Board of Directors and Leadership

Meet our Board and Nominating Committee

Jackie Azis

President 2024-25

Nancy Wildfeir-Field

1st Vice President 2024-25

Sarah Peacock

2nd Vice President 2024-25

Sue Castleman

Treasurer 2024-26

Stephanie Sembler

Secretary (2-year term) 2023-25

Susie Paterson

Director (2-year term) 2023-25

Amy Keith

Director (2-year term) 2024-26

Jean Johnston

Director (2-year term) 2024-26

Stacey Kroto

Director (2-year term) 2023-25

Sarah Wines

Director (filling vacated 2-year term) 2023-25

Beate Marston

Nominating Committee Chair 2024-25

Caprice Edmond

Nominating Committee 2024-25

Pat Lucas

Nominating Committee 2024-25

President 2024-25

Jackie Azis

Jackie is a native Floridian. She works as a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida. Most of her legal work involves criminal justice reform, homelessness rights, and the First Amendment. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Jackie studied journalism at the University of Florida and went to law school at the University of North Carolina School of Law. During law school, Jackie interned with the ACLU of North Carolina and the ACLU-Capital Punishment Project. Prior to working with the ACLU-FL, Jackie worked as an assistant public defender in Marion County, Florida, representing hundreds of individuals facing misdemeanor and felony charges. In 2016, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers presented Jackie with the James T. Miller Scholar award recognizing outstanding young criminal defense lawyers. In her free time, Jackie travels (33 states and 31 countries down!), reads non-fiction, volunteers for a dog rescue, and spends time with her pack of rescue dogs and her partner, who is a veterinarian at a local animal hospital and urgent care. Jackie has lived in various cities throughout Florida, including Palm Beach Gardens, Miami, Jacksonville, Ocala, and Gainesville, but St. Petersburg has won her heart and she’s so happy to call it home!

1st Vice President 2024-25

Nancy Wildfeir-Field

Nancy Wildfeir Field moved to St. Petersburg in August 2021, with her husband Gary and their Hungarian cat Kicsi Buda. Having stepped down from her role as President & CEO of GBCHealth (a global coalition, working with businesses, governments, NGOs & entrepreneurs to drive health equality worldwide), she took some time off to pursue personal interests, including local exploration by bike, lots of reading and photography, observing and learning about local flora and fauna. As she started to explore new opportunities, and local connections, she joined the LWVSPA in 2022, with her first involvement as an election poll observer during the 2022 elections. Since then, she has become keenly involved in Board, Fundraising, Membership and Reproductive Rights activities, and looks forward to increasing involvement in the years to come.

A New York native, Nancy spent more than 20 years abroad, living in the U.K, Jamaica, Ukraine and Hungary, and working in more than 30 countries across Europe, the former Soviet bloc, Africa and Asia.

Having worked internationally and domestically across the public, private and nonprofit sectors, she marries a global perspective with local experience. This cross-sector experience provides critical understanding of differing perspectives and priorities, in support of diverse relationships, partnerships and coalitions; resources, campaigns and projects. She passionately believes in collaboration, cooperation and communication as the impetus for innovative and sustainable solutions to address civic, development and business challenges. With her breadth of experience in marketing communications, fundraising and leadership positions, she is happy to support the league’s overall financial, governance and administrative infrastructure, as well as it’s critical advocacy work.

2nd Vice President 2024-25

Sarah Peacock

Sarah Peacock was born and raised right here in St. Pete. She has gained most of her advocacy experience as lead parent organizer for the Pinellas chapter of Families for Strong Public Schools.

Sarah is a lifelong community advocate of social justice. She is passionate about building community in support of equitable access to robust and fully funded public education. She believes that a well-educated and informed electorate is the foundation of a stable democracy.

In an effort to ensure the equal voices of that informed electorate, Sarah also serves as the Pinellas co-chair for Floridians for National
Popular Vote.

When she isn’t at School Board meetings or in Tallahassee, she enjoys reading, golf, Pilates, and excellent food. Sarah is ready to serve as the 2nd Vice President.

