The Secular Student Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the only national organization dedicated to atheist, humanist, and other non-theist students.

Portrait of large group of students cheering at college sporting event

The Secular Student Alliance empowers secular students to proudly express their identity, build welcoming communities, promote secular values, and set a course for lifelong activism.

Bylaws & Finance

Download our Bylaws Here

Download our Form 990 Here

Our People

Staff

Kevin Bolling is the executive director of the Secular Student Alliance. He has served in that position since 2017. Kevin brings with him 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience. His career has included over 10 years of student association management and on-campus program development from Los Angeles to Boston. For 10 years, Kevin served as the Executive Director of the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation, a charitable trust serving the healthcare needs of the industries’ largely immigrant workforce. Most recently, Kevin served as the Director of Philanthropy at the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, a major LGBTQ arts advocacy organization, whose youth outreach work has moved thousands of hearts and minds across the US towards embracing LGBTQ equality.

Kevin Bolling
Executive Director

kevin.bolling@secularstudents.org

Biography

Kevin Bolling is the executive director of the Secular Student Alliance. He has served in that position since 2017. Kevin brings with him 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience. His career has included over 10 years of student association management and on-campus program development from Los Angeles to Boston. For 10 years, Kevin served as the Executive Director of the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation, a charitable trust serving the healthcare needs of the industries’ largely immigrant workforce. Most recently, Kevin served as the Director of Philanthropy at the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, a major LGBTQ arts advocacy organization, whose youth outreach work has moved thousands of hearts and minds across the US towards embracing LGBTQ equality.

National Organizing Manager

ssaorganizer@secularstudents.org

Biography

Dallas Rippy graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science. He then became the Chief of Staff for California LULAC where he spent years advocating on behalf of the Latino community. More recently, Dallas has been working on political campaigns. He was the Field Director for a County Supervisor election in Ventura County, CA, and then was a Field Organizer for the League of Conservation Voters in the 2020 election in Arizona.

Katlin Murray

Campus Organizer - West

ssawest@secularstudents.org

Biography

James Dean Vaillancourt

Campus Organizer - East

ssaeast@secularstudents.org

Biography

James Dean is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the Eastern Regional Organizer with the Secular Student Alliance. As an undergraduate at Franklin and Marshall College, he held leadership positions in the College Democrats, student council, and on the Interfraternity Council. He previously worked with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party as an organizer in the 2020 election and interned with United State Senator Tammy Baldwin

Louise Jett
Social Media

louise.jett@secularstudents.org

Biography

Communicating is Louise Jett's specialty. In short, she is a storyteller and an educator. Flexible and strategic, she approaches challenges with optimism and enthusiasm. She is a social media expert and scholar, who spreads awareness of the Ethical Society of St. Louis, as their social media manager. A humanist, she values free thought and questioning. Devoted to behaving in a way that elicits the best in others, Louise believes all people have worth and deserve to be treated with respect. As a media specialist and faculty member at Lewis and Clark Community College, she serves as a mentor and friend to students and co-workers alike. Nothing makes her happier than sharing knowledge and learning from others.

Board of Directors

Harry Shaughnessy, Chair

Board Member since 2013

Research Triangle, North Carolina

Biography

Harry Shaughnessy is the former President of Triangle Freethought Society in Raleigh, North Carolina, and runs a successful software consulting process. Harry attended North Carolina State University where he graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Most recently Harry is working on a game development startup focused on outdoor electronic gaming.

Through his work in various roles with TFS, Harry has been able to help build a diverse and vibrant community of atheists, agnostic and secular humanists. During his time working with the local community, Harry was able to bring attention to important causes while demonstrating that a life without religion can be quite meaningful and fun. In 2015, CNN featured Harry and his family in a front-page piece entitled "the friendly atheists next door."

Jennie Frishtick, Vice Chair

Board Member since 2019

New York, New York

Biography

Jennie Frishtick works at a government relations firm in New York City, where she helps clients in different sectors navigate local government. Previously, Jennie worked as an Organizer for the Democratic Party of Virginia in the 2016 election cycle, and has also interned with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in NYC.

Jennie founded the Claremont Colleges chapter of the Secular Student Alliance while she was a student at Scripps College, where she majored in Sociology with an emphasis in Secular Studies. For her senior thesis, Jennie carried out a quantitative survey of Claremont students’ (ir)religious affiliations, beliefs, and practices: Liberal Arts, Religion, and Irreligion: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Student Religiosity and Secularity at the Claremont Colleges.

