Staff Bios

The White House Project Staff Bios

Tiffany Dufu

Tiffany Dufu knew her calling at a young age. Ever since she accepted the Girl of the Year Award in eighth grade, Tiffany knew that she wanted to make a profound impact. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, the daughter of a homemaker and a minister, Dufu was an early feminist who challenged the perceptions of adults around her who often insisted, "little girls can't lead." She knew that she needed not only to affect change, but also wanted to be public about it—so that other girls could be leaders, too.

As Associate Director of Development at the Seattle Girls' School, a nonprofit education institution committed to giving all girls the power to be innovative, confident, critical thinkers, Ms. Dufu raised $2 million in just under a year. As Major Gifts Officer at Simmons College, she managed a portfolio of more than 150 donors, and worked in recruitment to create a more diverse student body. While in Boston, Ms. Dufu was featured in a Boston Globe article that, within 24 hours, became the most-forwarded article in BostonGlobe.com history. She leveraged the overwhelming response to encourage a productive dialogue in the city about race relations, and soon became a fellow in LeadBoston and a catalyst for the Commonwealth Compact project, working to make Greater Boston a desired destination for people of color and women.

As Vice President of The White House Project, Ms. Dufu has forged new partnerships, has strengthened the Corporate Council, and has refined the organization's strategy. Having now raised nearly $20 million toward the cause of women and girls, she has been featured in The Seattle Times, The New York Times and NPR, and is a frequent speaker on nonprofit fundraising and women's leadership. She currently serves on the board of Harlem 4 Kids, is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Inc., and holds a B.A. and M.A. in English and a Certificate in Fundraising Management from the University of Washington.

Now as President of the White House Project, Ms. Dufu is creating new programs to expand the organization with a focus to appeal to a broader audience while empowering women, not just in the political realm, but in society as a whole. Under her leadership the future of the White House Project looks nothing short of success.

Allie Arends

Allie Arends is a Program Associate with The White House Project. Allie studied at Iowa State University, earning a Bachelors degree in Political Science and History. During her time at Iowa State, Allie interned for Associate Professor, Gary Taylor, researching land use law, state and local regulation of development process, and intergovernmental cooperation and contracting. Apart from The White House Project, Allie has been a dance instructor for 10 years, and is the Artistic Director for the Irish Dance Program at Robert Thomas School of Dance.

Catherine Gray

Catherine Gray was eight years old, giving a rambling account of her day, when her mother lovingly suggested she “sum it all up in three good sentences”. Catherine marks that moment as the beginning of her education as a communications trainer and public speaking coach. Today, working with groups and individuals, Gray blends her experience as an entrepreneur, a filmmaker and a corporate trainer to offer trainings that are crafted to inspire self-confidence and authenticity in speaking. Based in Minnesota as the Interim VP, Political Leadership Programs, she travels nationwide to train and develop women in the leadership pipeline. Catherine attended Scripps College and earned a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Katie Groke Ellis

Katie Groke Ellis is the Rocky Mountain Regional Director for The White House Project. She has a background in running ballot initiative campaigns and grassroots organizing. A graduate of the University of Wyoming where she played on a soccer scholarship, Katie has worked with the NCAA, Choice USA, Springboard Enterprises and Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains developing and most recently implementing successful field programs to defeat anti-choice ballot initiatives and help elect pro-choice candidates to office. Katie also has a Masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado.

Kona Goulet

Kona Goulet has fifteen years of international experience across nonprofit and private sectors. She has been successful in the design and leadership of turnaround efforts, driving business growth and forging strategic alliances. This includes leading fundraising campaigns, designing communication strategies and developing corporate relations for nonprofit organizations. Her international experience includes full-time work in the UK, USA, Europe, Australia, and India working for corporate law firms, global publishing firms, and international and national nonprofits. Currently she is the Vice President, External Affairs for The White House Project.