Treasurer 2024-26

Sue Castleman

Sue Castleman is retired from Pinellas County Schools where she was the Visual Arts Supervisor and managed a $1.3 million annual budget for the district. She also served as President and Treasurer of the Florida Art Education Association. Currently, Sue is on the Morean Arts Center Board of Trustees, serves on the Arts for a Complete Education Committee for St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, and is a Pinellas County Poll Worker. She has served on the League of Women Voters of St. Petersburg’s membership committee and is ready to serve as treasurer.

Secretary (2-year term) 2023-25

Stephanie Sembler

Stephanie graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Animal Science in 2010. She spent a decade working in veterinary medicine, gaining hands-on experience in animal care, client management, and practice operations. Concurrently, she diligently built a successful real estate portfolio, demonstrating her entrepreneurial spirit and investment acumen.

As a St. Pete native, Stephanie brings a deep-rooted commitment to community service and advocacy to the League of Women voter’s board. In addition to reproductive rights work, she continues to volunteer with animal advocacy groups and loves taking her dog Pumba out in the community to enjoy all St. Pete has to offer.

Director (2-year term) 2023-25

Susie Paterson

Susie Paterson is nominated for her first term with the LWVSPA Board in 2022. She has previously worked with the League in a research capacity, providing support for and co-authoring the Engage St. Pete Civic Health Study in 2020. Susie is excited to run for the Board and support the League’s many efforts to increase civic and community engagement and is particularly interested in social justice issues related to voice and choice. Susie is a community-engaged scholar, having worked in the past with various organizations and community groups on issues ranging from homelessness, access to music education, environmental issues, and community participation more broadly. She currently works for the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. Susie earned her PhD in Community Well-Being from the University of Miami, MA in Community Social Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and her BA from Smith College. She currently lives in St. Pete and enjoys camping and the outdoors, spending time with her dog, and enjoying everything that St. Pete has to offer.

Director (2-year term) 2024-26

Amy Keith

Amy Keith joined LWVSPA in 2018 and has served on the Board since 2020. She has led LWVSPA’s Election Protection poll monitoring program since the 2018 midterms and led Election Protection statewide for the League of Women Voters of Florida in 2021-2022. She also co-authored LWVSPA’s Engage St Pete Civic Health Study in 2019-2020.

Amy has over 20 years of experience in nonprofit management and is currently the Executive Director for Common Cause Florida, where she leads the Florida Election Protection Coalition and spearheads Common Cause’s work towards a more inclusive, accountable democracy.

Before relocating back to the U.S. permanently in 2017, Amy spent 18 years working in international humanitarian response and refugee rights for nongovernmental organizations including the International Rescue Committee and the Danish Refugee Council, among others. During her first few years in Florida, she served as the Grants Director for the Suncoast Hospice Foundation/Empath Health. Originally from New Jersey, she holds an MPA from Columbia University and a BA in Philosophy from Bates College.

Amy lives in the Euclid St. Paul neighborhood of St. Pete with her husband and their very talkative cat.

Director (2-year term) 2024-26

Jean Johnston

Jean joined the LWVSPA in 2022 and although relatively new to the League, she is excited about working through the League to help better our
community.

She is deeply rooted in her community, having lived in Seminole over 45 years, moving here after graduating from Florida State in Criminology and Counseling.

Her early career centered around human services, while earning her master’s in public administration, working as a direct service counselor, directing Girls Clubs of Pinellas County and grant writing for the Private Industry Council.

Jean has been married 45 years and is the proud mother of two adult children. While raising her children, she was extremely active in her children’s school. During this time, she opened her own small business. She is proud to be a part of a local family owned/operated business which is about to celebrate their 50th anniversary of service to the area.