Shanti Priya, Treasurer

Board Member since 2021

Los Angeles, California

Biography

Shanti Priya is a financial executive focused on developing and executing strategies that have both immediate and lasting impacts on businesses and their profitability. Whether working in a large, multi-national company or a smaller, local company, she leverages her fifteen plus years of retail industry experience, business acumen, and operational expertise to achieve organizational objectives and build high-performing teams. Collaborative and transparent in style, she strives to continually learn and grow by working through the challenges in life and connects people together by appreciating multiple perspectives, openness, and listening.

Shanti is currently the CFO of Maxfield Enterprises, Inc. and lives in Los Angeles. She has an MBA from the University of Southern California and is a graduate of Scripps College where she majored in Honors English Literature and minored in Biology. In her free time, she loves to hike, knit, and cook for friends and family.

Alexis Eklund, Secretary

Board Member since 2021

Alta Loma, California

Biography

Alexis Eklund is a business owner, stylist, and natural cosmetic designer residing in Southern California. She is driven by her love for, and interest in people and tries to move through the world in a way that is considerate of herself and others.

Alexis graduated with honors from Pitzer College and holds two bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Secular Studies, as well as an associate degree with a focus in Anthropology. She was named the President Council Scholar for her unique academic work in Secular Studies. Alexis has been an organizer and volunteer with varied secular groups and clubs including the Claremont Colleges chapter of the Secular Student Alliance.

Nicholas Benedict

Board Member since 2018

Los Angeles, California

Biography

Nicholas Benedict is a Chief Executive Officer and Board Director who is known for his ability to drive growth by creating new revenue streams and optimizing existing ones. His primary area of expertise is in digital marketing, supported by skills in strategy, service operations, and finance. He recently exited his last company in a trade sale after founding and building it to encompass a powerful digital marketing platform selling hundreds of products and services, annual revenue growth of >20% over twelve years, and a corporate infrastructure to support 70+ staff and operations in 30 countries.

Nicholas holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, and a bachelor’s degree in History from McGill University in Montreal, and was awarded scholarships for academic and leadership performance at both. He has global experience, having worked in 9 countries on 4 continents and is functional in French and German.

Nicholas lives in Los Angeles, CA. In his free time, he plays a leadership role in the Los Angeles Toy Loan Program for underprivileged children and also performs as a stand-up comedian at local comedy clubs, charity events, and festivals.

Evan Clark

Board Member since 2011

Los Angeles, California

Biography

Evan is a humanist entrepreneur, political consultant, and public speaker. Evan serves as executive director of Atheists United and is the founder and creative director at Spectrum Experience LLC. Previously he was co-host of the Humanist Experience podcast and co-founder of the Humanist Community of Ventura County.

As a student leader, Evan was the founder and president of the Secular Student Alliance at California Lutheran University from 2008 to 2011. In 2010, Evan was elected California Lutheran University's first openly atheist student body president.

Mary Zhang

Board Member since 2021

Montreal, Canada

Biography

Mary Zhang is a rising senior at McGill University in Canada, pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Strategic Management, concentration in International Business, and minor in Sociology. Growing up as an atheist woman of color in the American Deep South, secular identity and activism are deeply personal and important to her.

Mary has been involved with the SSA since 2016, when she first attempted to start an SSA chapter at her high school in Florida. Throughout the years since, Mary has been involved with multiple SSA national efforts and local chapters alike. Mary served on the SSA National Leadership Council and leads her own chapter as co-founder and president.

Outside of secularism, Mary is passionately involved in political activism, sustainable/social impact business, anti-racism & anti-oppression work, and LGBTQ2IA+ advocacy. Mary is also an active member of the McGill Greek community and a proud sister of Kappa Alpha Theta. Upon graduation, Mary is excited to enter the field of consulting, where she will continue to challenge the preconceptions of how business professionals are expected to contribute to the world.

Josephine Jacob

Board Member since 2021

San Antonio, Texas

Biography

Josephine Jacob (she/her) is an undergraduate student at Trinity University (TX), majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology!

She has been a member of the Secular Student Alliance chapter at Trinity University since her freshman year and has held service chair and Vice President roles. She is now serving as the president of her chapter for the 2021-2022 school year.

Josephine loves the SSA community, and the welcoming environment it provides for secular people, and can’t wait to help her chapter grow while contributing to the national board.

Paul Reed

Board Member since 2020

Princeton, New Jersey

Biography

Paul Reed is also a Board Member for Gift Of Adoption Fund, the largest non-discriminatory provider of adoption assistance grants that give vulnerable children a permanent home and the chance to thrive.

