Board of Directors

Jay Brozost retired after a prominent, thirty-year career at the Lockheed Martin Corporation. During his tenure, he was the chief litigation and compliance officer for the corporation and served as the general counsel to multiple discrete business areas. As part of his outward-facing responsibilities, Mr. Brozost served on the boards of several organizations, including Sandia National Laboratories, where he was the Chairman of the Governance Committee, and the DC Council for Court Excellence, where he was Chairman of the Board of Directors. He began his career as a federal prosecutor with the criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Mr. Brozost received his JD with honors from the George Washington University Law School and his bachelor's degree from Cornell University. In retirement, Mr. Brozost has been actively engaged in pro bono activities, including serving as a hearing examiner for the D.C. Bar Office of Professional Responsibility and on several charitable boards. He serves as Vice President for Governance and Compliance for Strength in Numbers DC.

Sara received her Masters in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania as well as her BS in Human Development and Family Studies Minors in Counseling and Women's Studies. She is committed to working and healing from an anti-racist and decolonized perspective and approach. Sara works with all individuals and couples, but specializes in working with those who identify as LGBTQ+ and BIPOC. Her passion is to listen and uplift the authentic narrative that lives powerfully and deeply in each one of us.

Noor Pahlavi is a Vice President at Argot Partners, a healthcare-focused advisory firm based in New York City. Beyond her professional success in the healthcare advisory field, she is a dedicated activist, particularly focused on human rights and democracy in Iran through her involvement with the Phoenix Project of Iran and has published a number of thought pieces on this topic. Furthermore, she contributes her expertise as an advisory board member at Acumen Partners, investing in agricultural, women's health, environmental, and educational projects in the developing world. Noor is fluent in French, English, and Farsi, and proficient in Spanish and Italian. Her educational background includes a B.A. from Georgetown University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Linette S. Hwu (s/her/s) is a recovering lawyer and a refugee from corporate America, now earning a living as a Yoga teacher and as Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at The Nature Conservancy. She also serves on the boards of PEN/Faulkner Foundation and Awakening Yoga Spaces. She double-majored in History and German Studies at Yale University and has her J.D. from the University of Chicago but is not as good at swimming or chess as her fourth-grader nephew. If she could have a superpower, she would be able to understand all the languages spoken by humans and/or animals.

Lauren Francis-Sharma is the author of Book of the Little Axe, the 2020 ALA “Libraries Transform Book Pick” and a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Award in Fiction. Her first novel, 'Til the Well Runs Dry was awarded the Honor Fiction Prize by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Lauren is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan Law School, and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. Lauren is a book reviewer, a MacDowell Fellow, she serves on the board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, and is the Assistant Director of Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Lauren serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors for Strength in Numbers DC.

Amadou Kilkenny Diaw is a native Washingtonian with deep roots in the city. He earned his B.S. in English from Georgetown University where he was a 4-year member of the men's basketball team advancing to the Sweet 16 in his senior year. Amadou then attended the University of Virginia School of Law graduating with his J.D. in 2009. Amadou is a partner in the Washington office of Goodwin Procter LLP where his practice focuses on IP litigation and counseling for tech companies. As a native Washingtonian, Amadou remains dedicated to working with youth in the city and has served as a volunteer to numerous community based organizations. In addition to his volunteer service, Amadou also serves on the Board of Directors of the DC Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Hoya Hoop Club, and Hoyas Unlimited.

Nadia Hewchuck is a Master’s student at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. She took an unconventional (and slightly longer!) path to her undergraduate degree, studying criminology and criminal justice at Maryland while working several jobs – many of which involved mucking horse stalls. Her focus in public policy stems from her interest in influencing social change and exploring the responsibilities that we as individuals have to our communities and how best to turn mission into impact. On the rare occasion she has free time, Nadia enjoys metalsmithing classes, hanging out with her dog, and watching the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jenn Hwu has been a teacher in the DC area for more than 20 years. She started out as a Montessori teacher and shifted into teaching piano, kung fu & t'ai chi and tutoring. She applied for a grant from The Wild Gifting Project in 2021 after reading an article about students in Los Angeles Unified School District who were simply not turning on their computer screens during virtual school. When she's not teaching, Jenn is busy trying to upcycle all the hoarded plastic containers in her attic, study American Sign Language and learn how to dive into a pool without dramatically belly-flopping. Jenn and her son love to dogsit -- everything from direwolves to chihuahuas. Jenn graduated from Yale University, dropped out of graduate school at the University of Michigan (but kept the season football and hockey tickets) and serves as President of the Board of Directors for Strength in Numbers DC.