On becoming an empty nester Jean leaned into her passions by becoming active in supporting women’s rights especially reproductive health and voters rights. For over 6 years, she has volunteered with Bread and Roses Women’s Health Center as a volunteer escort. Her involvement strengthened as she witnessed first-hand the horrific experience women must endure from protesters to access basic health care services. This experience resulted in her becoming involved with a group that worked tirelessly with the Clearwater city council to establish a safety buffer zone around the clinic to help patients access services as safely and stress free as possible. She also volunteers at Peace Cafe in Clearwater, a program that provides meals for the homeless, and with Voteriders, a national program that focuses on assisting folks in obtaining an official ID
required to vote.

She has been an election poll worker for years, and she also helped secure the needed signatures for the 2024 Abortion Initiative, now called Amendment 4.

Jean has a passion for travel. She enjoys the beach, yoga and reading. She is a strong opponent of banning books. She is proud to identify as a feminist and community activist.

A saying she holds near to her heart is:
Strong women,
May we know them,
May we be them,
May we raise them.

Director (2-year term) 2023-25

Stacey Kroto

Stacey Kroto is a graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She works as a paralegal for personal injury attorney Josh Chilson at Johnson Pope law firm. Her work experience has led her to appreciate the complex aspects of healthcare and health insurance which has informed her beliefs on reproductive rights issues. Stacey now co-chairs the Social Justice Action Team for the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area as well as co-chairs the Reproductive Health & Justice Committee for the League of Women Voters of Florida. She is an active advocate for reproductive rights issues, regularly volunteering with the League, Planned Parenthood, and Pinellas NOW. She lives in Pinellas Park with her two cat owners.

Director (filling vacated 2-year term) 2023-25

Sarah Wines

Sarah Wines joins the LWVSPA Board following a 35-year career in international development as a U.S. Foreign Service officer representing the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Government’s lead foreign humanitarian response and development assistance agency.

During her career, she managed multi-million-dollar housing, water, sanitation, and electrification programs for low-income communities and local government strengthening programs in Latin America and the Middle East; managed clean energy, environmental management, and climate change programs in Africa; and oversaw democracy, health, economic growth, and energy security programs in Eastern Europe.

After serving in Afghanistan for a year, she returned to the US and served as USAID’s Senior Development Advisor to the Southern Command in Miami and subsequently to the Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida. Since retiring in 2021, she has been a Senior Advisor and Career Counselor to USAID’s Senior Leadership cadre overseas.

She holds a master’s in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BA in Economics from the University of California, Davis.

Sarah’s passion for international cultures and foreign languages came about early in life, being born in Italy where she spent her first 8 years of childhood, followed by 17 years in Chile where her father served with the United Nations. She is a native Spanish speaker, gets by in Italian and French, adding Russian as her 4th foreign language which she learned during her 5 years in Ukraine.

St. Petersburg has been her home since 2017. She is a proud mom of two daughters and a grandmother of two little ones, all living in Colorado where she spends time hiking in the mountains. Sarah is an avid swimmer and a lover of the ocean. She is excited to join the Board.

Nominating Committee Chair 2024-25

Beate Marston

Beate was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2020 and served two terms. During her most recent term, she served as a board-appointed member of the Nominating Committee and is now running for Chair of the Nominating Committee. Beate had the good fortune to have spent her childhood growing up in Portugal, India, and Germany. As a young adult she came to the US and prior to moving to Florida she worked with dually diagnosed adults in daycare and residential settings. She has lived in St. Petersburg since 1984 and was a state employee throughout her career locally, experiencing the transitions of a state agency from HRS to CYF to DJJ respectively and serving in capacities such as Rehabilitative Counselor; Children, Youth and Families Counselor; Liaison for the Pinellas Marine Institute; Juvenile Probation Officer; then working within the Pinellas County Court system as an administrative assistant for the Staff Attorney’s Office, and finally as assistant to a General Magistrate in the Family Court Division of the Sixth Judicial Circuit. Beate is grateful for the eye-opening experience of having witnessed from within the influence of changing political winds on a government agency tasked with providing services for its most needy citizens, and on the court system itself, and how numerous social services agencies in our community try to adapt in order to be able to continue their varied missions. In 2015, having thankfully retired she turned her full attention to pursuing her love of clay, happily sculpting, glazing and firing, and being part of the growing St.Petersburg arts community. After participating in the Women’s March in 2017 Beate became acquainted with the work of the LWV and subsequently, with a bit of gentle encouragement by some close friends she joined the League. She values the League’s commitment to non-partisanship and is excited to have made so many capable, interesting, new acquaintances, and is exploring all the committees and their important pursuits. She was comfortable as a “green card” carrying legal resident alien living in this country for over 40 years but felt compelled in 2019 to finally pursue citizenship, and she applied for naturalization. In November 2019 she joined the ranks of numerous newly minted citizens who are hopeful and eager, and were excited to participate in their first-ever presidential election in 2020.