Liz Johnson

Liz Johnson  has coordinated The White House Project leadership training programs within the Midwest region since 2004.  A leader in the design and implementation of rural women’s leadership programs, Liz has worked and trained women from over 250 cities and towns across the Midwest and even more women from across the country.  She is a seasoned organizer with over 20 years of community organizing experience who has dedicated her life to building and advancing women leaders in community and politics. Her work is characterized by her asset based approach to training and the number and diversity of women that participate. Since graduating from Grinnell College with a degree in Political Science, she has also served as a Program Officer for the Women's Foundation of Minnesota, and as a Legislative Consultant and staff for several non profit organizations.  Johnson is the recipient of the Minnesota Housing Partnership Right to Housing Award and The Minnesota Women's Press Changemaker Award for her work to advance women leaders in Minnesota.  Liz is also one of the key leaders in an award winning collaboration with the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service and the Women, Food and Agriculture Network called Plate to Politics.  This collaboration seeks to inspire, inform and equip more women leaders from the healthy food and farming movement to advance their leadership. Liz lives in Duluth, Minnesota situated on largest freshwater lake in the world. 

Nevada Littlewolf

Nevada Littlewolf is The White House Project's Rural Leadership Field Organizer. Nevada joined WHP after attending a Debate Boot Camp in 2007. She continued her involvement by helping plan and implement the truly historic rural training that adapted the Go Run political leadership training model to the needs of a rural community. Nevada is a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and was the first Native American and only woman currently elected to the Virginia, MN City Council. Nevada's life experience provides insightful knowledge of rural communities along with a unique cultural perspective that bolsters the work of the Minnesota team. She is an artist and mother of two.

Stephaine Rogen

Stephanie I. Rogen, VP of Corporate Leadership Programs designs and delivers TWHP’s leadership development programs alongside experienced trainers/facilitators from TWHP staff.  Stephanie is a consultant, facilitator and executive coach with more than twenty five years of experience in the business and not for profit sectors. Stephanie has consulted and coached executive and board leadership in a variety of Fortune 500, educational and not for profit organizations. She has developed, facilitated and led hundreds of workshops, leadership retreats and training seminars.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Rogen was Vice President, Strategic Planning and senior advisor to the CEO of IBJ Whitehall Financial Group (NY). In this capacity, she worked with the CEO and his executive team through a period of financial crisis and organizational restructuring. Ms. Rogen managed major bank wide consulting projects and investment banking relationships. In addition, Ms. Rogen was responsible for developing a CEO succession plan and transition process, which she managed to completion.

Ms. Rogen also worked as a senior consultant with Corporate Performance Systems in Boston where she developed consulting solutions, led workshops and delivered training curriculum on high performance sales, trading and relationship management capabilities in major commercial and investment banks.  Prior to that, Ms. Rogen also held positions as a commercial lender and as an institutional foreign exchange dealer at the First National Bank of Boston.
Stephanie earned her BA in Economics and Organizational Behavior from Brown University and her Ed.M. from Harvard University, where she specialized in Adult Learning and Leadership. She received her executive and organizational coaching training at Columbia University in New York.

Harriet Sedgwick

Harriet Sedgwick is the Executive Coordinator for The White House Project. Harriet graduated from Bard College in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Global and International Studies. During her time at Bard, Harriet had the opportunity to intern at the Global Justice Center, a women’s rights legal non-profit organization, through the school’s Globalization and International Affairs Program. Outside her time at The White House Project, Harriet is also an amateur photographer. She has travelled extensively around the world and has been playing the violin for over a decade.

Terry Selucky

Terry Selucky has worked with The White House Project since February 2010; prior to this, she served as co-development director for Girls Write Now, a 501c(3) that pairs adult women writers, editors and publishers with teenage girls looking to hone their writing skills. As a copywriter, she worked with companies such as the Oprah Winfrey Network, the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, Global Hyatt Corporation, and others. She graduated from DePaul University with a B.F.A. in Playwriting.