Leadership

Molly Harman
Development Associate

Molly Harman joined the National Consumers League in March 2018.  Previously, she was a Regional Coordinator in Manizales, Colombia with Heart for Change a nonprofit promoting English as a foreign language and intercultural exchange in public high schools.  After more than four years of nonprofit work in Colombia teaching English as a foreign language and coordinating fellows, Molly looks forward to continuing her nonprofit experience back in the U.S.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Elon University.

Lisa Hertzberg
LifeSmarts Program Director

Since July 2000, Lisa Hertzberg has directed the national LifeSmarts program, NCL’s fast, fun consumer education competition for teens and tweens. Lisa’s primary responsibilities include operating the national LifeSmarts program, strategizing growth, implementing new partnerships and program components, assisting state coordinators, developing educational materials, managing the online competition, and conducting the online and national competitions. Under Lisa’s direction, the program, formerly only available to high school students, has expanded into middle school classrooms across the country, serving a wider audience of student participants and coaches.

Before joining the National Consumers League, Lisa worked for 13 years for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, where she created and conducted consumer education programs and outreach efforts. In 1995 she launched the Minnesota state LifeSmarts program. Within several years the Minnesota program was the largest in the country involving students at more than 120 schools in 1999-2000.

Lisa is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where she studied communications and political science.

Nailah John
Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow

Nailah John was named Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow in March 2020 and leads the food safety and nutrition division at NCL. She works alongside the Executive Director, concentrating on regulatory policies related to food safety, nutrition, labeling, alcohol, and consumer health advocacy.  

Nailah joined NCL as Executive Assistant to NCL ED Sally Greenberg in April 2019. She previously worked for a non-profit organization in Vancouver, Canada called Leave out Violence in SVG Association, focused on fighting domestic violence, child abuse, and youth violence in St.Vincent and the Grenadines. Nailah’s role was as a consultant devoted to the empowerment of women and girls through avenues of education and awareness.

At the organization, she worked in coordination with local government to successfully see to it that the Domestic Violence Act, 1995 of St.Vincent and the Grenadines, was amended to include financial abuse.

Nailah studied at Douglas College in British Columbia, Canada, where she received an Associate’s Degree in Sociology and Criminology. She also holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Criminology from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada—as well as a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Sociology and Law from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados.

 

Arlene Johnson
Managing Director

Arlene Johnson joined the National Consumers League in January 2018.  She is responsible for the financial management and daily operational efficiency at NCL. She works closely with the executive director in overseeing the resources and needs of the organization. 

Arlene has developed a passion for working for non-profit organizations that are committed to making a difference in society. She is committed to educating individuals in matters that promote the greater good.

Before joining NCL, Arlene spent 10 years as director of finance and administration at Brookings Executive Education, where she supported the education of executives in leadership and policy issues. Arlene’s prior experience includes financial management at George Washington University, MCI Telecommunications, and PepsiCo Inc. She has also served as the Chief Operating Officer of an interior design firm.

Arlene is a graduate of Howard University, where she earned a B.B.A degree with a concentration in Finance.

 

Reid Maki
Director of Child Labor Issues and Coordinator of Child Labor Coalition

Reid Maki joined the National Consumers League in March 2008. In his work at NCL, Reid coordinates the activities of the Child Labor Coalition, striving to minimize abusive child labor and to protect the health, safety, and well-being of child workers in the United States and abroad. Reid is a proponent of corporate social responsibility, including fair labor standards for American workers.

Prior to joining NCL, Reid worked for 12 years at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) where he directed the Children in the Fields campaign, a joint effort launched by AFOP, NCL, and the International Initiative to End Child Labor. Their goal was to end the legal loopholes in child labor law that permit child agricultural wage laborers to work longer hours and to work at younger ages than children working in other industries. Reid was an active member of the Child Labor Coalition between 1994 and 2006.

Reid worked for both daily and weekly newspapers as a reporter earlier in his career. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in American History at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Stanford University, respectively.

 

Carol McKay
Vice President of Communications

Carol McKay joined the staff of the National Consumers League as Assistant Director of Communications in September 2000. At NCL, Carol works closely with policy staff, the executive director, and the development team to oversee all aspects of marketing and communications for the organization. Carol manages print and online publications, media relations, and consumer public education campaigns on a variety of issues, ranging from health to fraud to child labor. Carol coordinates public relations for NCL’s programs including LifeSmarts, NCL’s work in fraud prevention and education, and child labor. Her department also serves the internal communications needs of the organization. In addition to her communications role at NCL, Carol works closely with development and senior staff on fundraising strategy and proposal writing.