Nominating Committee 2024-25

Caprice Edmond

Caprice Edmond was elected to the school board in 2020. A lifelong resident of St. Petersburg, Mrs. Edmond is a proud graduate of Gibbs High
School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master of Elementary Education with English for Speakers of Other Languages endorsement, Master of Educational Leadership, and Certification in Infant Family Mental Health from the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. Mrs. Edmond served as a Guardian ad Litem for ten years.

Mrs. Edmond is active in the community and serves in leadership roles on numerous committees and organizations. She has a significant and consistent history of advocacy for children and families on a local, state, and national level through her work with unions and Parent Teacher Associations.

Since her election in 2020, Mrs. Edmond has earned Certified School Board Member status through Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) and currently serves as an officer on FSBA’s Board of Directors and as the Vice Chair of FSBA’s Equity Committee.

Nominating Committee 2024-25

Pat Lucas

Patricia Lucas, Ed.D., has spent 45 years as a public school secondary teacher, principal and assistant superintendent in Nebraska and Florida. She has two sons, and five grandchildren. Pat currently serves as the secretary of the Centerstone of America Board of Directors. (Centerstone, a non-profit, treats mental health and addictions with locations in a number of states, including a hospital in Bradenton.) In addition, she has chaired or co-chaired Centerstone’s Life Story event for suicide prevention in the Bradenton/Sarasota area for twenty years.

She has been a member of the LWV of the St. Petersburg area since 2017, primarily involved with Election Protection activities during voting and observing the Canvassing Board, registering voters, helping with the Voters Guide, and Candidate forums.

Meet our Action Team Leaders

Maryellen Gordon

Voter Registration & Voter Guide Chair

Robin Davidov

Voter Education and Outreach & Candidate Forums Chair

Sarah Peacock

National Popular Vote, Chair

Lindsay Polega

Reproductive Rights Co-Chair

Amy Weintraub

Membership Chair, Reproductive Rights Co-Chair

Laura Crabtree

Sustainability Chair

Sarah Terry

Reproductive Rights Co-Chair

Stacey Kroto

Social Justice Chair

Sue Castleman

Education Co-Chair

Joni Jonas

Education Co-Chair

Susan Dickson

Communications and Administrative Specialist

Voter Registration & Voter Guide Chair

Maryellen Gordon

Maryellen Gordon is a born-and-bred New Yorker, having moved from NYC, the city that will always be her heart, to St. Pete in 2016. Born in Queens, NY, she attended college at Fordham University in The Bronx, NY, and enjoyed a 25-year career in NYC as an award-winning journalist for publications including The New York Times, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, InStyle and others. She loved mentoring younger colleagues and has a collection of thank-you notes to prove it. Maryellen pivoted to work as a brand content consultant in 2010 and was happy to retire from that second career this past summer.

She found her tribe in St. Pete among the Voter Services volunteers and community of people who understand the power of using their voices by voting once she joined the League of Women Voters of St. Pete Area in 2017.

