global health, and public service, she has held leadership and advisory roles across international nonprofit and policy settings, including her work with Jhpiego, the United Nations Development Programme, and other global institutions. A four-time breast cancer thriver, she brings both legal insight and lived resilience to naræ's mission. She holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, serves as Chief of Staff to a Maryland State Delegate, and sits on the advisory boards of the Tahirih Justice Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital-Bayview — bringing a strong voice for justice, health equity, and compassionate leadership to everything naræ is building.
Healthcare CEO, industry leader, and legacy builder.
As the Chief Executive Officer of Elizabeth Cooney Personnel Agency, she has spent decades building one of the region's most respected healthcare staffing and workforce development organizations. Recognized with the Health Care Heroes Award and appointed by the Governor to Maryland's first Commission on Disabilities, she has long championed the wellbeing of vulnerable communities through both industry leadership and civic service. She is one of naræ's most powerful allies — bringing executive reach, hard-won recognition, and a genuine dedication to people who are often overlooked.
Trauma-informed leader, pastoral minister, and institutional safeguarding expert.
Serving with the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, he previously led child and vulnerable adult protection efforts for the Diocese of San Jose. Across decades of service, his work has been marked by a steadfast commitment to trauma-informed care, survivor accompaniment, and the strengthening of safe and accountable institutions.
At naræ, he brings seasoned judgment and compassionate guidance grounded in dignity, trust, and care. He holds degrees from Saint Joseph College, San Jose State University, and St. Patrick's Seminary and University, and is also a military veteran — reflecting a lifelong commitment to service.
Hospitality leader, community connector, and Baltimore native.
With decades of experience in hospitality leadership, Leigh has built a career on knowing how to bring people together — across industries, communities, and tables. As General Manager of McCormick & Schmick's at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, she leads with warmth and quiet authority, while supporting local nonprofits and opening doors across the city's civic and business life. A Baltimore native with deep roots and wide reach, she brings to naræ something rare and essential — the ability to make people feel genuinely received.
Advisory Council
Nonprofit Governance & Mission
Operational wisdom, nonprofit governance, and the steady hands that help naræ grow with purpose, discipline, and care.
Nonprofit strategist, veteran, and mission builder.
A retired U.S. Navy Chief Operations Specialist with more than 20 years of complex global service, Adam brings a disciplined, mission-focused approach to every organization he leads. An Advanced Certified Nonprofit Professional with a Master's degree in Christian Practice and Conflict Management, he has served in governance and leadership roles across multiple boards — building organizations with both rigor and heart. He comes to naræ committed to one thing: helping grow an institution truly worthy of the women it serves.
Advisory Council
Research, Clinical & Academic Expertise
Academic depth, clinical insight, and the understanding that language, voice, and knowledge are how communities are truly served.
Language and voice researcher, educator, and cross-cultural advocate.
A Professor of Communication and Speech at the City University of New York Kingsborough Community College and faculty member in the doctoral program in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the City University of New York Graduate Center, Dr. Spinu has spent her career at the intersection of language, voice, and access. As Principal Investigator of a National Science Foundation–funded research initiative, she brings both academic depth and a strong commitment to culturally responsive, dignity-centered practice. Her understanding of what it means to be heard — truly heard — across language and culture is precisely what naræ is built on.
Advisory Council
Culture, Arts & Global Presence
Creativity, cultural wisdom, and voices that carry naræ across languages, borders, and the distances that illness and immigration create.
Musician, cultural bridge, and community builder.
A musician, educator, and cultural bridge-builder, she was born in Seoul and raised in Maryland. She holds a degree in cello performance from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a master's degree in Korean Traditional Music Theory from Seoul National University — one of Korea's most prestigious institutions. As the owner of DS Music Studio, she teaches cello and Korean traditional music — preserving cultural heritage while creating space for expression and belonging. Her work brings artistic depth and cultural resonance to naræ's mission and to the women who find their place within it.
Portraitist, sustainability pioneer, and survivor.
A cancer & traumatic brain injury survivor, Robin knows what it means for life to change deeply and for truth to be found again. A proud U.S. Navy veteran, he served as an associate photographer for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, creating heirloom portraits for families facing the loss of a baby due to serious illness. He later built a career in the energy and environmental sector, contributing to major sustainability and carbon reduction initiatives, and holds a rare power quality certification shared by just over 100 people worldwide. Robin brings his gift for portraiture to naræ — helping make visible the faces, stories, and resilience of the women this foundation holds.
Cultural artist, multi-cancer survivor, and naræ's voice in Korea.
A breast and thyroid cancer survivor living in Korea, Na-young carries the healing arts — calligraphy, culinary tradition, and the deep cultural wisdom of her homeland — as both a practice and a way of being. Her understanding that beauty and resilience are inseparable gives naræ an authentic voice and presence on the Korean peninsula. A childhood friend of the foundation's founder, she once folded 1,000 cranes and gifted them to Jihwan — long before this foundation existed. That gesture already carried the spirit of everything naræ stands for.
Cross-cultural navigator, global voice, and naræ's bridge to Europe.
Having built her life across two countries and cultures, she carries an intimate understanding of what it means to navigate belonging, identity, and everyday life far from home. Based in Germany, she brings an international perspective that few on this team can offer — and a personal grasp of the invisible weight immigrant women often carry. Her presence extends naræ's reach beyond the United States and deepens its commitment to women whose lives are shaped by distance, transition, and the courage it takes to begin again.
Public servant, community advocate, and voice for families facing cancer.
Shaped by loss and led by heart, Philip works in public service with the State of Maryland and brings a grounded understanding of civic responsibility, community impact, and compassionate leadership. After losing his beloved wife Julie to cancer, he carries a profound and personal understanding of what naræ's women face. His empathy and community connections open doors to people and places the foundation might not otherwise reach. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of York, United Kingdom.
The leadership of naræ International Foundation will continue to grow thoughtfully as the organization evolves.