Board members are elected for two-year terms by the members of the SSA.

Currently they are:

Joe Foley, Chair (board member since 2006)
Palo Alto, CA
[ joe AT secularstudents DOT org ]

Joe Foley is currently the Chair of the Secular Student Alliance Board of Directors.

He is a doctoral candidate in genetics at Stanford University and co-founder of Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics (AHA!) at Stanford . He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Minnesota in 2007, with a B.S. in biology and a minor in music. He first became involved with the freethought movement as an officer of the University of Minnesota Atheists and Humanists (since renamed Campus Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists - CASH ), and led the group as co-chair from 2004 to 2006, during which time CASH successfully secured annual funding from student fees, began the process of applying for nonprofit tax exemption, and held many widely publicized events including its own conference. Joe also served the Secular Coalition for America as Treasurer from 2006 through 2007.

Outside of his work in the freethought movement, Joe has found plenty of other ways to keep himself busy. He was a Student Senator in his university government and a member of his college's Student Board, as well as a commissioner in the university's All-Campus Elections. He also plays the violin in ensembles of various sizes.

Don Sutterfield, Vice Chair (board member since 2008) 
Columbus, OH
[ don AT secularstudents DOT org ]

Don Sutterfield has been active in the freethought community for most of the last decade. He has volunteered with the SSA affiliate Students for Freethought at the Ohio State University, doing PR and advertizing, coordinating the protest of the National Day of Prayer events at the Ohio Statehouse, helping to create and maintain a freethought garden on OSU campus, and organizing one of the group’s most well attended events - a debate between Dan Barker and Dr. David Fisher on the existence of God. Having worn many hats serving Students for Freethought, Don was extremely pleased to be elected to the SSA board of directors in 2008 where he has served as chair of the foundations fundraising committee researching and writing grants, and as vice-chair of the board. Don has also volunteered as a counselor at Camp Quest Ohio in ’09 and will again this year. Don believes that working with younger people in the freethought movement is the best way to promote a future society in which secularism and humanism are ever-increasingly integral. Don is a student of Psychology and Philosophy and plans to continue to work within the freethought movement and someday teach, counsel, and write about the benefits of secularism.

Andrew Cederdahl, Treasurer (board member since 2009)
Columbia, SC
[ andrew AT secularstudents DOT org ]

Andrew Cederdahl is a political science major at the University of South Carolina. He is the president and co-founder of the Pastafarians at USC, which has developed into a successful student organization for nonreligious students at USC. His many accomplishments with the organization include being featured in the front-page New York Times article “ More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops ” about the secular movement in South Carolina, helping organize a highly successful Darwin Day debate featuring Dan Barker on the existence of God, which generated a capacity crowd of over 550 people and local media coverage of the event, working with other faith-based student groups at an “interfaith day of service” for a local food bank, and participating in an intercollegiate debate with another student from a Christian university contesting the rationality of belief in miracles. Andrew has also been featured in two other local media pieces about the Pastafarians at USC and several articles in USC’s campus paper, the Daily Gamecock .

Andrew’s personal accomplishments include being selected as the national 2009 American Atheists Founder’s Scholarship winner and receiving the 2009 “Changing the Face of USC” Diversity award from USC’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs for his work in raising awareness of secular students and issues. He also served as Director of Conferences for the Gamecock Leadership Society, a campus group dedicated to promoting leadership, and was elected to the Student Government Senate for the 2008-2009 term.

Leslie A. Zukor, Secretary (board member since 2010) 
Mercer Island, WA
[ leslie AT secularstudents DOT org ]

Leslie A. Zukor is a committed activist for secular causes.  In the fall of 2005, she started the Reed Secular Alliance, of which she is a former President.  During her time of leadership, Zukor spearheaded the bringing of Daniel Dennett, Lori Lipman Brown, Austin Dacey, Greg Epstein, and several others to speak at Reed College.  In addition, Leslie started the Freethought Books Project, which gives atheist, humanist, and freethinking books to prisoners and others in need across America.  For her club's efforts, the RSA was presented with the Secular Student Alliance's Best Service Project Award of 2006.  During the Freethought Books Project's five years of existence, Zukor has been instrumental in collecting roughly 3,000 books free of religious content, as well as in founding a secular Prison Pen Pal program.  In addition, this past summer, Leslie served as a remote intern for the Secular Student Alliance, where she wrote action packets, articles for the eMpirical, and did databasing. 

