Leadership

Kim Churches is The Washington Center’s fourth President—and first female in the role—as of October 2021.

Kim brings nearly three decades of experience in nonprofit and higher education administration, joining the organization after serving most recently as the chief executive officer for the American Association of University Women (AAUW). In her 4 1/2 year tenure leading AAUW, a national nonprofit advancing gender equity, she developed and implemented a comprehensive strategic plan to ensure the organization’s mission focus, bolstering AAUW’s actionable commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, while enhancing financial sustainability and impact.

Prior to her work with AAUW, Kim served as the managing director for the Brookings Institution, an internationally recognized think tank. In that capacity, she strategically guided Brookings, providing vision and problem-solving skills while focusing on expansive partnerships, external relations and advancement.  Her accomplishments at Brookings built on prior successful efforts as associate vice chancellor at the University of Denver and director of development at the University of North Florida. Kim has extensive experience working collaboratively in education as well as on capacity building for national and international nonprofits.

Outside of her official roles, Kim has devoted her leadership skills on behalf of several professional and charitable organizations, including the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, 1455LITARTS.org, Association of Fundraising Professionals, DC Girls Baseball and BUILD Metro DC. She is also a member of the International Women’s Forum of Washington DC, an organization that represents women leaders in diverse fields. A dynamic and sought-after speaker, Kim has addressed several national conferences and conventions, and conducted interviews with national media outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today. Her thought leadership has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, The Hill and Fortune.

Kim resides in Washington, D.C. with her daughter and husband, and is a devoted Washington Nationals fan.

Mary Calarese serves as Chief Financial Officer at The Washington Center (TWC). In her role, Mary oversees all financial operations of the organization and works with the leadership team to support the long-term financial health and sustainability of TWC’s mission.  

Mary has more than three decades of experience in finance operations for higher education. Prior to joining TWC, she was the Associate Vice President of Finance at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), where she was responsible for financial planning and all financial operations for the institution. Previously, she also served as Senior Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at Connecticut College and as Associate Director of Fiscal Affairs and Associate Controller at Eastern Connecticut State University.   

Mary holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Merrimack College and a Master of Business Administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She resides in Connecticut. 

Delita Marsland serves as Chief Advancement Officer at The Washington Center (TWC). In her role, she oversees the philanthropic fundraising and partnership activities to achieve annual and multi-year financial goals for the organization. 

For the past two decades, Delita has been helping higher education and nonprofit organizations to raise funds and achieve their development goals. Prior to joining TWC, she was the Chief Development Officer for Girls Inc., where she was responsible for crafting and implementing the organization’s fundraising strategy.  

Previously, she also served as Regional Director of Development for Syracuse University, oversaw the Vassar Fund at Vassar College and directed the Ambassadors Circle at The Carter Center, founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in partnership with Emory University. 

Delita is a graduate of the State University of New York College at Buffalo, where she earned her B.A. in public communication with a concentration in creative problem solving. Delita is a native New Yorker but spends most of her time in the low country states these days enjoying family and friends.

Carmenchu Mendiola is TWC’s Chief Growth and Strategy Officer and leads the organization's U.S. and international institutional partnerships, admissions, alumni engagement, marketing and communications. She has over 18 years of experience in corporate identity, brand management, strategic marketing and digital strategy. She also leads The Washington Center's institutional brand and oversees the development and execution of integrated marketing campaigns for The Washington Center. She manages TWC's PR/media relations and crisis communications.

Carmenchu led a full rebranding strategy for TWC that included research, positioning and a complete overhaul of TWC's visual identity. 

Her work has been featured in two books: Building Better Brands: A Comprehensive Guide to Brand Strategy and Identity Development by Scott Lerman and SPIKE your Brand ROI: How to Maximize Reputation and Get Results by Adele Cehrs.

Carmenchu is also a pro bono consultant for the Taproot Foundation, helping other nonprofits achieve their marketing and communications goals.

She is an alumna of TWC's Internship Program and received an Executive Master's in Strategic Marketing, as well as a B.A. in Communications. Carmenchu is originally from Mexico and lives in Washington, D.C.

David Anderson, Ph.D., leads The Washington Center’s Government Relations Department. Over the past fourteen years, David and his team have raised over $30 million from twenty three U.S. states and territories interested in supporting their students’ education and their state’s workforce development. Current partners include: Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Delaware.

David works with the Advanced Leadership and International Programs Department creating new initiatives, especially with Canadian provinces. He also works with the Federal Relations Department creating new initiatives with U.S. federal agencies. David also played a key role creating The Washington Center’s Public Policy Dialogues on Capitol Hill Program, which enabled students to participate in small group meetings with their U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, or staff.

David was Executive Director of Youth04, an election 2004 young voter mobilization effort, when he joined The Washington Center in August 2004. Youth04 was a joint project of The Center for Democracy and Technology, The Johns Hopkins University, and The Washington Center. He was previously the Task Force Director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at The George Washington University, which was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. David was a candidate for U.S. Congress in the 2016 Democratic Primary in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District.

David is the Editor of Leveraging: A Political, Economic, and Societal Framework (Springer 2014). He is also the author of Youth04: Young Voters, the Internet, and Political Power (W.W. Norton & Company, 2004) and Co-editor (with Michael Cornfield) of The Civic Web: Online Politics and Democratic Values (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003). He has written numerous articles and book chapters and more than 60 op-eds for The Baltimore Sun, Roll Call, The Hill, The Frederick News-Post and many other newspapers. David taught “Ethics for Political Management” at The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management for 12 years. He was a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati, Trident Technical College, and the College of Charleston. David has also served as an adjunct faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Advanced Governmental Studies in Washington. He received his B.A. in philosophy from The George Washington University and his Ph.D. in philosophy from The University of Michigan.