Our Staff

Jamie L. Manson
President

For over a decade, Jamie Manson has been a thought leader and advocate in the field of women’s equality and reproductive rights in the Catholic Church and the public square. For 12 years, she was a columnist at the National Catholic Reporter where she was one of the few openly LGBTQ journalists in the Catholic media in the world. She was an often-solitary voice for reproductive freedom and justice and was one of the first to sound the alarm about the right-wing push for religious freedom. Her columns led to interviews with the CBS News, MSNBC and NPR, and her commentary has been quoted in the New York Times. She has been published in the Washington Post, the L.A. Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Daily Beast, Buzzfeed and Rewire News.

Jamie’s expertise in Catholicism and sexual ethics was first formed during her Master of Divinity studies at Yale with her mentor, Margaret Farley. In 2002, she aided Farley in co-funding the All Africa Conference: Sister to Sister, which supports religious women who minister to those suffering from the HIV/AIDS pandemic. She edited and wrote the introduction to Changing the Questions: Explorations in Christian Ethics, a collection of writings by Margaret Farley (Orbis Books, 2015).

An internationally recognized, authoritative voice on gender equality, sexuality and reproductive health, Jamie has spent over a decade challenging the hierarchy’s teachings on women’s ordination, contraceptive access, abortion, religious liberty and LGBTQ issues. She has won over a dozen awards from the Catholic Press Association and is a three-time winner of the Religious News Writers Association’s (RNA) award for the Commentary of the Year. She also won the Wilbur Award for Best Online Religion News Story for her Buzzfeed story “Feminism in Faith.” In 2015, her activism on behalf of women earned her the Theresa Kane Award for Women of Vision and Courage.

John Becker
Communications Specialist

John Becker is a longtime advocate and writer in LGBTQ and religious spaces, and his work spans a broad range of issues from the Catholic Church to conversion therapy to marriage equality. High-profile victories include two headline-grabbing reports about anti-LGBTQ bigotry in the Salvation Army, a successful international media campaign convincing Apple to drop a “gay cure” iPhone app and a sting operation in which he went undercover with hidden cameras at a clinic co-owned by Marcus and Michele Bachmann, which exposed them for offering fraudulent “ex-gay” conversion therapy. John has appeared on ABC’s World News Tonight, Nightline, and Good Morning America; NBC’s Today Show; CNN’s Newsroom; Fox’s Alan Colmes Show; MSNBC’s Ed Schultz Show and Live with Al Sharpton, and the Associated Press Television Network. He and his work have been mentioned in The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and others. A native of Wisconsin, John now lives in Washington, D.C., where he serves as the Vice President of Political Affairs for the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance and is a founding core team member of Gays Against Guns DC. In addition to his communications and advocacy work, John is an accomplished classical musician, holding the Master of Music degree in vocal performance.

Marlee Breakstone
Domestic Program Associate

Marlee Breakstone promotes and strengthens prochoice Catholic advocacy in the United States, focusing on outreach, recruitment and engagement of our activist network at Catholics for Choice. Emphasizing CFC’s voice as the leading expert on progressive Catholicism and reproductive health, rights and justice, Marlee builds and sustains relationships with individuals and groups around the country—building community, connecting activists to local partners and efforts, distributing CFC resources and helping folx prepare to speak up as prochoice Catholics. Marlee holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Theory and Practice with a focus on Women’s Health Policy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Go Blue!), and has experience in successfully organizing campaigns to elect progressive candidates in swing states. When she’s not advocating for reproductive health, rights and justice, Marlee enjoys traveling, trying new recipes, practicing yoga, doing puzzles and being a tourist in her own city by exploring DC with her adorable dog, Ruthie.

Rebecca Robinson Brown
Senior Associate for Development

Rebecca Robinson Brown manages the development efforts of Catholics for Choice, including the organization’s individual giving and grants programs. She is passionate about reproductive health, rights and justice and connecting individuals with causes they care about. Prior to joining Catholics for Choice, Rebecca managed the individual giving program at the Secular Coalition for America, where she worked to uphold the separation of church and state and promote religious liberty for all. She began her career as a legal assistant to a family firm, which represented clients involved in the media, sports and entertainment industries. Rebecca holds a bachelor’s degree in Cinema and Media studies from Carleton College in Northfield, MN. When she is not working, Rebecca enjoys practicing yoga, doing puzzles (both crossword and jigsaw), and watching most television shows.

Randi Garcia
Digital Marketing and Communications Lead

Randi Garcia most recently co-founded the youth voting initiative Prom At The Poll, garnering earned media coverage on CNN Politics, E-News, Teen Vogue and PBS. Randi has worked with political officials, private practices and various organizations in the field of digital marketing, advertising, development and communications. She serves on the Voters of Tomorrow Advisory Board with Fred Guttenberg and Sari Beth Rosenberg as a Digital Marketing and Strategy advisor. She is currently working on an agricultural infrastructure program in rural provinces that seeks to combat food insecurity caused by the COVID-19 virus.