Leslie's proudest achievement is winning the 2010 American Atheists Founder's Scholarship, a first place $2,000 prize.  She also won a $250 Honorable Mention award in the Freedom From Religion Foundation's 2009 College Essay competition, and her essay was featured in the January/February 2010 edition of Freethought Today.  Furthermore, Leslie's work with the Freethought Books Project has been profiled on Dogma Free America, the Humanist Network News, the Secular Student Alliance eMpirical, Atheist Nexus, and Freethought Today.  Leslie, who is also a photographer, has had her work published on the front cover of The Humanist's November/December 2009 edition, as well as in CFI – Portland's newsletter and in the local Humanistic Jewish chapter's news.   She also appeared as part of the Agnostic Scholars' team in the Christian documentary, Lord Save Us From Your Followers

As a leader, Leslie A. Zukor has what it takes to serve the Secular Student Alliance.  She is creative, dedicated, persistent, and devoted to making a difference.  Her familiarity with applying for grants for the Freethought Books Project will translate to writing superior funding proposals for the SSA.  Furthermore, her real life experience as an atheist group leader is an asset to the Secular Student Alliance, as Zukor loves mentoring enthusiastic young freethinkers.  In addition, Leslie's keen sense of empathy for those of different circumstances is vital for the SSA.  Through corresponding with non-theistic prisoners, she understands the plight of atheist inmates, and how faith-based prison programs systematically discriminate against non-believers.  Armed with this knowledge, Leslie hopes to inspire young activists to take proactive steps in the fight for atheists' civil liberties.

Michael Amini (board member since 2010) 
Seattle, WA
[ michael AT secularstudents DOT org ]

Michael has a history of activism in the movement, and enjoyed reaching out to help like-minded freethinkers as well as students who were just beginning to question the faith of their upbringing. He ran the Secular Student Union at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. The Secular Student Union was featured in its local university newspaper several times, was named as a plaintiff in the Michael Newdow's campaign to strike "under God" from the Presidential Oath of Office, became the first North American branch of the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization, made the national news regarding Dan Barker's controversial visit to the Capitol, participated in the Center for Inquiry's World Congress, and organized the single largest freethinking event in the history of the Pacific Northwest - Richard Dawkins' speech at the Hec Edmunson pavilion.

Not too long ago, Michael was a Freshman at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. Mormon and proud of it, he was embraced by the community, and began to define himself by his faith. He and his friends were set upon a path that would lead us to be lifelong members and staunch advocates for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Many of his friends continue on that path today. He, however, did not.

In the process of walking away from his faith, he lost nearly everything. Mormonism was what defined him: his thoughts, his morality, his choices, his politics, and his circumstances were governed by his faith, and with that removed, he found himself standing alone. He very nearly joined a nearby church for the sole sake of being included in a community. Luckily, upon enrolling in the University of Washington, Michael discovered that there was a student group for atheists, agnostics, and other freethinkers: for people like him.

Much of his post-Mormon moral outlook and personal philosophies came directly from conversations in his humble little student group. In his last year as leader of the group, he was able to watch other students exploring and discovering in the same fashion.

The support of organizations such as the Secular Student Alliance was invaluable to Michael in running his campus group. He is excited to have the opportunity to give back to the community that has helped him along his path.

John Figdor (board member since 2009)
Cambridge, MA
[ john AT secularstudents DOT org ]

John Figdor is a Humanist MDiv (the pre-ordination degree) at Harvard Divinity School preparing for a career as a Humanist chaplain. To many, the idea of an atheist going to divinity school might seem strange. However, for John it was perfectly logical. After he finished his B.A. in philosophy at Vassar, he decided to spend a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA at a domestic violence shelter in Butte, Montana. What was perhaps most interesting that year was when John learned that many Americans do not take their ethical advice from Aristotle, Kant, or Mill, but rather from religious leaders. He realized that if he was going to make a meaningful contribution to the ethical dialogue in this country, he ought to study religious ethics. Hence, he enrolled at Harvard Divinity School and studied the intersection of religion, ethics, and politics.

John was elected President of the Harvard Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists (H.A.S.H.), the Harvard graduate student Humanist community, in 2009 and will continue to serve as President until he graduates in 2010.  In addition to running the graduate Humanist community, John worked as Greg Epstein’s intern in the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University and gained a valuable behind-the-scenes view of Humanist chaplaincy.  He was hired in the summer of 2009 as the first Harvard Humanist Community Organizing Fellow at the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard and is building a coalition of atheist organizations in the Greater Boston area.  For more on John Figdor, check out his profile at the Humanist Chaplaincy .  He is particularly interested in both advocacy for the rights of nontheists and building meaningful communities for the nonreligious.

Matthew LaClair (board member since 2008) 
Kearny, NJ 
[ matthew AT secularstudents DOT org ]

Matthew LaClair has been dedicated to political and social issues since he was in his freshman year at Kearney High School. He has worn protest buttons and T-shirts to school, helped in political campaigns for local and national positions, and done many things at his school which show his dedication to these issues. He has made a choice not to stand for the flag salute, and as a result been not only challenged by administrators, but taunted by students and administrators alike.

His main action however, did not involve the flag salute. This issue started in September of 2007, when his teacher was preaching his religion during class. He told the students that if they reject the Lord's salvation, they belonged in hell. He also dismissed the theory of evolution and the big bang theory, saying that they are not scientific. He made other statements that were terrible, and Matthew did something about it, acquiring a lot of press in the process.  The Board of Education breached a term of their agreement, but instead of entering litigation, Matthew helped remedy the situation by inviting three speakers to speak to the students about these subjects. Dr. Charles Liu, an astrophysicist and associate at the Hayden Planetarium in NYC, Dr. Kenneth Miller, a professor of biology at Brown University and the lead witness in the Dover trial, and Rev. Barry Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State have all agreed to conduct these assemblies. The administration refused to pay any speaker anything, so they all agreed to speak for free.