Paul advises numerous organizations from Fortune 500 to startups and is known for his ability to solve complex problems by creating corporate strategies to help drive additional revenue. His areas of expertise are in customer success, turnarounds, special projects, international expansion, and corporate strategy/governance.

Paul previously worked at ResponseTap, Europe's largest call intelligence provider to lead efforts for international expansion from Europe to North America.

Paul is passionate about secularism, civil rights, and environmental protection.

Charles Legg

Board Member since 2021

East Falmouth, Massachusetts

Biography

Charles Legg is a biotech executive and entrepreneur. He has a strong business acumen and has focused much of his career leading cross-functional teams and organizations. He is passionate about the development of cutting edge therapeutics for rare diseases and significant unmet medical needs. He has worked for a range of companies (small & large) and has significant experience helping to build and grow start-ups. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for CureLab Oncology and is on the BOD for NxGen Medicine, a gene therapy company in the San Francisco Bay Area. Charles also has a strong interest in AI and transformational technologies. Charles previously served as VP N.American operations for Clinithink, a clinically focused AI/Natural Language Processing (NLP) company.

Charles is a graduate of Colby College (Waterville, ME). He enjoys working with and connecting different experts, passionate individuals and people dedicated to making good things happen. He lives on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and enjoys DIY projects, sea kayaking, and travel.

Alexander Horwitz

Board Member since 2021

New York, New York

Biography

Alexander Horwitz is a nonprofit director who has spent his career supporting the work of organizations targeting poverty alleviation, workforce development, legal advocacy, and public health. He is currently the Executive Director of New Yorkers United for Justice, New York State's leading criminal justice reform coalition. Prior to joining NYUJ, he was for six years Chief of Staff of The Doe Fund, one of the nation's largest providers of homeless services. He sits on the Board of Directors of The Liberty Fund, a New York City-wide charitable bail and pretrial services organization that he helped to found in 2016. He is the recipient of several awards for his work, including Crain’s 40 under 40 in New York Business, Mutual of America's Community Partnership award, and New York Nonprofit Media’s Rising Star award. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago.

Bradley Goodloe

Board Member since 2021

Altanta, Georgia

Biography

Bradley Goodloe is a Talent Sourcing Strategist, Professional Development Professional, and DEI Champion. He currently works as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program Manager at VMware, actively working to create opportunities for underrepresented groups and non-traditional talent.

In his former position, he was instrumental in the creation of Roswell Next, a young professionals organization created with the goal of encouraging local participation and open dialogue amongst young professionals, to influence the Social, Civic and Economic growth of Roswell, NM.

A proud alumnus of Tuskegee University, Bradley volunteers his time and expertise to serve as a mentor to HBCU students and provides resume writing and review through his organization, ResumeHustle. He has also provided work readiness trainings through the Department of Labor and Goodwill Industries, and pivotal support to work release programs for formerly incarcerated individuals.

With 10 years of experience within multiple areas of Human Resources, Bradley has had the opportunity to advise various organizations on diversity initiatives and organizational development, and has developed multiple scholarship programs focused around various industries to combat inequities and lack of access for students in need.

Bradley brings with him a passion and dedication to enhancing opportunities for people of color in all spaces, mentorship within the community, and a personal philosophy to make the path easier for those that follow.

Dave Pasin

Board Member since 2020

Vancouver, British Columbia

Biography

Dave Pasin is a President and Chief Executive Officer and Board Director who is known for being a leader in his industry and his ability to spot an unnoticed niche and move to be first to with innovative product to meet the market. His imagination, flexibility and keen eye for opportunities in very conservative industries has driven the growth of his companies and created new revenue streams in increasingly competitive markets. His primary area of expertise is in research and development of innovative products and is supported by honing his skills in strategy finance and technical operations. His companies have won awards for innovation, marketing, environmental stewardship and community involvement.

Dave has a BA Psych (University of Victoria) and a MS Community Counselling (Seattle Pacific). He was well known for being a student leader with his Alma Mater Society, Psychological Students Association, Arts, Entertainment and Political editor for his university newspaper and for being president of the Liberal Party Association on campus. Dave has been known as a leader in development of innovative environmental technologies in his industry and is a renowned and in demand speaker on environmental issues and regulations within the chemicals industry. He has global trade experience and is fluent in English, Italian and functional in French.

Dave lives in Vancouver, British Columbia where he is President of The Vancouver South Lions Club and a Board member of The Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services Citizens Advisory Committee and the Non Partisan Association, Grandview Woodlands Community Council and past president of West End Community Centre and Vancouver Trojans Football Association. In his free time, he plays recreational softball, enjoys life with his 2 dogs, attempts to learn the Saxophone and is involved in organizing and raising funds for a variety of causes including Guide Dogs of Canada and is a volunteer with a variety of festivals in Vancouver.

