Lillian Rizzo - President

Lillian joined the Newswomen’s Club in 2016, served as the VP of Membership from 2017 through 2023, and is now president. Lillian has been a reporter at CNBC since August 2022, covering media, sports and other business news. She previously spent nearly nine years at the Wall Street Journal, covering various beats from private equity to bankruptcy to media. Lillian started covering bankruptcy at Debtwire, and prior to that had various stints at the New York Daily News. A lifelong New Yorker, she attended Baruch College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She grew up in Brooklyn and now lives on Staten Island. 

Ann Hermes - Co-Vice President of Special Events

Ann is an independent photographer, multimedia producer and photo editor based on the East Coast, working on commercial and editorial assignments from Boston to Brooklyn and in-between. She has covered a wide array of national and international stories, ranging from breaking visual news coverage of the fall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt during the Arab Spring to in-depth stories following Syrian migrants in Eastern Europe and labor trafficking stories in New York. For more than 12 years Ann worked as a photographer and photo editor at The Christian Science Monitor where she coordinated and directed assignments with freelancers and worked with reporting teams to cover major events on deadline. Commercial photo and video clients include Harvard Business School, MIT, Boston College, Good Jobs Institute, Greentown Labs and the legal firm of Holland & Knight. 

Shanelle Kaul - Vice President of Programming

Shanelle Kaul is a correspondent for CBS News, reporting to the CBS News Special Events and Newsgathering units. Prior to joining CBS News, Shanelle spent a decade reporting and anchoring across Canada -- most recently at CP24, Toronto's #1 Breaking News Channel. Born in Sri Lanka, Shanelle grew up in Toronto and is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Journalism. She returned to campus in 2021 to teach news production to second-year students. As a child of immigrant parents who fled war-torn countries, Shanelle is passionate about human rights and social justice issues. You'll find Shanelle's work on CBS Mornings, the CBS Evening News, CBS Saturday Morning, the CBS News Streaming Network and Newspath.

Natalie Duddridge - Deputy Vice President of Programming

Natalie Duddridge is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who joined WCBS New York in 2017. She covers a range of roles, from breaking news reporter to prime-time fill-in anchor, she also hosts CBSN, the local and national digital streaming platforms, and covers weather, traffic, health, politics, entertainment, and previously hosted CBS 2’s lifestyle real estate show "Living Large," exploring extravagant homes in the tri-state area. Before joining WCBS, Duddridge worked across Canada, including City News Toronto, CTV Ottawa, CTV Sudbury, and her hometown station, CTV Saskatoon. While pursuing her journalism degree at Ryerson University in Toronto, she interned at CTV Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics. Another pivotal internship at NY1 News in New York City later led to her return to the city as a full-time reporter and anchor. Duddridge has covered significant events such as Joe Biden’s presidency, Donald Trump’s presidency and trials, she worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has reported on 'Black Lives Matter' marches, 'Stop Asian Hate' rallies, the "Me Too" movement, Harvey Weinstein's trials, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the Russia-Ukraine war. She earned an Emmy for team coverage of the 'Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Walk' and has covered major events including the New York City Marathon and Times Square Ball Drop. She also flew with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels in an F/A-18 Super Hornet, pulling 7 G’s without a G-suit! Inspired by her parents' encouragement to "ask lots of questions" as a kid, Duddridge's passion for journalism is driven by her curiosity and love for storytelling. She is the Deputy VP of Programming with the Newswomen’s Club of New York. Duddridge hosts and volunteers with several charities including the Walk to End Lupus, Lustgarten Pancreatic Walk, Queens Pride Parade, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a cause close to her heart. Outside of work, Duddridge enjoys traveling with her partner Michaelangelo, her parents Renee and Allan, and many dear friends. She loves exploring new places, attending concerts, visiting galleries, practicing yoga, and walking her beloved rescue dog, Banksy (at least 20 thousand steps per day!) Her bucket list includes running the New York City Marathon and traveling to at least 100 countries. Her most recent adventures include helmet diving in Bermuda, dining on a crane 100 feet in the air in Athens, Greece, and ziplining in Whistler, BC. Duddridge is a proud Canadian- New Yorker. If you have a story idea, reach out to her—she would love to hear from you at nduddridge@cbs.com.

Katherine Doherty - Co-Treasurer and President of Fundraising

Katherine is a finance reporter at Bloomberg News covering Wall Street, Bank of America, Citadel Securities and the exchanges including NYSE and Nasdaq. She previously covered the credit market with a focus on distressed debt and bankruptcy for Bloomberg and Reorg Research. In radio Katherine reported and produced stories for WBUR's Radio Boston and Rhode Island Public Radio (RIPR), NPR. She conducted interviews for BBC News and WPRI Channel 12 CBS Television in Providence. Born in Massachusetts, Katherine is an avid Boston sports fan. She has sung the national anthem and “God Bless America” for the Celtics, New England Patriots and Red Sox. She's co-treasurer for the Newswomen's Club where she handles the organization's finances.

Sasha Padbidri - Co-Treasurer and Vice President of Fundraising

Sasha is a senior reporter at 9fin, a B2B financial services publication, where she covers the leveraged finance market. "All things credit" perfectly encapsulates her reporting career—she has previously written about distressed debt and structured finance at various news platforms, including Thomson Reuters LPC, Reorg Research and GlobalCapital. Although Sasha grew up in Singapore, she has called New York home for at least the last decade. She also holds a B.A. from New York University.