The story has generated five articles and two editorials in the New York Times , along with a flurry of local print, television and radio coverage, and appearances on Anderson Cooper 360, Air America, Brian Lehrer, BBC international radio and several others. He has also been awarded the James Madison Religious Liberty Award from the Center for Inquiry, the Ethical Hero Award from the American Ethical Union, the Ethical Humanist Award from the New York Society for Ethical Culture and several others.

Jennifer McCreight (board member since 2010) 
West Lafayette, IN
[ jennifer AT secularstudents DOT org ]

Jennifer McCreight co-founded the  Society of Non-Theists at Purdue University  in 2007 and was its  President for three years. She is very proud of how successful the Society has become, despite the religious environment of Indiana - their mailing list has grown from zero to four hundred, about forty people regularly attend meetings, and they had favorable coverage by local newspapers and television stations multiple times. The Society of Non-Theists has also brought in many big name speakers, including Eddie Tabash, Hemant Mehta, PZ Myers, Greta Christina, and Darrel Ray.  Most importantly, the Society has become a safe environment for irreligious students. Jennifer is also  an artist , and is delighted to offer her artistic ability to be put to good use by the SSA!

Jennifer’s other main atheist street cred is the creation and promotion of Boobquake .  This event asked skeptical women around the world to the test the claim by Islamic Cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi that immodestly dressed women were responsible for earthquakes.  It turns out: not so much , but further replication is needed.

Jennifer also blogs at  Blag Hag .  Her blog has gotten oddly popular and she looks forward to using it to give a voice to young atheists and godless women.   

Jennifer graduated from Purdue with degrees in Genetics and Evolution.  She is presently pursing a PhD in the Department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington.

Hemant Mehta (board member since 2005)
Chicago, IL [
hemant AT secularstudents DOT org ]

Hemant Mehta attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he graduated with honors in both Mathematics and Biology. While there, he also helped establish their first secular student group, Students WithOut Religious Dogma(SWORD).  He recently earned his Masters in Math Education at DePaul University. He has worked with the Center for Inquiry and was the SSA representative to the Secular Coalition for America .  He is also on the board of Foundation Beyond Belief , a charity organization targeting non-theistic donors.

Hemant was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal for his work as the "eBay Atheist" and his book about the experience,  I Sold My Soul on eBay (WaterBrook Press), was released in 2007.

His website is www.FriendlyAtheist.com.

He currently works as a high school Math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago.

Shelley Mountjoy (board member since 2009)
Lorton, VA
[ shelley AT secularstudents DOT org ]

Shelley Mountjoy is a graduate student at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA where she serves as the Chair of the campus assembly within the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GAPSA). Shelley became involved in the atheist movement in 2005 with the Rational Response Squad; she is currently a moderator on the site.  In 2007, Shelley founded a secular group on campus which received University recognition the following year; she is currently the President of that group.  She is also an Alumni Advisor for the United Secular Alliance at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Shelley is the Vice President of Outreach for Virginia Freethought Renaissance (VFR).  VFR is a statewide secular communication effort intended to help publicize events of interest to the secular community.  In 2009, Shelley formed District of Columbia Atheists, Incorporated with the synergistic talents of two close friends.  This representative democracy is the first formal atheist organization in the nation's capital.  In 2010, Shelley became Coordinator of the Northern Virginia Chapter of Washington Area Secular Humanists (WASH).

However, among her involvement, Shelley is best known in the DC area as the Organizer of Beltway Atheists - a 650 member social atheist community.  Holding this position since July of 2008, Shelley has tripled activity, increased membership 70%, and created a Charitable Works Committee to integrate philanthropy into existing events.  She formed the Beltway Atheists Alliance - a coalition of eight local groups - to increase cooperation between existing groups on shared interests of state-church separation and secular community.

Shelley lives in Central Virginia with her cat, Sarah, and dog, Junior.

Mary Ellen Sikes (board member since 2007)
Charlottesville, VA
[ maryellen AT secularstudents DOT org ]

Formerly the associate director and Web analyst for the Institute for Humanist Studies, and webmaster for the Secular Coalition for America, Mary Ellen has also held a variety of programming and educational technology jobs in government, public schools, and private industry.

A long-time humanist activist, Mary Ellen founded the Central Virginia Secular Humanists in 1995 and coordinated its activities until 2001. She also served on the board of its parent organization, the Washington Area Secular Humanists, including a term as president. Mary Ellen has been involved in several local church-state issues and in  2003 was elected to the National Advisory Council of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Mary Ellen's left brain earned her a B.S. in Math with Honors from Virginia Tech in 1975. She exercises the cells on the right side through butterfly gardening, freecycling, and trash-to-treasure / junky-to-funky projects. She and her spouse, Lloyd, live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Charlottesville, Virginia, not far from their daughters' growing families.