Commission for Women Commissioners

Phylicia L. Woods, JD, MSW is a Director of Federal Relations at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.  In this role, she develops and executes strategies to ensure that federal legislation, regulation, and other initiatives promote access to preventive services and quality, affordable care for people living with cancer, survivors, and those at risk for cancer.  Her primary areas of focus are patient and survivor quality of life, health disparities, prescription drugs, diagnostic reform, and clinical trials.  Prior to joining ACS CAN, Phylicia served as Counsel to Former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and as Health Counsel on the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.  Before working in the U.S. Senate, Phylicia served as a non-formal education volunteer in the U.S. Peace Corps in Nhlangano, ESwatini.  She also worked as a Health Care Legislative Assistant to Former U.S. Congressman Russ Carnahan. Phylicia received her B.A. in Psychology and Master of Social Work from Saint Louis University and her J.D. from the University of South Carolina.

Helen Cole is a retired Fairfax County teacher with 39 years of classroom experience. She has lived in the county since 1977. She is honored to have been appointed to the Commission for Women by Hunter Mill Supervisor Catherine Hudgins. Helen has served on the Board of Kids-R-First, an organization that provides school supplies to low income families in Fairfax County schools. She also volunteers providing assistance to homeless persons. Helen holds a BA in Education from the University of Maryland and an MA in Education from Virginia Tech. She looks forward to serving the residents of the Hunter Mill community.

Alyssa N. Batchelor, M.S. is a political strategist, researcher, and advocate who is passionate about electing progressive policymakers and helping people traditionally left outside of the political sphere break into the industry. In 2019, she founded HireHerPolitical intending to help young women who may not have access to the network and nuances needed to succeed in the political industry by providing advice and opportunities via blog posts, social media, and a biweekly newsletter. She also founded and chairs her alma mater’s department alumni committee hoping to build a strong network of current and former students to assist each other in furthering their career goals and helping students transition from college to workforce. 

She completed her master’s degree in political science in 2019, where her research focused on socioeconomic justice and the intersection between labor, race, gender, and class with additional research interests in oppression, poverty, and inequality. Her research on socioeconomic policy in Brazil was published in the Journal of Advocacy, Research, and Education in 2015.

Alyssa was appointed to the CFW as the At-Large Commissioner by Chairman Jeffrey McKay in October 2021. She hopes to use her political and public policy experience to bring a fresh perspective to the Commission, build on current accomplishments, and continue to work to advance the status of women and girls in Fairfax County. One of her career-guiding principles is the quote, "if it's inaccessible to the poor, it's neither radical nor revolutionary," which informs the perspective she hopes to extend to the Commission for Women.

Alyssa is a proud first-generation college student, a graduate of The Campaign School at Yale, and the director of political research with The Mellman Group. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to her with any comments, questions, or concerns.

Mattie Palmore has worked for over 30 years as an advocate for housing for homeless persons, and for assistance for physically and mentally challenged persons, and on behalf of the youth and senior citizens of Fairfax County. Ms. Palmore is the former Director of Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services Homeless Transition Program in Alexandria, and a former Fairfax County Magistrate. She co-founded the Women's Group of Mount Vernon, which was recognized by the Attorney General's office and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2009 for providing a safe environment for victims of abuse.

In her role as a victim advocate, Ms. Palmore is on the Fairfax County Region I Area Resource Team, which works on domestic violence prevention and service coordination with the local government agencies, the judicial system, area non-profit organizations and local businesses. She was honored to be appointed to the Josiah Beeman Commission, established to make fundamental changes in Virginia's mental health system. She also served as the Vice Chair and is now the Mount Vernon representative to the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board.

Ms. Palmore received the 2006 Women We Admire Award, presented by Black Women United for Action, the 2011 Joe Adinaro award for her Advocacy, and the 2012 Molina Healthcare Community Champions Award, and she was one of five finalists for Queen Latifah's 2006 Project Confidence Award.