Christina Santucci - Co-Vice President of Membership

Christina is currently an assignment editor with Spectrum NY1 News after making the jump from print/online journalism to TV. While in this role, she has also served as a field producer during major news events—like the arraignment of former President Donald Trump—and documented breaking news such as the severe flooding from Hurricane Ida in her own neighborhood of Astoria. She previously worked as a photo editor for the New York Post, managing editor and photo editor for TimesLedger Newspapers and a photographer/reporter for the Queens Courier. In 2020, Christina earned her master's degree in migration governance from the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College. For her thesis project, she assessed the potential future application of human rights treaties on climate-induced displacement. She is also an FAA-certified drone pilot. A native of the Bronx, Christina now resides in Queens.

Kristen Tauer - Co-Vice President of Membership

Kristen is the deputy eye editor for Women’s Wear Daily, where she writes arts and culture features and covers philanthropic events and parties. Her writing has also appeared in publications including First We Feast, Edible Finger Lakes magazine, Edible Indy, Marie Claire, Teen Vogue and others. Her creative work has appeared in NYU’s Dovetail, WomenArts Quarterly, The New York Times and The Coachella Review. In 2016, she helped launch the independent food publication Counter Service. In August 2023, she was a writer in residence at Craigardan in the Adirondack Mountains. She’s originally from Ithaca, N.Y., and graduated from Cornell University.

Clarisa Diaz - Co-Vice President of Communications

Clarisa is a writer and transdisciplinary designer. Her reporting work can be found on Quartz, Science Friday, WNYC, and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting among others. She was the 2020 Front Page Awards winner for local feature reporting on New York City’s polluting peaker power plants. She received an MFA focusing on communication and graphic design at Parsons in 2014. Following Parsons, Clarisa worked at Penguin Random House producing books for Signet Classics and the New American Library. She received a professional bachelor’s degree in architecture at the University of Kansas in 2006. Prior to her career in journalism, Clarisa lived abroad for several years working in architecture and urban design research; as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Chile, then in Asia from Shanghai to Cambodia. Her travels, desire to design tools for sharing knowledge, and ability to do field research led her into unique positions within journalism. In newsrooms, Clarisa’s roles blend traditional reporting with graphic design, community engagement, and developing new ways to tell stories.

Anne Michaud - Co-Vice President of Communications

Anne is an assistant managing editor for Crain's New York Business where she edits politics, technology, climate and transportation coverage. She previously reported for The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times and wrote a nationally syndicated op-ed column for Newsday. Anne has won more than 25 writing and reporting awards and was named “Columnist of the Year” in 2013 and 2015 by statewide New York journalism associations. She covered politics as a reporter for Crain’s New York Business from 2003 to 2008 and is the author of Why They Stay: Sex Scandals, Deals, and Hidden Agendas of Eight Political Wives (Ogunquit Press, 2021). Born and raised in the Boston suburbs, Anne was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa, earned a B.A. in economics from Trinity College in Connecticut, and graduated with an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University.

Maral Usefi - Co-Vice President of Special Events

Maral is a 15-time Emmy Award-winning producer and creative exec who has also been recognized with two Peabodys, a George Polk Award, and three Edward R Murrows, among other honors. Most recently as VP of News and Documentary at VICE News, she created, launched, and helmed hundreds of hours of documentaries, features, and series for Showtime, Tubi, BBC, and VICE. She was on the launch team of Vice News Tonight on HBO and was the creator and showrunner of Vice Special Report, an award-winning investigative documentary series. Prior to Vice, Maral developed and launched Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien at CNN, and served as Senior Executive Producer of the morning programming slate for Al Jazeera America, along with a stint at Fox News. She’s the co-founder of Peak 8 Productions, a journalism-driven production company specializing in documentary and unscripted projects, and storytelling for brands.

Stacey Sommer - Co-Vice President of Special Events

Stacey Sommer is a television and documentary film producer. Most recently at VICE, she oversaw the production of domestic news coverage, as well as the development of TV series and specials under the VICE News umbrella. She was Supervising Producer for the groundbreaking show "VICE News Tonight" and Executive Producer for the multi-Emmy® winning docuseries "VICE Special Report" on VICE TV, as well as several feature documentaries. Her work has primarily focused on the intersection of culture and tech, as well as public policy's impact on our collective health. In 2024, she co-founded Peak 8 Productions, a journalism led production company specializing in documentary and unscripted projects. Sommer has been recognized with four News and Documentary Emmy® awards, a Peabody, a GLAAD award, and a National Press Club award, among others. Prior to VICE, she was a Supervising Producer at MTV and MTV News.

Khrista Rypl - Website Administrator

Khrista is an independent journalist and audio producer based in Brooklyn. She’s worked in the podcast and broadcast industries for more than a decade, beginning her career at WNYC. She’s gone on to work for industry heavyweights like Crooked Media, Wondery, Sony Music, ESPN, Gimlet, The Atlantic, American Public Media, and more. The show she’s best known for is ‘The Shrink Next Door,’ a Wondery and Bloomberg co-production that was adapted into a limited series for Apple TV. Most recently, she helmed the series ‘Killing Justice’ that examines how the death of a judge in India has become a lodestone for the polarization of politics in the world’s largest democracy. 
In addition to her work as a journalist, Khrista is passionate about animal welfare. She does agility training with her dog Anchovy, and is working towards becoming a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant.