Meet Our Staff

		Dale McGowan Executive Director Dale is editor and co-author of books including Parenting Beyond Belief, Raising Freethinkers, Voices of Unbelief and the forthcoming Atheism For Dummies (2013). He presents workshops for nontheistic parents across the United States and was named 2008 Harvard Humanist of the Year. Dale created Foundation Beyond Belief in 2009 and launched the charitable giving program in 2010. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Becca, an elementary educator, and their three kids.

		FBB ADMINISTRATION

		Bridget Gaudette Development Director, Director of Marketing Bridget Gaudette has worked in the nonprofit sector since receiving her graduate degree in public administration (focusing on nonprofit management). She interned for the American Lung Association as a Development Coordinator and then focused on assisting humanist and atheist groups. Bridget is a former Foundation Beyond Belief intern and co-founded Secular Woman, Inc. In her free time Bridget blogs about her experiences as a black atheist, being an ex-Jehovah’s Witness and humanism at EmilyHasBooks.com. Originally from Kansas, Bridget and her husband currently reside in Orlando, Florida.
		Ed Brayton Media Relations Coordinator Ed Brayton has a long history of activism in the atheist/humanist community. In that vein, he is the owner of the Freethought Blogs network, the voice behind the popular blog Dispatches from the Culture Wars, and recipient of the Friend of Darwin Award from the National Center for Science Education. He also spent several years working as a fellow with the Center for Independent Media and as a reporter and editor for the American Independent News Network. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show, the Thom Hartmann Show, and C-SPAN.
		Emma Bates Director of Outreach Emma is an actress, writer, and producer in LA. She has guest starred on such shows as NCIS, CSI:NY, and Monk and performs extensively on stage and in film, including Joss Whedon's upcoming adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. Being the offspring of two scientists and having a love for the arts has resulted in a passion for studying how science and the arts support and augment each other; being a part of what C.P. Snow referred to as "the third culture." She has helped raise the profile of the humanist movement by writing and producing a viral video of Richard Dawkins reading his hate mail; helped to select and facilitate Seth MacFarlane receiving The Harvard Humanist of the Year award in 2011; and directed a video of George Takei accepting the LGBT Pride Award for the AHA. She serves on an advisory board for the American Humanist Association and is a fellow for the Humanist Community Project at Harvard.

		FBB OPERATIONS

		Noelle George Director of Operations Program coordinator, Volunteers Beyond Belief Noelle is a chemical engineer with experience in engineering and project management. She has served as Ambassador Director for Atheists Alliance International and founded and served as President of SECULAR Center USA. Upon SCUSA's merger with Foundation Beyond Belief, Noelle became program coordinator for Volunteers Beyond Belief. She is originally from Seattle, and now lives in Houston with her husband and daughter Sonia. Noelle enjoys reading, writing, playing the piano, and rare occasions when she gets a full night's sleep.
		AJ Chalom Humanist Giving Coordinator AJ lives in suburban Chicago, where she enjoys lake walks, classical music, and all life throws her way. She is passionate about the work of Foundation Beyond Belief. She balances life with her children, her busy husband, and always finding another cause to expend her energy. A lifelong humanist, she has worked extensively within the Humanistic Jewish movement. She has worked as a geologist, a historic preservation researcher, and a teen organizer.
		Brittany Shoots-Reinhard Beyond Belief Network Coordinator Brittany Shoots-Reinhard is a PhD. Candidate in social psychology at The Ohio State University, where she researches how people’s thoughts about their attitudes, personality, goals, and other topics influence their judgments and behavior, as well as how jurors respond to statistical evidence. As director of special projects, Brittany is responsible for keeping all of our various initiatives on track. She has been a member of Foundation Beyond Belief since April 2010 and served as an intern in summer 2011. Brittany and her husband live in Columbus, Ohio.
		Kelly Wright Communications Coordinator Kelly Wright grew up in western Colorado, but these days she finds herself living in Chicago with her husband Airan and their twin daughters. She has been an editor since 1998 and a skeptic for as long as she can remember. When she isn’t busy earning a paycheck by editing anything and everything sent her way, she splits her time between parenting, volunteering, writing, making music, reading good (and not-so-good) books, and—in precious stolen moments—lounging on a Lake Michigan beach.
		Claire Vinyard Social Media Coordinator Born and raised in Chicago, Claire attended college at UW Madison and is currently studying law at NYU. As social media coordinator, Claire keeps our accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Atheist Nexus, and elsewhere humming with news not only of the Foundation itself but of our past and present beneficiaries.
		Airan Wright Director of Technology, Web Administrator Airan is many things, including code monkey, visual consultant, woodwinder¹, illustrator, photographer, diver, and sushi chef². He lives in Chicago with his wife Kelly and their twin daughters. Airan serves as website administrator for various endeavors, including Foundation Beyond Belief and Mr. Deity, chairs the communications committee for his daughters' PTO, and likes to work quietly³. ¹This is the preferred term; see The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman ²His sushi is edible, not beautiful ³Unless he is performing--then, not so much
		Cathleen O'Grady Director of Special Projects Cathleen O'Grady is a South African writer and linguist whose charity work began at college, with her involvement in student organizations ranging from environmentalism to childhood literacy. She gets very excited about social development, education, environmentalism, and animal welfare, and enjoys friendly and productive debates about controversial topics. Cathleen currently works as a consumer ethics journalist in her hometown of Johannesburg. In her spare time she runs, reads, sings, and spends time daydreaming about all the different subjects she would still like to study.
		Conor Robinson Director, Pathfinders Project/Humanist Service Corps Conor Robinson founded the Yale Humanist Society as an undergraduate in 2008 and the Yale Humanist Alumni group after graduating in 2010. He is a Teach For America alumnus and founding teacher Castellanos Elementary School in the Salvadoran Corridor in Los Angeles. Conor is currently preparing to take humanist volunteers on a year-long service trip overseas with the Pathfinders Project, a pilot program for FBB’s eventual Humanist Service Corps.
		Sam Shore Light the Night Team Coordinator Sam is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in history. He has been an active presence in his local freethought community for a number of years, first as an officer in the Illini Secular Student Alliance and now through the newly-minted Coalition of Reason in Central Illinois. He served as an FBB intern in Fall 2012 before transitioning to LTN coordinator in early 2013.

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