The relationships she has been able to develop and deepen with a rich circle of community partners made her feel welcome in a new place and gave her a deeper understanding of her new hometown. While serving as a co-chair of LWVSPA’s Voter Services committee, she has twice been awarded the League’s “Making Democracy Work” award. A highlight of the work that culminated in that recognition was the creative development of the 2020 “Democracy Starts at Home” social marketing campaign promoting voting by mail, for which she hired two Black female photographers to shoot St. Pete voters in their home for the campaign visuals, and commissioned Jabari Reed, AKA iBoms, to create his first large-scale mural, which he did in collaboration with renowned Pinellas County muralist Derek Donnelly. Their work can still be seen on the west wall of Enoch Davis community center.

She is a fan of her husband and their two cats Dexter Gordon and Miles Davis, the Northeast’s four seasons, catching a Yankees game, spending hours reading, swimming in the ocean, paddleboarding in clear waters, cycling for miles, marveling at the sunset, eating New York beefsteak tomatoes in August (preferably at the beach in Montauk, NY), exploring cities all over the world, finding new wines to love and being a music snob.

Voter Education and Outreach & Candidate Forums Chair

Robin Davidov

National Popular Vote, Chair

Sarah Peacock

Sarah Peacock was born and raised right here in St. Pete. She has gained most of her advocacy experience as lead parent organizer for the Pinellas chapter of Families for Strong Public Schools.

In an effort to ensure the equal voices of that informed electorate, Sarah also serves as the Pinellas co-chair for Floridians for National
Popular Vote.

When she isn’t at School Board meetings or in Tallahassee, she enjoys reading, golf, Pilates, and excellent food. Sarah is ready to serve as the 2nd Vice President.

Reproductive Rights Co-Chair

Lindsay Polega

Lindsay quickly fell in love with St. Pete, after her move to the city in 2017. Her 9-5 work is in complex civil litigation, and she spends much of her free time dedicating her legal services to pro bono causes. She volunteers regularly with immigration and asylum assistance organizations assisting immigrants seeking asylum status and assisting children who have been placed into U.S.-based refugee resettlement centers to be reunified with family members residing in the U.S. While in law school, Lindsay was the proud recipient of the William Blews Pro Bono Service Award for her extensive volunteer work with the Community Law Program in St. Petersburg, FL and with the Global Brigades, legal division, in rural Honduras.

Over the past two years, she has immersed herself in the field of reproductive rights activism, working tirelessly to promote awareness, education, and legislative advocacy. She has collaborated with local organizations, worked with grassroots campaigns, and lead educational events in the community related to the YesOn4 campaign. She is a lead volunteer attorney at the Jane Network, a network of attorneys dedicated to advancing reproductive freedom in Florida through pro bono legal representation. Without volunteers, the minors involved in these cases are assigned court appointed attorneys, who may or may not be the best suited to advocate for their cause, and often do not have the time or resources these sensitive cases require. More importantly, with the 6-week ban now in effect, these cases require urgent attention.

When her legal hat comes off, Lindsay enjoys spending time by the water, nearly all types of exercise (minus a run), traveling, reading, and snuggling with her 3 XXL pooches. She is often covered in fur, sand, or sweat, but she cleans up well. She is excited to serve as Co-Chair to the Reproductive Rights committee.

Membership Chair, Reproductive Rights Co-Chair

Amy Weintraub

Amy Weintraub is a seasoned, award-winning organizer, who has worked most of her adult life identifying, educating, and activating citizens toward social justice. She is the Reproductive Rights Program Director at Progress Florida. She is the former chair of the League of Women Voters of Florida’s Reproductive Health and Justice Team and serves as the Membership Chair of the St. Pete League. She is a leader with the statewide Floridians for Reproductive Freedom coalition.

Prior to moving to Florida in 2015, Amy lived in her home state of West Virginia where she led efforts within organizations such as WV FREE (West Virginia Focus: Reproductive Education and Equality), Covenant House of WV, and Planned Parenthood. Amy lives in St. Petersburg with three felines and her spouse, Marc, with whom she’s raised two children, now young adults.

Sustainability Chair

Laura Crabtree

Laura moved to St. Petersburg in 1984.

She received her degree in Marine Science from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and began her career at the Florida Marine Research Institute, now called the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, as a fisheries biologist.

