Board Members
Tahirah Moore
Tahirah A. Moore is a dedicated public servant and policy strategist with a lifelong commitment to community empowerment and equity. Raised in Brooklyn’s Marcy Houses, she brings deep lived experience and a track record of legislative impact to her role as the Board Chair of DemocraShe.
Tahirah began her government career as a Washington Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives and later served as a staffer in the U.S. Senate. She went on to hold key roles in the New York City Council, advancing housing justice, educational equity, and violence prevention. In the NYC Mayor’s Office, she served as Brooklyn Borough Director and Senior Advisor, helping secure major community investments and playing a critical role in the passage of the 2020 chokehold ban.
Across all her work, Tahirah has championed those too often excluded from decision-making spaces. As the Board Chair of DemocraShe, she supports the next generation of young women - particularly those from underserved communities - to lead with purpose, power, and resilience.
Board Chair
Angel Gilbert
Angel Gilbert (she/her) is a senior at Columbia University majoring in African-American and African Diaspora Studies. As a participant of The Stanford Law Scholars Institute and a recipient of The Questbridge Scholarship, Angel has passionately advocated for human rights throughout her academic journey. To dismantle the inherent and cyclical violence of incarceration, she is excited to become a criminal defense attorney. Currently, Angel is conducting research with Dr. David Knight at The Movements Against Mass Incarceration Lab—a Mellon Foundation Project that aims to uplift the oral stories of 250 formerly incarcerated activists. Prior to this position, Angel interned for the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and the ACLU National Prison Project.
Because Angel understands that women of color are among the fastest-growing populations in prison, intersectional feminism is a cause that is very close to her heart. During her junior year of high school, Angel was honored to dream-build with her DemocraShe sisters as a member of our inaugural Leadership Team. Now, as a member of our Board since 2022, Angel is thrilled to continue supporting the DemocraShe community in any way possible. Eager to cheer on a multi-generational community of changemakers, she is honored to be part of such a beautiful space!
Board Secretary
Frances Barney Knutsen, CFA is a financial services professional with more than thirty years of experience. She retired from BNY as a Managing Director with responsibility for institutional accounting and investment performance and risk analysis services. During her tenure, she was actively involved in leading the integration of her teams through 3 different mergers as the financial industry consolidated. Frances is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds the Sustainable Investing Certificate administered by CFA Institute. She is an active volunteer with the CFA Institute and the Chair of the Women in Performance Measurement industry association, and received an award for “Outstanding Women in Performance Measurement” in 2018 by the Journal of Performance Measurement. Frances is a Principal in BWK Communication Consulting, providing training in communications skills such as listening, crucial conversations, and presentations. Earlier in her career, she co-founded another professional services firm, ImprovEdge, using the techniques of improvisational theater to teach leadership, creativity and effective teamwork. Frances is a frequent speaker at industry conferences on topics including managing and recruiting teams of investment professionals, alternative investment risk management, sustainable investment analysis, and storytelling with data and analytics.
In addition to serving as Treasurer of DemocraShe, Frances is on the board of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, connecting philanthropic investors with local non-profits. She is also the President of the board and a member of Ars Choralis, a premier chorus in the NY Hudson Valley.
Frances earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Yale University.
Frances Knudsen
Board Treasurer
Nicole Ash is a distinguished national security leader with over 30 years of service at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Her career culminated in her dream assignment as the Executive Director for the Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI), where she led a sizeable workforce in a critical national security mission. Amongst the rare one percent to rise to the CIA’s most senior ranks, Nicole’s impact at the CIA is undeniable. Upon her retirement, the CCI Leadership team established an annual award in her name that recognizes high individual achievement and impact. Now, she leverages her vast experience to provide strategic advice on media environments, information integrity, building organizational trust and creating mission driven workforce cultures of choice. For her career impact, she was awarded CIA’s “Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal,” a rare honor. She is also an executive coach and trainer who inspires leaders to drive innovation and promote workforce excellence at every turn.
Nicole is an eighth-generation American who grew up in a small rural town in Virginia. From an early age, she was driven by a deep desire to explore the world and pursue a career that would allow her to make a meaningful impact. She accomplished both goals, dedicating her national security career to advancing America's aspirational ideals of equality and freedom for all.
