2017-2018 Board of Directors
Charnessa Ridley
President, Executive Committee
Member Organization: North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA)
Charnessa Ridley is the Technical Assistance Specialist with NCCASA. She has over 10 years professional experience in the field of victim services. Charnessa has traveled across the state of NC and abroad providing training and technical assistance to over 30 rape crisis centers and a host of allied professionals. She holds an Executive Master of Public Administration, certification in Non-Profit Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. Charnessa is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and also serves on the leadership council of North Carolina Black Women’s Roundtable.
Jen Ferris
Secretary, Executive Committee
Member Organization: Progress NC
Jen Ferris is the Director of Reproductive Advocacy at Progress North Carolina. A third-generation feminist activist, Jen was drawn to NCWU’s mission of bringing diverse women together in coalition. She lives in Chapel Hill, where she is also the President of the Community Home Trust Board of Directors.
Pat Orrange
Membership Director
Member Organization: Women's Forum of NC
Patricia Orrange, a life long advocate for women's issues and concerns, was born and educated in Buffalo, NY. Upon retiring, she moved to Raleigh, NC and became active in a number of women's organizations, serving as an officer and on the Boards of NARAL ProChoice NC, League of Women Voters, Blueprint NC, and the Women's Forum of NC. In 2010 she became the convening chair of NC Women Matter, a project of the Women's Forum, which is a coalition of women's organizations from across the state focusing on women's issues and getting out the female vote.
Sarah Hogg
Outreach Director
Member Organization: NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina
Chavi Koneru
Policy Director, Executive Committee
Member Organization:
Tara Romano
Immediate Past President
Member Organization: NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina
Tara Romano has been involved with NCWU since 2006, when she co-coordinated the 2006 Wake Women's Agenda Assembly. She joined the board in 2008, and was President from 2013-2017. Tara has been active in the women's movement in North Carolina for more than a decade and believes that public policy informed by women's actual experiences, and with women's input, is a key component of building a more just and equitable North Carolina. She is the Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina. In 1999, Tara climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.