Leadership

Director of Programs and Development

Sarah Davis | Sarah, who grew up in south-east Virginia, is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she earned a double major in Politics and Religious Studies. While at UVa, she was a Research Assistant for the Center for Politics. There she organized a semester long political symposium and contributed research to nationally published books. Since graduation, she has worked at C.L. Glazer & Co., an investment banking and institutional brokerage firm, and also The David Project, where she was in charge of campus outreach in the South and created working relationships with over 30 schools in 14 different states. Sarah is an avid reader and is an active volunteer leader for ReLITNY, a volunteer nonprofit that distributes used books to busy New Yorkers to increase literacy and give books a second life. She also has started a book club called A Novel Idea, which has met consistently for five years and regularly draws in over a dozen participants for monthly meetings from all over New York City. Her hobbies include travelling, attending concerts and running half-marathons. She is eager to expand NeW! You can reach Sarah at sarah@enlightenedwomen.org.

NeW Board of Directors

Karin Agness | Karin Agness is the Founder and President of the Network of enlightened Women (NeW).  She is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia School of Law.  She has been interviewed on national television and radio shows, such as Fox and Friends, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, CNN American Morning, CNN Early Start, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, The Laura Ingraham Radio Show and The Monica Crowley Radio Show.  She regularly speaks on college campuses and at national conferences for conservative groups.  She has had editorials published in The Washington Post, The Washington Times and The Richmond-Times Dispatch, and has been featured in Politico, Time Magazine Online and More Magazine.  One of her stories appeared in the book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Campus Chronicles.  In 2012, she was selected for the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Law and Policy.  In 2010, she was awarded a William F. Buckley Award from the Young Conservatives Coalition for her work in leading NeW.  In 2008, she received the Richard and Helen DeVos Freedom Center Leadership Award from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute as one of its most exceptional graduate students.  A proud Midwesterner, she now works in Washington, DC.  By clicking the links, you can listen to her interview on the Monica Crowley Radio Show or see her on a Fox News segment.  You can reach Karin at karin.agness@enlightenedwomen.org.

Jane Maddux | Jane Maddux ran for the Virginia State Senate in 1991 and 2001 from the 25th District.  She was the campaign spokesman for Paul Harris for Delegate in 1997.  A graduate of the Sorenson Institute, she is a lifelong resident of Virginia and community leader.  She also has served on the Board of Martha Jefferson Hospital and currently serves on the Foundation Board of Mary Baldwin College.

Steven Rhoads | Steven Rhoads has taught public policy in the politics department at the University of Virginia for over thirty years.  He is the author of Taking Sex Differences Seriously¸ The Economist’s View of the World and Incomparable Worth: Pay Equity Meets the Market.  He received his undergraduate degree cum laude from Princeton University in 1961.  He received the Ph.D. from Cornell with a concentration in American government and political theory in 1972.  He is the recipient of Bradley, Earhart, Olin, National Endowment for the Humanities and Sloan Foundation fellowships.  His essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Public Interest and The Los Angeles Times among other outlets.

Board Members Jane Maddux, Steven Rhoads and Karin Agness Board Members Jane Maddux, Steven Rhoads and Karin Agness

NeW Academic Advisor

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Christina Hoff Sommers | Christina Hoff Sommers is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington, DC. Before joining AEI, she was a professor of philosophy at Clark University, where she specialized in moral theory. She is best known for her critique of late-twentieth-century feminism. She is the editor of Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life, a leading college ethics textbook, co-author of One Nation Under Therapy and the author of Who Stole Feminism? and The War Against Boys. She has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, the Weekly Standard and The Atlantic. She has lectured and taken part in debates on more than one hundred college campuses.

NeW Alumna Advisors

Whitney Athayde | After many fabulous formative years in the great state of Texas, Whitney decided she wanted to broaden her horizons and attend the University of Virginia to study political science and economics. While there, Whitney was a founding member of the first NeW chapter and continues to cheer on its growth and success. She has also earned her Masters in Public Policy from George Mason University and is now the Director of Development for The American Spectator Foundation which publishes the notoriously witty and conservative magazine The American Spectator. In her spare time, Whitney loves to go to music concerts, practice Iyengar yoga, teach Sunday School at Alexandria Presbyterian Church, participate in book clubs, and argue with feminists. Her favorite book on the NeW book list is What Our Mothers Didn’t Tell Us: Why Happiness Eludes the Modern Woman by Danielle Crittenden.Blayne Bennett | Blayne attended Arizona State University and became involved with the burgeoning NeW chapter on campus as a freshman.  Blayne was President her Junior and Senior years, and hosted the first Gentlemen’s Showcase on her campus.  After graduating, Blayne participated in the Koch Associate Program and worked for Students For Liberty in Washington, DC.  After completing the Associate Program, Blayne is in the process of launching a software company with her father. Blayne’s favorite book on the NeW book list is The War Against Boys by Christina Hoff Sommers.Kara Bloomer | Kara grew up in Mesa, Arizona where she later attended Arizona State University and earned her Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering. During her time at ASU, she became a member of NeW and became very involved with the Gentlemen’s Showcase. She was then appointed the Event Coordinator at the ASU chapter.  Currently she works as a Process Engineer for EVGroup, in Tempe Arizona. She enjoys mineshaft hunting with her husband, playing the piano, and reading books! Her favorite book on the NeW book list is The Politically Incorrect Guide To Women, Sex, and Feminism by Carrie L. Lukas.

Kathleen Scofield | Kathleen, who grew up in northern Virginia, is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she earned a B.S. in Systems and Information Engineering along with a minor in Engineering Business.  While at UVA, she served as President and Secretary of NeW.  She is currently an analyst at Deloitte Consulting.  Her hobbies include skiing, playing soccer and trying new cooking recipes.  Her favorite book on the NeW book list is Letters to a Young Conservative by Dinesh D’Souza.