AAUW’s Board of Directors is made up of 15 AAUW members, including 12 board members elected by the AAUW membership and three board members appointed by the Board of Directors. There are five members of the AAUW Board whose terms are ending in May 2025. Four are elected by the AAUW membership and one is appointed by the AAUW Board of Directors, in accordance with the AAUW bylaws.
AAUW 2025 Election Candidates
2025 AAUW Board of Directors Candidates
Aaliyah El-Amin
Aaliyah is a Healthcare and Strategy executive with over 25 years of experience in management consulting, financial services, education and healthcare. She has been actively involved in supporting AAUW’s mission with past service on the Finance Board Committee from 2020 to 2024, and current service as a part of the Audit Board Committee. Professionally, Aaliyah serves as the Change Management Lead for Data and Digital Business Transformation for the US Vaccines business at a large pharmaceutical company. In this role, she focuses on streamlining the commercial business to better serve patients. Previously, Aaliyah worked in Global Market Access, where she leveraged her skills to assess healthcare systems in Latin America and Asia to identify inefficiencies and better approaches to deliver therapies to patients. Before joining the healthcare industry, Aaliyah operated her own consulting practice that advised clients in the healthcare and financial services industries on strategic and operational challenges. Earlier in her career, she was a Corporate Finance Strategy Consultant with Booz and Company, a Healthcare Equity Analyst with Morgan Stanley and a Business Process IT Consultant with Accenture. Aaliyah has also served as an Adjunct Economics Lecturer of International Business at the Colin Powell School for Leadership at the City University of New York. Over the past several years, Aaliyah has provided advisory and consulting services to non-profit organizations through the Taproot Foundation, and she has served as a Leadership Coach and Coaching Partner for a workforce readiness program at a women’s undergraduate college. She is thrilled to be considered as a candidate for the AAUW Board of Directors and looks forward to an opportunity to leverage her diverse skills and experience to help the organization move forward.
Hope Bennett
I am a first generation college graduate and have seen first hand the important role that higher education can play in breaking down barriers and opening the doors to economic security. This is what initially drew me to volunteer with AAUW, but after serving as president of the Honolulu branch since 2021, I have witnessed the impact of the organization on an even broader scale. The Honolulu branch has built relationships with local organizations and refined its offerings to make itself more relevant to a broader scope of women. The result has been a vibrant and inspiring multigenerational community. I hope to contribute the lessons learned, along with my personal expertise and experiences, to the national board. I have lived from coast to coast, having earned a BA from Yale College and a JD from Stanford Law School. After practicing labor and employment law, I paused my professional career to act as the primary caregiver to my three children. I’ve since re-entered the workforce as a mediator, helping clients find resolution in legal disputes ranging from landlord tenant issues to employment matters. I also assist employees in various industries with workplace conflict resolution. With the belief that the goal of equity must have a multi-faceted approach, I have served for the past four years as Chair of the Honolulu County Committee on the Status of Women, supporting local initiatives and legislation that address women’s issues in the County. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve AAUW in this new capacity and continue to advance our mission into the future.
Monique Taylor
With more than three decades of experience in higher education, I have devoted my career to advancing equity, access, and academic excellence across diverse educational landscapes. From my early years as a faculty member at Occidental College to my current role as Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Champlain College, I have led with an unwavering commitment to student-centered learning and inclusive institutional growth. In addition to academic leadership, I bring a strong record of research and public scholarship, including the authorship of Harlem Between Heaven and Hell and numerous publications exploring race, identity, and urban change. My lectures and presentations have addressed the complexities of diversity, the politics of gentrification, and the global implications of U.S. civil rights movements. I am also proud to have collaborated with local and international communities to expand multicultural understanding and educational opportunity. AAUW’s mission—to advance gender equity through research, education, and advocacy—mirrors the purpose that has guided both my professional and volunteer work. Currently serving as a member of AAUW’s national Board of Directors, I am deeply committed to strengthening our organization’s impact, especially at a time when equity initiatives in higher education are being challenged. I am seeking to continue my service on AAUW’s Board because I believe in the power of collective action to advance our shared values. I am excited to lend my experience in academic governance, global education, and community collaboration to further our mission.
