Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is responsible for oversight of the organization, its operations, and its property. The board approves organizational goals and objectives, policies and procedures, authorizes the creation of new programs, oversees financial affairs, and has the fiscal authority to disburse and allocate funds. Much of the board’s work is accomplished through its committees that include board members, staff and other volunteers. Committees include: Finance, Governance, Executive, Development and Communications, Performance, and Facilities. A nominating subcommittee recruits potential members to ensure a balance of diverse backgrounds, professions, and experience. Members may serve no more than two three-year terms.
Executive Committee
Michelle Sagatov, President
Michelle Sagatov is a Realtor at Washington Fine Properties and opened their 9th office for them in Arlington VA where she helps buyers and sellers in all price ranges. She is also an affiliate of Sagatov Design + Build, a design build firm in Northern VA that is owned by her husband, Yuri Sagatov. There she helps clients evaluate properties, helps with lot acquisition and helps give future value to properties before they are built. Michelle has been in Real estate since 2006. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Michelle served with the Arlington County Police Department for 5 years. Michelle was one of the first members of AWE (Arlington Women Entrepreneurs), is a speaker for NVAR on Realtor Safety and presenter at HERrican Arlington. Michelle and her husband Yuri Sagatov have lived in 11 different neighborhoods, all in Arlington County, due to their side business of flipping houses. Michelle has been a resident of Arlington County since 2001, she was one of the first girls’ soccer coaches for Arlington Soccer Association. When she is not working you can find her on the side lines watching her kids, Alina and James, playing one of their many sports.
Melissa MacGregor, Vice President
Melissa MacGregor is Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association in Washington, D.C. where she practices corporate and securities law. She is also a member of the board of directors of the Financial Data Exchange. Prior to joining SIFMA, Ms. MacGregor practiced in the corporate securities practices at Crowell & Moring LLP and Clifford Chance LLP. She was the first PTA President of Discovery Elementary School after helping to form that organization. She has lived in Arlington for over 20 years with her husband, Jim, and their children Elizabeth and Alex. When she is not driving kids around town, she enjoys home design, reading, and planning family trips. She holds a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law and a B.A. from St. Lawrence University.
Jhoanne Nunes, Treasurer
Jho Nunes is a Principal at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) and has over 17 years of experience. Jho has comprehensive knowledge of all areas of not-for-profit accounting including audit preparation, grant accounting, month end close, budgeting/forecasting and consulting. She has a wealth of experience in performing CFO/Controller duties, developing accounting policies and procedures manuals, managing accounting and finance teams, and implementations of finance and accounting systems. Jho began her career at Ernst & Young where she performed audits of commercial and private industry clients in various industries, including real estate and manufacturing. Jho holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy degree from University of Santo Tomas. Jho resides in Arlington and on her free time enjoys cooking/baking, travelling, and exploring small towns.
Christine Leonhardt-Kimm, Secretary
Christine Leonhardt-Kimm is the Director of Human Resources at the Insured Retirement Institute in Washington, D.C., where she heads up the Human Resources function. Christine has worked in a variety of industries including biomedical research, aerospace and defense, airline, legal, and non-profit sector. Her strong business experience has helped organizations align their business priorities and programs with their overall business strategy. Christine has been involved with Doorways for over a decade and admires its mission, pro-active services, strong employee team, and that it is serving society. Christine holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from The Catholic University of America and a Master’s degree in Finance from Johns Hopkins University. Christine lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Terry. In her spare time, Christine enjoys playing tennis and golf as well as traveling, reading, and yoga.
Nina Tallon, Past President
Nina Tallon is a trial lawyer whose practice focuses on patent litigation in the technology sector. Before starting her own firm in 2020, she was a partner for almost ten years with WilmerHale LLP in Washington, DC. In September 2021, Nina joined Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP as a partner in the firm’s Washington, DC office. Nina joined the Doorways board in 2020, inspired by the breadth of Doorways’ services and its dedication to clients’ long-term success and independence. Nina lives in Arlington with her two teenage sons, and she travels frequently to Chicago, where her fiancé lives. She enjoys travel and attending her sons’ many baseball and soccer games.