Gaby Garcia-Vera
States Program Manager

Gaby Garcia-Vera is a Queer Latinx Puerto Rican with more than 15 years experience organizing across social justice movements. A master facilitator with a focus on racial equity through a pro-Black lens, immigrant rights and LGBTQ Liberation, Gaby believes in centering his passion for innovation, connection and vulnerability as a model for leadership. Gaby currently serves as the states program manager at Catholics for Choice, working to advance the moral, ethical and religious case for protecting reproductive, health, rights and justice as a Catholic value. For nearly a decade, Gaby has been part of the leadership team for Union=Fuerza Latinx Institute, a one-day convening aimed at bringing Queer and Trans Latinx organizers from around the country together to help advance their leadership in fundraising, campaigns and culture shift work. Previously, Gaby co-founded the Coquí Language Collective, a Florida-based worker-owned collective working to promote language justice through interpretation and translation service. Gaby has also formerly served as executive director of GetEQUAL and the FL Field and Advocacy Manager for the Latina Institute.

Tinsley Murphy
Domestic Program Assistant

Tinsley Murphy supports the Domestic Program Team managing administrative and program support for the work CFC does across the United States. Tinsley received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science from Purdue University. Her background includes work on both political and issue campaigns for environmental policy and reproductive justice. Outside of sticking it to the man, Tinsley finds serenity is gardening with her dog, Bitsy, during the spring and summer. During the winter, she loves to get her creative mind flowing by making delicious hot sauces and jellies from her fall harvest.

Elyce Nollette
Director of Special Projects

Elyce Nollette leads cross-departmental projects and special programming to advance sexual and reproductive rights in the United States and worldwide. She guides other senior staff on program implementation and execution, providing recommendations and redirecting efforts as needed to ensure activities are designed to achieve long- and short-term goals that facilitate the continued strength of the organization both domestically and internationally. Prior to joining the executive team, she served as the Senior International Program Associate fostering relationships with policymakers, health providers, advocates, activists and collegial organizations in Africa, Europe and Latin America to educate, inform and influence international debates in the reproductive health and religious liberty spaces. These relationships formed a community of dedicated advocates that, like CFC, continue to collaborate to counter institutional barriers to achieving comprehensive reproductive healthcare in accordance with their consciences. Elyce holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Dickinson College, a Master of Public and International Affairs from University of Pittsburgh, and is a PMI certified Project Manager. When she is not advocating for sexual and reproductive rights and justice, she enjoys singing in the Washington International Chorus and volunteering as the DC Committee Chair of Water For People, where she raises awareness about the increasing global water crisis. Elyce indulges her need for creative release as a culinary alchemist, experimenting with dishes and bakes alike.

Glenn Northern
Domestic Program Director

Glenn Northern leads and implements Catholics for Choice’s U.S. activities, including advocacy, outreach, policymaker education, legislative analysis and collegial relationships. He directs CFC’s Catholics in Public Life (CiPL) project, a nonpartisan public education initiative that helps Catholic policy makers in the U.S. clearly articulate prochoice positions grounded in progressive Catholicism and sound public policy. He oversees CFC’s strategic relationships with prochoice Catholics, policymakers, reproductive health providers, religious and secular activists and collegial organizations to inform and influence debates on sexual and reproductive health and rights, social justice and religious liberty. Before joining CFC, Glenn led constituency building and advocacy efforts at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. He holds a degree in political science and women’s studies from Williams College. When he is not advocating on reproductive health rights and justice issues he enjoys singing with his Acapella group, running, knitting, playing cello and learning 15th-century sword play from his teen.

Taylor Tuckerman
Director of Operations

Taylor Tuckerman directs operations at Catholics for Choice, including organizational management, financial oversight and daily administrative operations. Taylor brings a talent for organizing and systems management that has been carefully honed during her long tenure at Catholics for Choice. Taylor holds a B.A. in Government with a minor in Leadership from Christopher Newport University and a M.P.S. in Political Management from The George Washington University.

Amanda Ussak
International Program Director

Amanda Ussak uses human-centered practices to improve systems, use resources more efficiently and co-create better solutions with communities. She is a passionate advocate for awareness and cultural change around sexual assault. At Catholics for Choice, Amanda designs and facilitates trainings and campaigns to advance reproductive rights. As director of the international program, she manages CFC’s international initiatives with global advocates, policymakers and reproductive health providers to increase access to abortion. Amanda helps CFC build a stronger community of advocates working around the globe to diminish the influence of religious extremism on reproductive and sexual health policies. Through this work, she educates public and policy audiences about Catholic support for women’s autonomy in reproductive health decisions. Amanda has more than a decade of experience across federal government, non-profit and international field work. She co-developed SuperHabla, a speech therapy program for children with cleft palate in under-resourced areas. Previously, Amanda served in the Office of the Deputy Secretary and the Bureau of Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. She holds a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a master’s degree from Stanford University. Outside of the office, Amanda loves to nerd out on financial literacy, host themed dinner parties and practice Olympic lifting. She lives in Washington, DC, with her partner and their dog.