Get Involved!

Interested in becoming a Board Member or part of the National Leadership Council?

Email us at ssa@secularstudents.org for information regarding upcoming board vacancies.

National Leadership Council

The National Leadership Council is a select group of students and recent alumni who provide insight, guidance, and support to the national Secular Student Alliance.

Iana Bullard

Midwestern State University

Biography

Iana Bullard is a Senior international student at Midwestern State University pursuing her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), with a minor in Non-profit Management. She is a part of the LGBTQ+ community and facilitates collaborations with the MSU Texas P.R.I.D.E. organization.

Iana co-founded the MSUTexas Secular Student Alliance organization in Fall 2019, and for the 2020-2021 school year she will serve as President.

Iana grew up in a Christian-focused country with a religious family background. When she moved to Wichita Falls to continue her education she found the city had its similarities to her own country but there were spaces to express one's own beliefs and grow one's own understanding of them. It was easier to foster communities of like-minded people without the thought of great consequence. Through this realization, it was evident that the space for secular conversation was still missing from the community on and off-campus. She and her co-founder and fellow NLC member, Tojya Vital, felt that there were more people out there feeling, thinking, and believing in the same hemisphere as them and they deserved a space to call their own. So, in the fall of 2018, the MSUTexas Secular Student Alliance grew from more than just a floating thought. This fall will mark our 1st anniversary and she couldn't be prouder.

Alana Carter

Nazareth College, '19

Biography

Alana Carter is a recent graduate of Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. Alana majored in French and Anthropology and minored in Women and Gender Studies and Interfaith Studies. During the 2018-2019 school year she was a leader of Alternative Spiritual Humanists, ASH, and registered the club as a part of the Secular Student Alliance. She hopes that after she graduates she can still keep in touch with ASH and help continue its growth.

Alana has discovered much of what it means to her about being a secular spiritualist by traveling all around the world both alone and with campus-organized trips. She has traveled to a monastery in Taizé, France and has traveled to El Paso, Texas for a border immersion experience trip. These trips have helped her experience her own spirituality as well as those of other participants. Alana is committed to taking what she learns on her trips to help promote social justice by ways of solidarity and sharing stories of those she interacts with.

Alana has been a part of the interfaith community on Nazareth’s campus for four years as a secular student. She has served as the social justice officer for the Interfaith Leadership Cohort on campus and has participated in several interfaith volunteer events. In the fall of 2020, Alana will attend seminary to get a Masters of Divinity with a concentration in interreligious chaplaincy with hopes to become a humanist chaplain on a university campus.

Sophie Cote

Fordham University

Biography

Sophie Cote is a junior at Fordham University in New York City, and is originally from Sanford, Maine. She is pursuing a double major in Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Economics and Classical Civilizations. After attending a secular public high school in the Northeast, Sophie made the transition to a Jesuit Catholic college. She noticed her school’s commitment to providing a pluralistic community for students of differing religious backgrounds, but a lack of community for secular students. The second semester of her freshman year, she started the process of opening a chapter of Secular Student Alliance on Fordham’s Rose Hill Campus.

The purpose of Secular Student Alliance at Fordham University is to provide an opportunity for secular students to participate in community-building, volunteering, and discussions usually only available to students who belong to specific religious groups.

In addition to being the president of Secular Student Alliance, Sophie is the president of Astronomy Club, and vice president of Economics Society at Fordham University. She is also a member of the Rose Hill Honors Program. Sophie is committed to using her voice as president of SSA to promote secular humanist values.

Kennisha Entsminger

University of Iowa

Biography

Kennisha Entsminger is a senior at the University of Iowa majoring in Health Studies with future plans to become a Certified Nurse Midwife. She is the returning president of Secular Students at Iowa (SecSI), which she joined her freshman year and soon became the secretary. Through her time with SecSI, she has helped guide her chapter to make a name for themselves on campus by not only holding their own events but being involved in local protests and marches for causes from science advocacy to women's rights.

Coming to college, Kennisha proudly knew she was an atheist, but it wasn't something to comfortably speak of in her hometown of Davenport, Iowa, despite it being a metropolitan city. Seeing SecSI at a student organization fair brought her excitement and she immediately fell in love with the group and its mission, which encouraged her to join the executive board only months later. She is proud to say that she is the first person to serve two terms as president of SecSI, and is also the first woman of color to be president for the group since its inception in 2013. This past year as president, she worked along with SSA in getting Dan Barker to speak on campus, which became SecSI's largest attended event to date. She is excited to continue working with SSA in an even more involved role through the SSA National Leadership Council!

