Policy Spokesperson
Karen Van Hooft has been a member of NOW since the mid-1980s and has held several chapter and state offices in addition to serving five terms on the NOW national board of directors. During two of those terms she was SW Regional Director. She is currently Coordinator for Records and Meetings of Arizona NOW and President of the East Valley chapter. In her professional life she is Executive Editor of the Bilingual Press, a highly regarded publisher of U.S. Latina/o literature and scholarship housed at ASU-Tempe.
Chapter Development
Vacant
Records and Meetings
Mary Theisen is a retired attorney, with a varied career having worked in criminal prosecution, child support enforcement and mental health law in Wisconsin, and as an international legal advisor to justice system reform projects in Central Asia, Southeastern Europe and Southern Africa. Mary and her husband moved to Tucson three years ago. In the fall of 2022 she canvassed extensively for Mission for Arizona and is an active member of the Arizona LD 18 Democratic Party.
Finance
Julie Karcis (Central Phoenix Inez Casiano chapter) has enjoyed careers in computers and healthcare, and spent significant time in Michigan, around Philadelphia and in the Phoenix area. Her varied professional life and experiences have prompted her to focus on ensuring that women are represented at all levels of power. Communities are stronger and fairer when everyone participates. Julie has served as CPIC NOW Treasurer for two years.
Legislative Action Liason
Diane Post is currently the AZ NOW Legislative Liaison, also taking minutes for the AZ NOW State Board meetings. She is a lawyer who has worked tirelessly on behalf of women in all area including ERA, domestic violence, child abuse, employment discrimination and civil rights.
Political Action Committee (PAC)
Marie Thearle MD is a volunteer with CPIC NOW as the legislative committee lead She is a retired physician whose encore career is as an adjunct professor. As a mother, she is passionate about working to make Arizona a safer place for both of her children. And that starts with flipping the Arizona legislature.
Membership & Newsletters
Sheila Ogea was elected AZ NOW Policy Spokesperson in 2015. I was so impressed after going to a March for Women’s Lives rally in Washington DC in 1989 that I joined NOW shortly after. I lived in Michigan at the time. I was an active member of my chapter including Chapter President. Our chapter volunteered to be clinic escorts at an abortion clinic. After moving to Arizona in 1999, the first thing I did was to find a local NOW chapter and participated in a protest against the Promise Keepers in Phoenix. I am the treasurer of the AZ NOW PAC and the East Valley Chapter.
Technology & Social Media
Jane Martin has a commitment to feminism that is rooted in the belief that all individuals, regardless of gender, race, or any other identity marker, should have equal access to the technological systems that shape our world. I strive to use my expertise to help bridge the digital divide and create more inclusive and equitable spaces in the tech industry.