Carol was promoted to director of communications and later Vice President of communications in 2003 and 2004. Prior to her work at NCL, she worked as a reporter in newsrooms in California and Montana. Carol earned bachelor’s degrees in History and Political Science and a minor in English literature at the University of California, Los Angeles.

James Perry
Consumer Services Coordinator
NCL’s Fraud Center

James Perry is a veteran staffer at NCL’s Fraud Center. Since January 2000, he’s been counseling consumers on a variety of scams ranging from telemarketing- to Internet-based issues. James began at the National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch programs (now NCL’s Fraud Center) as a fraud counselor, speaking with thousands of consumers each year about cases of suspected and confirmed fraud. James was later promoted to supervise the staff of NCL’s Fraud Center, and he regularly speaks about his experiences counseling fraud victims to the media and nonprofit and law enforcement agencies.

As Consumer Services Coordinator, James monitors complaints submitted to NCL via the complaint form at www.fraud.org and serves as a representative on the Consumer Federation of America’s Fake Checks Working Group. At NCL, James works with law enforcement agencies to transmit consumer fraud complaints to more than 200 agencies in the United States and Canada.

 

Elena Robertson
Development Associate

 

Nissa Shaffi
Associate Director of Health Policy

Nissa Shaffi joined the National Consumers League in October 2018. Her background is in direct patient services, having worked in a variety of healthcare delivery environments. Particularly, Nissa’s experience of working in an emergency department meaningfully firmed her commitment to addressing health disparities. Prior to joining NCL, Nissa interned at the Library of Congress, where she researched and drafted reports on parity in mental health coverage and racial disparities in maternal health outcomes. Nissa holds a bachelor’s of science in Health Administration and Policy and an M.S. Degree in Health Policy, both from George Mason University. She looks forward to continuing her work in improving consumer and patient rights from a health policy and advocacy lens at NCL.

 

Karen Silberstein
Director of Development

Karen Silberstein joined the staff of NCL in July 2018. She has a background in fundraising and development, as well as program implementation in Workforce Development/Career and Technical Education. As Director of Development, Karen is delighted to be working with the development team to support NCL’s mission. She brings strategic relationship building skills with extensive experience managing projects, and designing and developing collateral materials. Her most recent position involved outreach and events for University of the District of Columbia Community College, Workforce Development and Lifelong Learning.

Previously she worked in program development, researching funding opportunities and best practices in program implementation for Home Builders Institute, a training provider focused on the building trades. She holds B.A. in English from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. in French Literature and Culture from Columbia University. Recently, Karen has pursued graduate coursework in Public Administration at the University of the District of Columbia.

 

Andrea Smith
Operations Manager

Andrea Smith joined the National Consumers League as operations manager in January 2019. She assists the managing director with improving operational systems, processes, and policies towards supporting NCL’s mission. She also collaborates in the development of short- and long-term strategic goals for the operations department.

Prior to joining NCL, Andrea worked for 12 years as the director of finance and administration for the non-profit education association American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), where she was responsible for daily operations, human resources, and financial management. 

Andrea has also worked for the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ), Red Coats Janitorial Services, and Potomac Services in finance and administration management. 

Andrea is currently a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Paine College. 

 

Taun Sterling
Communications Associate

Taun Sterling joined the staff of the National Consumers League as Communications Associate in June 2018. He works alongside the Vice President of Communications, creating social media posts and editing and authoring an array of written content and media relations. Taun also takes on the role of lead designer for all in-house projects.

Prior to joining NCL, Taun worked on communications at the American Heart Association of Oregon and as a digital news writer for Mercy Corps NW. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Advertising from Savannah College of Art and Design.

 

Cheryl Varnadoe
LifeSmarts Program Outreach Coordinator

Cheryl’s main responsibilities are planning and conducting LifeSmarts outreach across the country, presenting LifeSmarts at national conference/meetings, planning workshops and training webinars, marketing LifeSmarts on the state/national level and preparing competition collateral. She also manages the LifeSmarts Alumni Association. 

Before joining the National Consumers League, Cheryl worked for 34 years as a 4-H County Extension Agent and Georgia 4-H Specialist where she led Georgia 4-H family and consumer science programs statewide. Her main focus was youth-centered consumer education programs. as well as starting the successful Georgia LifeSmarts program which grew rapidly in the past seven years.

Cheryl earned her Master’s of Education degree from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. Her course focus was Family & Consumer Science Education. She is a lifelong 4-H’er and continues her involvement as a 4-H volunteer leader.