Our Team
Our Wonderful Leaders (from L to R):
Dana, Beth, Rachael, Karen, Sara (Board Treasurer), Jihan, Rachel, Alyssa, Christina, Aviella
Not Pictured: Amy, Jamie, Kay
Board of Directors
Kathleen McMahon is Executive Vice President of Development and Communications at Northern Virginia Family Services (NVFS), where she leads fundraising, communications, and strategic partnerships. She has held leadership roles at several nonprofits and social enterprises, including the Spark the Journey, Student Conservation Association (SCA) and Civic, and brings deep experience in building organizational capacity and advancing community impact.
A Northern Virginia native, Kathleen is raising her three daughters in the same community where she is dedicated to serving families. Her own path to parenthood has shaped her empathy and commitment to supporting families during the perinatal and postnatal journey. She is passionate about helping parents build the strong early bonds that lay the foundation for thriving futures.
Kathleen McMahon
Co-Chair
Northern Virginia Family Services: Executive Vice President of Development and Communications
Emily Nixon began her career as a high school English teacher before moving into nonprofit finance and operations, where she has helped organizations grow through fundraising, program management, and operations. Currently Senior Managing Director at the DC Public Education Fund, she has led teams through transformational change, aligning people, systems, and resources to mission. As a new mom herself, Emily knows firsthand how vital strong support systems are, and she is excited to bring both her lived experience as a parent and her strategic expertise to PACE’s board to help the organization reach even more moms.
Emily Nixon
Co-Chair
DC Ed Fund: Senior Managing Director of Operations & Programs
Sara served for nine years behind the scenes at DC Public Schools working to support schools in the fastest improving urban school district in the country before co-founding Tassant Partners (with another PACE mom) to support Districts and non-profits in building great systems that enable mission success. For the last 5 years she has partnered with a number of organizations to work on aligning resources to mission, strong and equitable talent strategies, and interim leadership support in times of transition.
Sara holds an MBA from the George Washington School of Business and an Executive Masters in Leadership from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in politics from Brandeis University. Outside of work she enjoys cooking and biking around DC with her family, including her husband and two sons, who make sure she is never bored.
Sara Goldband
Treasurer
Tassant Partners: Founding Partner
Halli Dorsainvil is a new mom to a baby girl. Becoming a mother has been one of the most transformative experiences of her life, and it’s deepened her passion for supporting other moms as they navigate this journey together. Her experience in the legal field has helped her develop skills in collaboration and problem-solving that she hopes to bring to the PACE Board. She's excited for the opportunity to help create safe, welcoming spaces where mothers can connect, feel supported, and grow both individually and as a community.
Halli DorsainviL
Secretary
Baker McKenzie: Associate
Lauren DiSilvio is a social impact and philanthropy leader with over a decade of experience driving fundraising, board engagement, and strategic growth for mission-driven organizations. She currently serves as U.S. Director of Development at Women for Women International, where she leads a $6M+ revenue portfolio and manages corporate partnerships and major donor strategy.
Previously, Lauren served as WfWI's Chief of Staff, guiding global governance, DEIB strategy, and organizational planning. She has also led high-profile public relations campaigns for international brands and non-profit organizations. She holds a B.S. in Communication, from Radford University. When she’s not fundraising, Lauren is in D.C. with her husband, Daniel, trying to keep up with their two daughters, Carina and Bella, and their beloved golden retriever, Murphy.
Lauren DiSilvio
Women for Women International: US Director of Development
Alyssa Goodman has built a career dedicated to supporting families through diverse roles. After a decade in the field of education, she earned her MSW from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and transitioned to the field of perinatal social work. Alyssa’s professional background spans education, operations strategy, nonprofit management, program evaluation, and direct clinical practice with the perinatal population. Alyssa became certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C through PSI) in 2023. She earned a Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate in 2024 from Georgetown University, and has also been certified as a Fair Play Facilitator and RETAIN Parental Leave Coach. Alyssa joined PACE in 2019 as a group leader, and has held the President position since 2023. Alyssa is a proud mom of two kids.
Alyssa Goodman
PACE: President & Group Leader
Postpartum Support International: Certification Specialist
Shara is the co-founder of a 12-person clean energy and climate policy consulting firm (that also manages two nonprofit initiatives within it) called S2 Strategies here in Washington D.C., having spent the past decade between here and New York where her career up until now has been across philanthropy, state and federal energy policy. She grew up in Minnesota, the daughter of Iranian immigrants.
Shara has spent much of her career in and around philanthropy, and can advise on fundraising strategies, as well as state and local grantmaking opportunities provided her experience in federal and state government. She also understands the operations, accounting, legal and management tenants of running a nonprofit organization and will be able to contribute her experiences in these areas to PACE.
Shara Mohtadi
S2 Strategies: Co-Founder and Partner
Advisory Council
Morgann Reeves has spent the past decade building a portfolio in the area of strategic planning. Her work centers on helping C-Suite government clients develop strategies that maximize their impact through stakeholder engagement, governance, strategic development and organizational transformation. Morgann started her career at the World Bank Group where she advised over 40 client countries on how to improve their investment climates. Morgann-- wife,mom, and staunch believer in PACE-- had the honor of serving as the PACE inaugural Advisory Council Chair, where she and her colleagues launched the largest fundraising campaign in the organization's history. She is elated to continue her support in the capacity of Advisory Council Chair again this upcoming year.
Morgan reeves
Advisory Council Chair
Deloitte Global: Senior Manager in the Strategy, Innovation and Public Policy Office
The Advisory Council brings together a group of dedicated community members who will help strengthen PACE by:
Sharing feedback and insights as we continue to grow and evolve our programs
Spreading the word about our support groups and mission in your networks
Supporting fundraising efforts, helping connect us to potential supporters
Interested in joining the volunteer Advisory Council? Please complete this interest form.