Staff

Molly Snow, Council Director

Molly joins Girls on the Run of Los Angeles County with 12 years of experience helping non-profit organizations build and improve fundraising programs. Her diverse industry experience includes producing complex, multi-day fundraising events (such as the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day and California AIDS Ride), organizational growth planning, project management and peer-to-peer fundraising. After hearing her 10-year-old niece, a two-season GOTR participant, loudly and proudly declare her personal “awesomeness”, something clicked and she knew where she wanted to focus her attention and experience. Bringing an intense belief in GOTR’s mission and a deep desire to see girls develop into confident, healthy individuals she is excited to be a part of this incredible, dedicated team.


Megan Koske, Program Coordinator

Megan received her Masters of Public Health with an emphasis in Health Promotion from San Diego State University in 2009 and got hooked on running after completing a Couch to 5k program in the same year. After discovering that running could change her life for the better she volunteered with Girls on the Run San Diego for two seasons to share her passion. Today she is a passionate runner with her sights set on completing her first marathon in Chicago. Megan recently relocated to the Los Angeles area and is excited to be joining the Los Angeles GOTR Council to continue to spread the message of whole health through empowerment.

Board of Directors

Lauren Rauscher, Ph.D., Board Chair
Chair, Program Evaluation

Lauren Rauscher has volunteered with Girls on the Run since 2002 in Atlanta.  She joined the Los Angeles Council when she relocated to California in 2006 to teach at California State University Long Beach, where she is an associate professor.  Her research and teaching interests are anchored in the experiences of girls and women in relation to inequality, privilege, and identity politics.  More specifically, she explores the intersections of race, gender, and class in the domains of work, health and the body, well-being, and education.  She received her Ph.D. in Sociology with a concentration in Women’s Studies from Emory University in Atlanta, and her Masters in Sociology at The Center for Research on Women at the University of Memphis.  Lauren loves combining her professional skills, active lifestyle, and enthusiasm to help build the Los Angeles GOTR Council with others who are dedicated to girls’ health, empowerment, and social justice.

Mia Arias, Board Secretary
Chair, Internships 

Mia is Director of Programs at the National Health Foundation where she is responsible for the management and coordination of a multi-hospital chronic disease prevention and management consortium as well as the Southern California Patient Safety Collaborative, a peer-to-peer learning collaborative facilitating quality improvement within hospitals. Mia has eight years of experience working with non-profit community based organizations. She received her Master’s degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in nonprofit management from the University of Southern California and received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Mia joined the GOTRLA board in Spring 2010.

Leticia Tomas-Bustillos, Ph.D.

Leticia has over 13 years experience working across the K-20 education pipeline. Between 1997 and 2004, she was a teacher, technology coordinator and a reading specialist with the Montebello Unified School District. She has taught preservice teachers and postsecondary administrators as an assistant professor at Loyola Marymount University, Whittier College and USC.  She has a B.A. from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. Leticia joined the GOTRLA board in Spring 2010.

Kristen Cruise
Chair, Sponsorships 

Kristen works in Corporate Citizenship at The Walt Disney Company on Disney’s Magic of Healthy Living. She is responsible for developing initiatives – from guidelines for food marketing to kids to consumer tools – to help make healthier lifestyles easier and more fun for kids and families. While at Disney, she also worked on charitable programs for employees. Kristen received her M.B.A. and Masters in Urban Planning from UCLA, where she focused on corporate responsibility and nonprofit management. Kristen joined the board in November 2012 after falling in love with the girls and program as an assistant coach. She is thrilled to help GOTR expand the number of opportunities for every girl in Los Angeles to discover her own strength and confidence.

Laurel A. Fowler
Co-Chair, Fund Development 

Laurel works as a Public Health Advisor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is currently assigned to the Los Angeles County Immunization Program where she works as the Deputy Director.  In this role, she functions as a link between the federal, state and local levels, and provides advice and guidance on a comprehensive immunization program to prevent and reduce vaccine-preventable disease.  She also oversees the budget process, personnel development and training, and ensures that resources are utilized effectively.  Her other health and community experience includes quality improvement activities for a community mental health center, public information responsibilities for a regional center serving people with developmental disabilities, and a variety of roles with a managed behavioral health care company.  Laurel joined the GOTRLA board in May 2009.