Members
Ilona Birenbaum
Ilona Birenbaum, Founding Principal of The Wynhurst Group, is a leadership and organizational consultant/leadership coach with over 30 years of experience and a diverse organizational development background. She is an adjunct professor and coach with American University’s School of Public Affairs’ Key Executive Leadership Program, as well as a Guide for Chief, a private network focused on connecting and supporting women leaders. Her specialties include leadership coaching, facilitation, change management, leadership assessment and development, action learning, performance management, training, strategic planning, and conflict resolution. As a leadership coach, Ilona offers her clients an intentional approach to solving such issues as communication, presentation skills, leadership presence, delegation, teamwork, conflict management, and strategic thinking. Through insightful questions, she helps her clients increase their self-awareness and enhance skills in managing themselves and others. Known for easily building rapport with senior executives, Ilona combines her psychology and organizational development backgrounds with her business experience in working with senior executives. Ilona earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Masters of Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University. She is fluent in Russian and enjoys yoga, travel, reading, and spending time with her family.
Christy Cole
Christy Cole is the Director of Philanthropy for Arlington Community Foundation. She serves as a trusted partner for donors, professional advisors, and nonprofits. With over 25 years of experience in gift planning and nonprofit fundraising and leadership, she is passionate about connecting resources where they are needed and about helping people develop and achieve their philanthropic goals. As a consultant, Christy has advised non-profits on major and planned giving program design and assessment, campaign strategy and implementation, and board development. She previously served as the Director of Planned Giving for the United States Naval Academy Foundation. Active in nonprofit leadership, Christy previously served on Doorways’ board of directors from 2008 to 2015 and on the board of Aspire! After School Learning from 2017-2023. Christy lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband, Don, and their three children, Ryan, Andrew, and Caroline.
Megan Doern
With 20+ years of experience in communications, media relations, and public affairs, Megan Doern has worked for a variety of organizations – in government, a PR agency and in-house corporate communications. Currently, Megan is Head of External Communications at Deloitte Consulting LLP with a team of 20 public relations professionals. Together, this team elevates Deloitte Consulting’s brand in the news media on topics such as tech transformation, human capital trends, sustainability, and customer experience. Additionally, she runs works with executives on their external platforms and brand positioning. She first joined Deloitte in 2014 as the PR lead for its federal government practice. Megan, a Seattle native, lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband, two daughters, and their dog, Mochi and in her spare time can be found reading a book or on her Peloton.
Lauren Kass Harnishfeger
A career fundraising and nonprofit executive, Lauren Kass Harnishfeger worked with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) since 2015 to 2023, serving in a variety of roles including Vice President of Philanthropy. Before joining SCA, Lauren served as a Vice President for Development at both the National Building Museum and the National Park Foundation. Prior to that, she held leadership positions at Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, and the Smithsonian Institution. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Trinity College, a postgraduate diploma in the Fine and Decorative Arts awarded by the Royal Society of Arts in London, and a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from George Washington University. She and her family reside in Arlington, VA.
Katrina Jones
Katrina Jones is Fannie Mae’s Vice President, Business Solutions and reports to the Senior Vice President of Strategy, Insights and Business Enablement. She leads the Single-Family Customer Co-Development, Market Readiness and Sales Enablement functions. Prior to joining Fannie Mae in 1996, Katrina held various leadership positions at Wells Fargo, where she was responsible for all aspects of regional operations and management. She also has more than 12 years of retail mortgage lending experience. Katrina has a B.S. in Business Management from Potomac University, an MBA from The George Washington University and Executive Leadership certificates from The Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management.
Jade Kim Trusso
Jade Kim Trusso is the Founder and CEO of Nothing in Between Studio, a modern self-care sanctuary that provides non-toxic nail, facial, and holistic massage services while keeping the community and planet in mind. She studied fashion and held marketing/client development positions in the high-end fashion industry, Louis Vuitton for several years in South Korea. She grew up in Korea, and lived in Australia for a while, then decided to move to the United States in 2014 with her husband and started her business journey to expand her caring heart towards people and animals in society. She has been a donor to Doorways since 2019 with the purpose of returning and contributing to the community where she gained support and love. Now, she wants to take one step further, joining the Board to create a better community with her mission and insight.
