Team & Board

Our team

Body Positive Alliance 9/25/21 Body Positive Alliance 9/25/21

Founder & Executive Director

Cate Navarrete, founder of Body Positive Alliance and Generation Body Positive podcast, is a recognized advocate for body inclusivity, featured on Nickelodeon and Facebook Watch, now pursuing a business degree at Emory with a focus on ESG/impact investing and entertainment inclusivity.

Body Positive Alliance 9/24/21 Body Positive Alliance 9/24/21

Co-Founder & Director of Programming

Isabella, a biology major at the University of Maryland-College Park, created a nationally recognized K-5 anti-bias curriculum featured on Nickelodeon and now leads the Body Positive Alliance chapter at her university.

Body Positive Alliance 9/24/21 Body Positive Alliance 9/24/21

Director of Community Engagement

Jennifer Yu, a Chelmsford senior, is a TED speaker and EDC ambassador, advocating for eating disorder research and awareness through her work at Yale's POWER Teen Advisory Board.

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Chief Financial Officer

Dhwaj Dubey is a rising junior studying business at Georgia State University.

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Human Resources Officer

Reesa Artz, a plus-size Chippewa-Cree woman from Sacramento, CA, is a recent Duke Nursing graduate and new PhD student at Montana State University, focusing on Indigenous Health with a Reproductive Justice concentration. She has been a National Eating Disorder Association intern and currently works as a health equity researcher.

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Program Manager

Sarah Cheng, a dual-degree student at Brown University, advocates for body positivity and policy change as part of Harvard’s Youth Corps, focusing on banning weight loss and muscle-building supplements for minors.

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Program Associate

Arielle Li, a high school junior from Overland Park, Kansas, is a passionate advocate for body positivity and mental health awareness. Drawing from personal experiences, she challenges unrealistic media standards while promoting inclusivity through leadership roles in various clubs.

Body Positive Alliance 6/1/21 Body Positive Alliance 6/1/21

Social Media Manager

Lindsey Votour is a senior Marketing major at the University of South Florida, dedicated to mental health advocacy through social media. Combining her marketing skills and psychology knowledge, she works to reduce stigma and promote wellness.

Meet the board

Andy Navarrete

he/him/his
Andy Navarrete is Executive Vice President, Head of External Affairs, for Capital One Financial Corporation. In this capacity, Andy oversees Capital One’s strategic and supervisory engagements with federal and state regulatory agencies and legislators, enterprise communications and public relations, and the company’s engagement in the communities that it serves. He also serves as Chair of the Capital One Foundation, and as the Accountable Executive for ¡Hola!, a resource group supporting the development and recruitment of Hispanic and Latinx associates at Capital One. Andy serves as an Adjunct Professor of Banking Law at Georgetown University Law School. He is also a member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Consumer Advisory Board. Andy received his J.D. from Boston College and his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary.
Mary Fashik

she/her/hers
Mary Fashik is a Lebanese born, queer disability rights activist, author, public speaker, and workshop facilitator. She founded Upgrade Accessibility in 2019, a social justice movement designed to challenge today's accessibility standards. Since its inception, the movement has grown and broadened its lens to include disability rights and Disability Justice with a focus on intersectionality and equity. Through a variety of workshops and trainings, Mary helps companies understand how deeply rooted ableism is in their organizational structure and how to implement important changes. In 2021, she was named an honoree on the D-30 Disability Impact List by Diversability, where she now works as their Community Engagement Manager. She is also the creator and host of The Politics of Disability podcast which was chosen as Best Interview Podcast at the 2022 Astoria Film Festival.
Genevieve P. Nowicki

she/her/hers
Genevieve is a PhD student in Counseling Psychology at Northeastern University, studying body image and eating disorders from an sociocultural and ecological perspective. Her research seeks to better understand the interconnectedness of factors within individuals, communities, and systems that influence one's relationship with their bodies and their eating behavior to aid the development of impactful interventions. She is passionate about dismantling diet culture and contributing towards efforts to build a more equitable society through intersectional advocacy and action. In her spare time, she enjoys baking cakes and exploring the Boston area with her dog and husband.
Danielle Fus

she/her/hers
Danielle Fus is a School Business Administrator and former English teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland. She currently oversees operations at the home of the very first chapter of the Body Positive Alliance. Danielle's educational philosophy centers on the idea that literature teaches empathy and through literature we are able to be better humans to each other and ourselves. Danielle is a proud alumna of the University of Maryland and has graduate degrees in Education from The George Washington University and Hood College.
Makahla Jackson

she/her/hers
Makahla Jackson is a young woman who lives with a non-apparent Disability. She is a Disability advocate and freelance writer with a large interest in equitable healthcare for BIPOC patients. She shares her personal experiences through art and connection via social media. She loves to read on rainy days, chat with friends, and listen to good music.