Dena is a graduate of William & Mary, having studied public health and mathematics. Her experience ranges from working within the spheres of international community development research in the Dominican Republic; development aid tracking and financing of China and GCC nations; and monitoring and evaluating disaster resilience among vulnerable populations of Bangladesh and Malawi. Following her undergraduate career, she joined Community Health Center, Inc. – a federally qualified health center in Connecticut – as a summer research fellow. She works directly with the Center for Key Populations, who serve populations who have traditionally experienced barriers to health care. During her undergraduate career, she had the privilege of studying abroad in Jordan and engaging in research, where she gained valuable experience collaborating with iNGOs that work within the intersection of health and forced displacement. This experience, among others, was pivotal in strengthening her interests in the social sector and gender equity. 

A lifelong resident of Fairfax County and a first-generation college graduate, Dena hopes to bring a nuanced perspective to the Commission for Women. She aims to work alongside the other Commissioners to promote the holistic equity of women and girls across the county.

Jane Materna is honored to have been appointed as Mason District Commissioner by Mason Supervisor and Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Penny Gross.

Ms. Materna has lived in Fairfax County since 2001. She moved to Virginia after returning from living overseas as a Peace Corps volunteer.  In Ashgabat, Turkmenistan she taught business and worked as lighting crew for the Turkmen Opera and Ballet.  In her early career, she was as an Information Technology Program Management consultant at federal government agencies, including Architect of the Capitol, State, Veterans Affairs, Energy, FEMA and the Pentagon.  In 2005 she started her own small business, leading group facilitation for federal government clients.  Driven by a desire for work independence she is now a product consultant and natural healthcare coach with dōTERRA essential oils.

Ms. Materna completed degrees in Human Development, Public Administration and International Affairs at two Land Grant Universities. For her graduate degree at Virginia Tech she studied the Private-Public Collaboration Program to revitalize the southeastern region of Virginia.  During her undergraduate studies she participated in the “Technology, Society, and the Common Good” learning society.  She is passionate about collaborations among government, business and public education institutions to create social capital and regional economic development.

As a Commissioner, Ms. Materna seeks to create an environment where all genders can fully participate and bring their skills, talents and energy into making Fairfax a vibrant community.  She is particularly interested in endeavors that encourage STEAM education, promote small women-owned/operated businesses, foster connections among our diverse communities and protect the full range of women’s reproductive healthcare in our County.  She encourages the community to share their ideas for initiatives that the Commission may pursue by contacting her.

Carla Louise Post is the sustainability manager for Leidos, where she leads the integration of social and environmental considerations into core strategic decisions. Driven by a strong passion for improving the state of our societies and consciousness, she is an advocate for ensuring businesses have a positive impact. 

Carla leads the Sustainability Working Group (SWG), a cross-functional organization focused on improving Leidos’ environmental sustainability posture. Her efforts resulted in Leidos being ranked on Newsweek’s Most Responsible Companies 2021, #38 in the Newsweek Green rankings, the #1 greenest company in the Information & Technology category in 2017 and increasing corporate Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) scores in Climate Change and Supplier Engagement. She leads development of the Leidos Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report and is a major contributor to the Ethisphere submittal, which has resulted in Leidos being awarded one of the most ethical companies for the past four years.

As the lead for the SWG, she is responsible for implementing strategies that reduce energy consumption and investing in renewable energy across the enterprise, improving employee awareness of environmental sustainability and educating employees on how to improve workplace behavior to reduce wasteful energy consumption. She collaborates with teams on real estate efficiency, including alternative workplace strategies and commuting programs. Leidos has achieved an absolute GHG reduction of about 58% compared to a 2010 baseline, more than double the 2020 goal of 25%. Further, under her tenure, the company has increased renewable energy purchases through Renewable Energy Credits.   