Always keeping busy, Kennisha also serves on the executive board of many organizations that she is passionate about. A strong advocate for mental health awareness, Kennisha is the president of the University of Iowa's Active Minds chapter and vice president of the Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness chapter. She is also the secretary of the school's NAACP chapter and volunteers as an anti-violence coordinator for the university's Women's Resource and Action Center and is a clinic patient escort at Iowa City's Emma Goldman Clinic.

Dalton McCart

Missouri State University

Biography

Dalton McCart is a senior at Missouri State University, pursuing a major in Biology and a minor in Mathematics. He was raised in southern Missouri by a not so religious home, but a very religious community and extended family. Dalton has been an open Secular Humanist since he was 13. He was turned away by most of his family, and many in his community for not sharing their overwhelming Baptist and Pentecostal views. In this, he understands the need for a community for those who have lost their church or family due to being their true self.

Dalton was involved with the SSA chapter starting in 2014, at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR, and has since joined the MSU chapter after a brief hiatus from school and transfer to Springfield, MO. He has served the MSU as a Student Government Association representative for the group and as the president. Dalton is now a student advisor helping the younger students step into their roles as leaders. During his leadership at the MSU chapter, they worked to bring speakers to the university, provide a community for any secular student or community member, represent Secular Humanism through volunteering, protesting, and speaking in front of legislators for the rights of religious freedom including the Secular Humanist position, and taking Secular Students to conferences to help show support for the greater Secular community.

Ultimately, Dalton is excited to see his local SSA chapter continue to grow and be a positive influence for Secular Students not only at MSU but throughout the community at large.

Tojya Vital

Midwestern State University Texas

Biography

Tojya Vital is an undergraduate student at the Midwestern State University. She is a Mechanical Engineering major and her dream is to work in the autonomous vehicle industry.

Tojya started really owning her secular identity in college and in her junior year, she decided to do something about the lack of a community for secular students on campus. She started the MSU Texas Secular Student Alliance with the goal of creating that community and served as the president in the founding year.

On a college campus located in the Bible belt, there is still a lot of work to be done to normalize atheism. Tojya is excited to continue doing her part to reduce the stigma. In addition to the promotion of skeptical thinking and secular values, she is also passionate about animal rights.

Mary Zhang

McGill University

Biography

Mary Zhang is a junior at McGill University in Canada, pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Strategic Management, concentration in International Business, and minor in Sociology. Growing up as an atheist woman of color in the American Deep South, secular identity and activism are deeply personal and important to her.

Mary has been involved with the SSA since 2016, when she first attempted to start a SSA chapter at her high school, Dr Phillips (Orlando, FL). Throughout the years since, Mary has been involved with multiple SSA national efforts and local chapters alike. Currently, Mary is leading the founding of a Pan-Montreal SSA chapter that all secular youths in the area can call home.

Outside of secularism, Mary is passionately involved in political activism, sustainable/social impact business, anti-racism & anti-oppression work, and LGBTQ2IA+ advocacy. Mary is also an active member of the McGill Greek community and proud sister of Kappa Alpha Theta. Upon graduation, Mary is excited to enter the field of consulting, where she will continue to challenge the preconceptions of how business professionals are expected to contribute to the world.

Mary would like to thank her partner, Joshua, for growing with her in their secular and personal journeys for the past 4 years. From the failed co-founders of a high school chapter, to now president of the Florida State University Chapter and member of the National Leadership Council respectively, they have come far as a couple, as atheists, and as leaders — together.

Bylaws & Finance

Our People

Staff

Board of Directors

National Leadership Council

Staff

Kevin Bolling Executive Director

National Organizing Manager

Katlin Murray

Campus Organizer - West

James Dean Vaillancourt

Campus Organizer - East

Louise Jett Social Media

Board of Directors

Harry Shaughnessy, Chair

Jennie Frishtick, Vice Chair

Shanti Priya, Treasurer

Alexis Eklund, Secretary

Nicholas Benedict

Evan Clark

Mary Zhang

Josephine Jacob

Paul Reed

Charles Legg

Alexander Horwitz

Bradley Goodloe

Dave Pasin

Get Involved!

National Leadership Council

Iana Bullard

Alana Carter

Sophie Cote

Kennisha Entsminger

Dalton McCart

Tojya Vital

Mary Zhang

Kevin Bolling
Executive Director

Louise Jett
Social Media