Contributors

Serrin M. Foster is the creator of the Women Deserve Better® campaign. She has focused on developing on-campus resources and support for underserved pregnant and parenting students and is an outspoken opponent of pregnancy discrimination. Serrin has led Feminists for Life since 1994. Serrin served on the National Taskforce Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, which worked to pass the Violence Against Women Act, and she also testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in support of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, also known as “Laci and Conner’s Law.”

Cheryl Blake is a mother of four grown children and the grandmother of three girls and a boy. She is a retired high school teacher, an adjunct professor, and a published freelance writer with some experience on a small newspaper covering town council meetings. As a volunteer tutor, she has prepared adults for the high school equivalency test and is currently helping some Burmese refugees meet the challenges of the English language. She holds a master’s in English from the University of Houston and master’s of public administration from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Shannon Federoff has homeschooled for twenty-two years. She received a bachelor’s degree in English from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, and acquired a master’s degree in education from Chapman University. She has led her homeschooling co-op and has taught, by her estimation, over one hundred families from diverse backgrounds how to homeschool based on their unique needs. She lives in Arizona with her husband, also an educator, and their 11 children.

Carter Heller holds a bachelor’s in philosophy from Berea College. She is currently a graduate student at Holy Apostles College and Seminary studying theology with a concentration in bioethics. Carter uses her practical experience of caring for elderly family members to create content for Women Deserve Better. When she is not studying, Carter can be found playing with her dogs or dancing to Elvis with her grandmother.

Julie Kelleher has dedicated nearly 20 years to working in education, with a focus on higher education over the past decade. From classroom teacher, to Peace Corps volunteer, to working for education technology and services companies that help colleges and universities, she has kept education at the core of her professional pursuits. In 2013 and again in 2017, she was fortunate to expand her passion for learning, teaching, and development into motherhood. Julie is an advocate for open adoption and helping others navigate the path to parenthood through adoption.

Joyce McCauley-Benner has worked for over 15 years with low-income and vulnerable populations, including sex trafficking and domestic violence victims. As a speaker for Feminists for Life, Joyce shares her story, “Pregnant by Rape? Victory Over Violence.” She also presents “Slaves Among Us: Sex Trafficking in the U.S.” and speaks about poverty issues internationally. She currently serves as the Director of Public Relations for Feminists for Life of America and as Editor at WomenDeserveBetter.com.

Ike W. Pauli Jr., M.D., FAAP spends most of his time with his three greatest loves; his faith, his family, and his pediatric practice. He has been married for nearly three decades to the love of his life, Vicki, and has an amazing daughter, Paisley, who is currently attending UIW School of Medicine. He devotes a great deal of time to his church, Cornerstone, with their international television ministry for over 30 years, medical director and school board president for Cornerstone Christian School, and co-director of their mobile medical unit. He has won hundreds of awards in local and state competitions in bowling, enjoys spending his spare time in woodworking, target shooting, riding roller coasters, fishing, traveling, and just spending time with his family. He is currently the President and CEO for NEPA.

Laura Ricketts is a wife and mother, a birth and bereavement doula, and a student midwife. Certified in psychological first aid and trauma, Laura uses her personal experience as a bereaved mother and her professional experience as a birth and bereavement doula to serve women and families through her nonprofit, FiLumena Birth and Bereavement, including those who are low-income. She is equipped to support women through the full range of birth experiences: happy, uncomplicated, scary, sad, high-risk, and traumatic. Laura offers hope, practical tools to help mothers and families heal from loss or traumatic birth, and concrete ways for others to support and assist those who seek this healing. Laura resides in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her amazing husband and four living children—and just a few cats.

Susan Schoppa has been a legal aid attorney for more than 20 years and is licensed to practice law in Michigan and Texas. To live out her vocation as a peacemaker, Susan was inspired and encouraged to go to law school and become a legal aid attorney by her adopted big sister and mentor, Barbara. Susan directs a medical/legal partnership that integrates legal care into health care settings for chronically ill and disabled children. She trains pediatric residents, medical students, and other health care team members about social determinants of health, common issues for low-income families, and effective interventions. Susan and her husband live in Texas, and she is thankful for his and their family’s support of her work.

Danica R. Vassigh holds a bachelor’s in criminal justice from Sam Houston State University and ran her own private investigation practice for nearly a decade. Her most cherished role, however, is mom to her two children, Esabella and Reagan. Esabella was diagnosed with complicated heart and digestive malformations, but she has defied many medical odds and one would never know of her conditions just by looking at her. Danica has given presentations on the patient perspective at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and participated in many congenital heart defects conferences and symposiums. Danica resides in the Houston area and is currently writing a book she hopes will inspire women who receive difficult prenatal diagnoses.

Vicki Whitelaw is a retired consumer credit executive. She enjoyed a 35-year career in the consumer credit industry with Sears, American Express, and AT&T Credit Corp. Since 2007, she has served on the board of trustees of InCharge Debt Solutions, a not-for-profit organization that provides credit education and counseling, debt management programs, housing, bankruptcy, and student loan counseling to consumers throughout the United States. She earned a bachelor’s in economics from Wheeling Jesuit University.