Nicole remains committed to inspiring new and experienced leaders to realize their full potential, viewing the world (and their organizations) not as it is, but as it could be. Along with serving on the DemocraShe Board, Nicole sits on the DC Executive Advisory Board of How Women Lead, an organization dedicated to elevating all women. She is also a Strategic Board Advisor at Obie & Ax Inc., a Canadian podcast production firm for corporate and government bodies with a strong dedication to advancing complex conversations. Nicole lives in Bowie, Maryland with her spouse Gen and furry children Bobo and Savannah.
Nicole Ash
Dana Guerin is a philanthropist, film producer, and civic leader whose work is rooted in a lifelong commitment to service, creativity, and community well-being. She spearheaded the launch of Guerin Children’s at Cedars-Sinai, helping to build a comprehensive pediatric ecosystem that expands access to world-class medical care for families across Los Angeles. As a Commissioner for Los Angeles County, she champions maternal health, reproductive justice, and community wellness, working to ensure that every mother and child receives the dignified care and support they deserve. Dana also serves on the boards of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and the Skirball Cultural Center, where she advances reproductive healthcare access and helps steward one of the region’s most important cultural and educational institutions.
Her work in film is a vibrant extension of her belief that the arts are essential to a healthy, democratic society. As a producer, Dana is known for supporting independent filmmakers and bringing fresh, boundary-pushing narratives to audiences, particularly through the lens of horror. Her credits include noted films such as Blood Born, The Taking of Deborah Logan, and Hargrove, each reflecting her belief that storytelling can illuminate human resilience, challenge assumptions, and expand collective imagination. Dana sees the arts as a public good - a way for communities to process fear, understand one another, and cultivate empathy - and she brings that philosophy to all of her creative endeavors.
At the heart of Dana’s leadership is her deep commitment to empowering the next generation of women. As a board member of DemocraShe, she is helping build a pipeline of diverse young women ready to shape the future of American democracy. Dana believes girls should grow up knowing their voices matter, that they belong in public life, and that they deserve the tools to overcome the internal and external barriers that often keep women off leadership paths. Across healthcare, the arts, and youth empowerment, Dana Guerin’s work reflects a profound belief in human potential and a vision of a world where creativity, care, and opportunity are accessible to all
Dana Guerin
Neha Gupta is a growth strategist and brand builder with a passion for scaling mission-driven organizations. With a career spanning SaverLife, Clorox, Unilever, and founding her own firm BellyFire Branding, she’s built and led high-performing teams across brand, growth marketing, and sales. Whether growing fintech platforms for lower income individuals or advising early-stage organizations on scaling sustainably, Neha blends data, empathy, and business rigor to unlock strategic breakthroughs.
Now building an AI startup called Breakthrough AI, Neha is focused on reimagining how early-career professionals—especially those often left behind—build confidence and communication skills at work. A former VP of Marketing turned founder, she brings a bold vision: use the power of technology and behavior change science to remove roadblocks and help people thrive. Neha holds an MBA from Yale and a BA from Stanford, and she brings the same strategic clarity and warmth to her ventures as she does to her mentoring and community leadership.
Neha Gupta
Lindsay Sobel
Lindsay Sobel brings more than two decades of experience advancing equity through education policy, civic engagement, and strategic organizational growth. As a seasoned nonprofit executive and advocate for historically underserved communities, she serves on the board of DemocraShe to help shape a future where young women—especially those from marginalized backgrounds—can lead confidently and sustainably in civic life.
Lindsay currently serves as the Chief of Policy, Planning & External Affairs at Teach Plus, where she oversees national policy, research, and strategic growth initiatives. In 2021–2022, she led the organization as Interim CEO, driving forward its mission to empower teacher leadership for equity. As Vice President of Policy & External Affairs, she expanded Teach Plus’s federal influence and scaled its work to 12 states, deepening its impact on teacher voice, student outcomes, and systemic reform.
A transformative leader at the state level, Lindsay founded Teach Plus Texas in 2016 and served as its Senior Executive Director. Under her leadership, the state secured a landmark overhaul of its school finance system and passed critical legislation to support student mental health and strengthen teacher preparation and mentoring. She also served as the founding Executive Director in Massachusetts and led Teach Plus’s growth into Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania—always centering the voices of educators and students most often left behind.
Before her time at Teach Plus, Lindsay helped launch the Science and Technology Initiative at Citizen Schools and served as the 8th Grade Academy Program Manager, supporting expanded learning for low-income students. She began her career as a political journalist, reporting for Slate and The Hill, and later taught journalism at Emerson College.
Lindsay holds a BA from the University of Michigan and a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. She resides in Austin, Texas, where she continues to advocate for educational justice, inclusive leadership, and systemic change.