Carla spearheaded the procurement and implementation of an enterprise Sustainability software to provide transparency to consumers, investors, and other stakeholders, as well as to enable impact reduction, achieve sustainability goals, and become an even more responsible business. Her multiple pro-active Earth Day campaigns have reached thousands of stakeholders. This is the third enterprise-wide software that she has both led, managed, and implanted for a multi-national company.

Carla transferred from the Corporate Real Estate team where she was the director for Environmental Sustainability/Employee Engagement to Corporate Communications to co-lead the formulation of Leidos’ new purpose-driven long-term sustainability vision, mission, and operating principles, including a focus on mental well-being. Prior to this transition, she developed and executed a successful communications strategy/change management plan across communication channels, audiences, and client groups for the new global headquarters and evolution of the Leidos Workplace of the Future. 

Carla also manages and serves as the liaison between Leidos and The Women’s Center, an organization that provides mental health counseling, support, and education to the metropolitan area to help people live healthy, stable, and productive lives; Everfi, an organization that provides digital mental health support to students; and The George Mason Center for Psychological Studies and Sweet Farm, a non-profit addressing the global impacts on the food supply chain and the resulting shortages in our communities.  

In a volunteer capacity, Carla served as both the partnership relationship lead for the Leidos Women’s Network and chapter president for the NoVA Women’s Network Employee Resource Group (ERG). She sees both her professional role as a sustainability manager and her volunteer roles in the ERG as intrinsic to supporting and educating women and girls. She works hard to provide opportunities for women to collaborate on shared interests and promote diversity across the company. Carla helped grow the ERG Chapter by 40%, becoming the largest chapter of the largest ERG. She received an Innovation Award for her work on an event series that gave members direct access to the Leidos Board of Directors.

As an elected board member of the McLean Community Center, Carla champions involvement in sustainability as well as advocates for community education, diversity and inclusion, and cultural involvement. She is an active volunteer with her children’s sports leagues and school PTAs. In her personal life, she is a volunteer for Virginia Democracy Forward and has worked over the past four years to support candidates that advocate for women’s issues as well as local and national candidates that include sustainability and climate in their platforms.

Born in Washington, D.C., Carla grew up in Crofton, Maryland, and spent summers in Bethany Beach, Delaware, with her extended family, all of whom were public school teachers and administrators. She grew up in a family of very strong women who were not afraid to lead or stand up against inequality and injustice.  They fostered a sense of determination and confidence that has helped her to lead and advocate both in her professional and personal life.  

Carla lives in McLean, Virginia, with her husband, two children, and 185 pound St. Bernard.   

Enjoli Ramsey is an associate financial planner with Freeman Capital. She grew up outside of Cleveland, Ohio and has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Ohio University and a master’s in industrial organizational psychology from Capella University.

Enjoli began her career as a Navy officer before transitioning to roles with Deloitte as a senior federal consultant and the Air Force as the diversity & inclusion outreach & recruitment program manager. She is currently a Navy reservist.

Enjoli has lived in Northern Virginia since 2007 and Fairfax County since 2012. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, working out, and trying out new restaurants.

Annika Khandelwal is honored to have been selected to serve as the Student Commissioner for the Fairfax County Commission for Women. A junior at Oakton High School, Ms. Khandelwal enjoys being a school tutor, student equity ambassador and member of the Honor Council. She also recently launched the Ripple for Change App, a civic engagement "FitBit" app designed to help people develop and track their commitment to social justice. 

Through the Student Commissioner position, Ms. Khandelwal hopes to serve as a liaison between the Commission members and her peers in high school, and she hopes to raise awareness about the challenges faced by girls during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as domestic violence. Ms. Khandelwal strongly believes in community building as a tool to bridge class, gender and racial divides, and she believes involving young men and women will help address issues plaguing girls in the County. 

She looks forward to increasing the visibility of girls' issues, helping facilitate meaningful social change and learning from the examples set by the accomplished women on the Commission.