Leadership

Kim Churches joined The Washington Center’s as the organization’s fourth President in October 2021. In 2022, the Board unanimously approved TWC’s new strategic plan, vision and mission, for which Kim is charged with executing to ensure our relevance and impact.  

Passionate about workforce development and career-connected skills, Kim brings more than three decades of leadership experience in nonprofit and higher education administration, joining TWC after serving most recently as the chief executive officer for the American Association of University Women (AAUW). In her 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 policy 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 in board roles on behalf of several professional and charitable organizations, including the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, 1455 Literary Arts, 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, a global organization that represents women leaders in diverse fields. A dynamic and sought-after speaker, Kim has addressed several national conferences and conventions, and contributed to 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, among others. 

Kim resides in Washington, D.C. with her daughter and husband, and is always up for a game of Scrabble. 

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. 

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.