J. Christine Harmes, Ph.D., Board Vice-Chair
Chair, Messaging & Visibility 

Christine is a consultant in the areas of evaluation and measurement, with an emphasis on technology integration. She formerly served as Associate Professor of Psychology at James Madison University teaching courses in scholarly communication, performance assessment, computer-based testing, and mixed methods research. She holds a Ph.D. with dual concentrations in Educational Measurement and Research and Instructional Technology. Her recent projects include work with the Florida Center for Instructional Technology to develop technology standards and assessment tools, and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to develop innovative items to assess nursing competence. Christine joined the GOTRLA board in Spring 2010, and is passionate about promoting running as a way to help girls and women realize their beauty and strength.


Christy Noel
Chair, Adult Athlete Fundraising

Christy Noel has over 15 years of global experience in marketing, corporate branding, and communications programs. She is the Vice President of Marketing for Delphi Display Systems. Outside of the office, Christy is an endurance athlete and marathon coach that has completed multiple Ironman triathlons and marathons. She is thrilled to bring her business acumen, passion for running, and desire to increase self-confidence and the positive representation of girls and women to Girls on the Run. Christy joined the board in Spring 2012.


Cathy Rios, Board Treasurer

Cathy Rios currently serves as financial analyst for Alliance for Housing and Healing in Eagle Rock. She fell in love with running when she joined the track team in high school, discovering that aside from staying fit and healthy, running was helping her cope with the stresses and pressures of being a teen. A desire grew in Cathy to make a positive difference in her community by sharing this experience. That opportunity finally came when she joined GOTR as a volunteer coach. Although no longer able to volunteer as a coach, Cathy hopes that as Treasurer she will to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of teens for many years to come. Cathy joined the Board in Spring 2012.


Elizabeth Sadlon
Chair, Board Governance

Elizabeth loves expanding her own experiences and discovering her own strengths by volunteering with Girls on the Run.  She’s the mother of two fabulous girls on the run.  Professionally, Elizabeth is a consultant to community benefit organizations, specializing in strategic planning, facilitation, and board development with social justice organizations.   Elizabeth is grateful for the experience of building the GOTRLA board from the ground up, seeing the incredible results that are possible when passionate people dedicate themselves to making a lasting difference in the life of girls.


Belinda Madrid Teitel
Co-Chair, Fund Development

Belinda is the Vice President of Education & Leadership Development at the Center for Nonprofit Management of Southern California and brings skills from the nonprofit, business and governmental sector. Ms. Teitel is an executive coach, and capacity building consultant and trainer on a range of topics, including raising funds from individuals, foundations and corporations, board development, organizational development, marketing and strategic planning. She has been coaching and consulting for nonprofit organizations for more than 13 years and has worked with over 100 organizations of all types and sizes. Prior to becoming a consultant, Ms. Teitel served as Southern California Director for Earth Share of California, a nonprofit federation of 90 premier local, state and national environmental organizations. She began her business career in the banking and finance field and has formed extensive alliances in the nonprofit, business and governmental sectors throughout Southern California.  Ms. Teitel is an active member of Hispanics in Philanthropy.  Belinda joined the board in June 2011.

Sara Gleason VillegasSara Gleason Villegas
Chair, Individual Giving

An independent nonprofit fund development consultant, Sara has long been
professionally involved in helping nonprofit organizations find strategic ways to financially support their missions. An east coast native, Sara relocated to Southern California in 1998 after receiving her bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies from Cornell University. Now a wife and mother of two sons and three daughters, Sara joined the GOTRLA board in November 2012 with great
enthusiasm about helping girls across Los Angeles County realize that they truly can
do anything. Sara understands from experience that an active lifestyle has endless
benefits for people of all ages and she makes sure her busy schedule always has time
for regular pilates sessions and hikes.

GOTRLA is Seeking New Board Members

Our dynamic and highly engaged Board of Directors is looking for a few great new members!  Our application describes the commitments we ask of each other and the types of experience we most need at this stage of our development.  Click to download our 2013 Board Member Application.


Volunteer Leadership

Leanne Lowden Mothershead, Regional Coordinator for Pasadena and Glendale