Mayida Zaal
As a social scientist and educator with 30 years of experience, my goals are to make education more accessible, amplify community voices, and recognize the cultural wealth of my students. I am a multilingual immigrant of Palestinian and Colombian heritage. My journey as an educator began at Rutgers University, where I spearheaded a STEM initiative for the Douglass Project for Women in Math, Science, and Engineering. During this time, I encountered the groundbreaking work of the AAUW and their report titled “How Schools Shortchange Girls.” My passion for science and my goal to help remove barriers for girls in STEM motivated me to teach. I became a middle school math and science teacher and was also one of the founding teachers of the Greater Brunswick Charter School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. As an Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning at Montclair State University, I have the privilege of working with high school students, as well as undergraduate and master’s-level students interested in becoming teachers. I also mentor doctoral candidates. I study what motivates racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse individuals to join and stay in the teaching profession. As the director and founder of the Red Hawks Rising Teacher Academy, I have collaboratively built a nationally recognized partnership between Montclair State University, the American Federation of Teachers, and the Newark Board of Education. In addition, I am the founder of a research collective called Reclaiming ME: Muslim Educators. We are conducting the first national study of Muslim teachers in K-12 public schools supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation. I contribute my expertise as a member of the editorial board for the Bank Street Occasional Paper Series. Throughout my career, I have been honored with numerous awards, including fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Ford Foundation, and the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The support of the AAUW’s American Dissertation Fellowship enabled me to conduct research internationally and to expand my skills as a professional. Since 2018, I have had the pleasure of serving on AAUW’s International Fellowships selection panel, and since 2021, as an Ambassador for AAUW’s STEMEd initiative. I am honored to be nominated to the Board of Directors and to be able to contribute to AAUW’s powerful legacy.
About the AAUW Nominations Process
The member-led national AAUW Nominating Committee reviews applications and recommends candidates for election to the Board of Directors. In accordance with the AAUW bylaws and nonprofit governance best practice, the board selects nominees based on the candidates put forward by the Nominating Committee. All candidates were evaluated on criteria that included, among other things, passion for the mission, vision and understanding of the organization, demonstrated leadership, expertise in areas currently needed by the Board, and commitment and contributions to diversity in multiple areas. The determination of the recommendations to the Board were based primarily on the following evaluation by the Committee:
- The specific value a candidate would add to the Board and how that aligned with the current needs of the Board.
- The current risks of the organization and the candidate’s experience that could help address those risks.
- The diversity that the candidate would bring to the board in all areas
Additional information on the nominations process can be found below. The Nominating Committee welcomes questions about AAUW’s process and practices. Please contact us at nominating@aauw.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
The existence of a Nominating Committee is a best governance practice for nonprofit organizations. Nominating Committees are typically tasked with determining the skills and experience needed on the board and to review and vet potential candidates. AAUW’s Nominating Committee works in a similar fashion.
This is a governance best practice for large membership organizations. In the past, membership organizations would sometimes have more candidates on the ballot than open positions, that practice has changed over time. Nominating Committees are now being utilized to determine which potential Board candidates can add substantial value to the Board given the current needs of the organization. The AAUW Nominating Committee has adopted this best governance practice in its process.
The terms of the elected and appointed directors will begin May 14, 2025.
Applications can be submitted at any time. The Nominating Committee is building and maintaining a list of those who are interested in serving at the national level in the future.
Although the Bylaws set a limit on the number of members of the Board, the talents of members are always needed. The Nominating Committee follows up with applicants to discuss opportunities for serving on national committees or on special projects based on interest and expertise and the needs of the organization.
Related
2025 Member Vote
Membership
Frequently Asked Questions
Membership
Now is your chance to comment on proposed changes to AAUW's bylaws to open membership during the 2025 National Election.