Chris Mullings
Chris Mullings is John Marshall Bank’s Commercial Lending Team Leader for the Arlington region. His commercial lending career commenced in 1998, with First Union Bank’s Mid-Atlantic CRE Lending Group. Over the past 26 years, he’s garnered a wealth of experience in various aspects of commercial lending, including Healthcare Finance with GE Capital, and re-discount Lending with CapitalSource. In his current role with John Marshall Bank, he facilitates conventional commercial and SBA financing for small to medium sized businesses, as well as a full slate of deposit and treasury management products and services. In addition to serving on the Doorways board, Chris is a founding board member and finance committee chair of another non-profit organization, K.I.T. (“Kids In Technology”). Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Chris has lived in Kingstowne, VA for the past 20 years.
Melanie Nathanson
Melanie Nathanson, principal of Nathanson+Hauck, has two decades of experience advancing health policy priorities in the public and private sectors. Before launching Nathanson+Hauck, Melanie served as a Managing Director at The Glover Park Group, a leading policy expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Administrative Director for Strategic Planning and Public Policy at Miami Children’s Hospital. On Capitol Hill, Melanie served as Senior Policy Advisor for Health and Income Security to Senator Bob Graham (D-FL), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee. She also was a senior legislative assistant to Representative Sandy Levin (D-MI), covering health, human resources, and social security issues before the House Ways and Means Committee. Melanie holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Tulane University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Miami (FL), where she was a lecturer in American politics.
Casey Nolan
Casey Nolan is a Senior Managing Director at CRC Companies LLC, an Arlington-based real estate development and investment firm. He has 25 years of development and construction experience, primarily focused on market rate and workforce multifamily housing in the DC region. Casey is passionate about making a positive impact in the community through his work creating housing, his engagement with neighborhoods, and leadership on other non-profit boards. He has lived in Arlington for 19 years with his wife and 3 boys. In his spare time Casey can be found volunteering on pool decks at his children’s swim meets year-round. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia.
Diana Ortiz, M.Ed., LPC, Doorways President and CEO
Diana Ortiz is a passionate and creative leader with 20 years of experience advocating for the wellbeing and safety of children, families, communities, specifically those impacted by complex trauma and violence. Diana is committed to working with survivors of intimate partner violence and leading a new generation of advocates who collectively and creatively serve our most vulnerable neighbors while making long lasting and meaningful changes and solutions in our communities. Diana originally came to Doorways in 2009 as the Child Mental Health Specialist, she then was promoted to Clinical Director in 2012 when she oversaw the full spectrum of Doorways’ client services programs. In 2021 after returning from serving overseas as a civilian managing the Family Advocacy and Child Abuse Prevention Programs for a service members and their families at the Marine Corps Air Station in Japan, Doorways appointed Diana as President and CEO.
Diana is a proud first-generation immigrant Latina, and a bilingual Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), registered clinical supervisor in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Learn more about Diana and Doorways’ executive staff.
Tanvi Sinha, CPA
Tanvi Sinha is a CPA and Audit Manager with Matthews Carter & Boyce. Tanvi mainly works with not-for-profit organizations, closely held businesses and government contractors and has significant auditing and accounting experience with various organizations. Tanvi has significant audit experience pertaining to compliance and internal control analysis, design and integration of accounting systems for small and medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit entities and governmental organizations. She has an in-depth knowledge of generally accepted auditing standards. Tanvi is an active member of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA). Tanvi lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two boys. She loves to paint and make mandalas in free time and loves gardening.
Todd Williams
Todd Williams has a long professional history in technology consulting and has helped a number of fortune 500 organizations reimagine their technology landscapes. Todd has focused across a number of industries and has supported several non-profits with technology initiatives in the past. He hopes to bring his technology and business insights and connections to support the Doorways mission. Before joining the board in 2021, he has been a donor for several years and is proud of the impact Doorways has to the Arlington community. Todd lives in Arlington with his family and enjoys traveling, sports, and is the resident chef in the house.