Laura has been Chair of the Sustainability Committee for the League of Women Voters in St. Petersburg for four years. They have been advocating for several initiatives involving clean energy and clean water, primarily the protection of Tampa Bay and the preservation of surrounding native habitat. They were awarded a mini grant from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program to create green infrastructure, increase native habitat, filter nutrient runoff, and educate school children and the community. The endeavor proved to be successful in the first year with visitations from community groups and elementary school classes. Concerned about declining native habitat and increasing levels of nonpoint sources of pollution as urbanization accelerates,

Concerned about declining native habitat and increasing levels of nonpoint sources of pollution as urbanization accelerates, Laura is working with community partners in finding out what the environmental impacts the Gas Plant Redevelopment Project will have on water quality in Booker Creek and Tampa Bay. The information will be used to educate League members and residents and encourage community engagement.

In addition to her leadership role with the League she also volunteers at the St. Petersburg Free Clinic. She has been married to her husband Roy for 30 years, whom she met at the marine research institute. She has identical twin girls and a stepdaughter. In her spare time, she likes to travel, garden, cook and take care of her pet bearded dragon.

Reproductive Rights Co-Chair

Sarah Terry

Sarah was born and raised in Denver before graduating from University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science. Sarah currently is a Regional Leader at Amazon. Prior to Amazon she worked in consulting and the industrial railroad in the Midwest & Mid Atlantic. At Amazon, Sarah is an active member of the Women in EHS affinity group as an Ambassador. Sarah has served as a volunteer in leadership and board capacities for the Junior League of St. Petersburg as Vice President of Development, Social Media Chair, and current Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging. Outside of work, Sarah loves to spend time with her rescue dog Bo, travel, ski, and explore all the great things Florida has to offer.

Sarah joined the League of Women Voters in late 2022 after Dobbs v. Jackson US Supreme Court Decision as she found the LWV supports reproductive freedom and privacy at the national, state, and local levels. Sarah attended Member Onboarding in January of 2023 and presented at Annual Programming the next month. She has served as a Reproductive Rights co-chair for the past 2 League Years. Sarah feels passionate about keeping medical decisions private. Sarah believes that family planning is a private, personal matter with assistance from medical providers.

Social Justice Chair

Stacey Kroto

Stacey now co-chairs the Social Justice Action Team for the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area as well as co-chairs the Reproductive Health & Justice Committee for the League of Women Voters of Florida. She is an active advocate for reproductive rights issues, regularly volunteering with the League, Planned Parenthood, and Pinellas NOW. She lives in Pinellas Park with her two cat owners.

Education Co-Chair

Sue Castleman

Education Co-Chair

Joni Jonas

Joni was a professional educator for thirty-five years with Pinellas County Schools. Her experience ranged from a classroom teacher (twelve years) to school and district level administrator (twenty-three years). During her career, she was responsible for creating and expanding career technical programs, both at the secondary and post-secondary level. In addition, she provided professional development training, wrote and managed state and federal grants, as well as grants from private sources. Included in her duties was managing teachers and staff; hiring/firing as well as conducting yearly evaluation of staff.

Joni became a member of the St. Petersburg league three years ago. She served as secretary for one year and serves as co-chair of the LWVSP Education Commitee, and as is amember of the state Education Committee

Presently, Joni is happily retired, enjoying her new grandchild, traveling when possible and sharing time with friends.

Communications and Administrative Specialist

Susan Dickson

Susan is a lifelong Pinellas County resident. Before signing on with the League, she worked as a librarian in the St. Petersburg Public Library System. She enjoys cycling, drumming, and time with her husband and two small children.

Contact our Team Leaders

The LWVSPA is a volunteer-run organization, including our incredible team leads. Are you looking to get involved with a team, partner, or inquire about our work–contact us today!

League Leadership List

Administrative Teams

Looking to support all of the issues you care about? Get in touch with our Administrative Teams:

Communicatons
Membership
Volunteer Services
Fund Development
Finance
Bylaws
Nominating