Our Advisory Board Members
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Linda M. Woods, MSW, USAF Veteran
Honorary Board Member A Tribal Member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa Chippewa Indians, Linda Woods came from an Ottawa Indian village in Leelanau County, Michigan. After serving in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam Era, she became a substance abuse counselor in the 1970’s then later earned her Master of Social Work from San Jose State University. Though she retired in 2008, with over 30 years of experience in social work, she continues to serve Native American communities who suffer with addiction by promoting recovery and healthy lifestyles. She also partners with nDigiDreams to create digital stories to promote education and healing through sharing of their personal stories in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Ms Woods is the first woman veteran to create and carry an Eagle Staff, an esteemed symbol in Native American culture generally carried by male veterans. She carries this healing Eagle Staff on behalf of all women, especially her fellow women veterans who have served our nation. She is an Elder of her tribe, a mother, a Nokomis ~ grandmother and recently a great-grandmother furthering her interest in promoting Mino Bimaadziwin ~ Good Life on behalf of the future Seven Generations. |
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Peter Cassidy, CPA
Peter is a Navy Veteran, accountant, auditor, and and an alumnus of the George C. Marshall Center for European Security Studies in Garmisch, Germany. |
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Carol Banquer
Carol is a retired physician who now invests in biotechnology start-ups and is gratified to advance prevention and treatment of disease. Carol donates to the Women's Foundation of California which supports women and children locally. Globally, her philanthropy flows through Search for Common Ground ("Search"), the world’s largest nongovernment organization dedicated to building peace; she serves as an ad hoc advisor and source of feedback to the President on the President's Leadership Council. Since 2012, Carol has participated in the Ecology of Leadership, a leadership training program based on principles of permaculture, a self-sustaining ecosystem. This program blends deep connection with nature; personal growth; practices of gratitude, intention, and envisioning; and community building. Serving on the facilitation team, Carol has put down roots in diverse relationships, mentored many, and learned the power sourced from the healthy interdependence of community. Since 2017 Carol has been a member of the Women Donors Network, a group of women philanthropists who are committed to progressive social change and to building a just, equitable, and sustainable world. United by a shared vision of justice and equity for all, the Women Donors Network respond to leaders and movements fighting injustice, move funds quickly, and foster creative strategies that advance systemic change. The Women Donors Network is changing the face of American politics, incubating new ideas, investing in women’s leadership, and mobilizing resources to support work that builds women’s power—especially that of women of color. Carol obtained her M.D. from the University of California, Irvine and her M.S. in Organic Chemistry from MIT. |