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.

Ryan Bell
National Organizing Manager

ryan.bell@secularstudents.org

Biography

Ryan Bell comes to the Secular Student Alliance after nearly 20 years in congregational pastoral ministry and, in 2014, a very public deconversion that he wrote about at the “Year Without God” blog. Since that time, Ryan has been a writer and speaker on the subjects of religion, humanism and justice. In 2015, he founded Life After God and the Life After God podcast of which he is the host.

He is also the Humanist Chaplain at the University of Southern California. His writing can be found at The Humanist, CNN, and The Guardian.

When he's not working he can usually be found in the kitchen or reading a book with a glass of wine.

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.

Janelle Cronk
Campus Organizer

janelle.cronk@secularstudents.org

Biography

Janelle Cronk holds a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies and a BS in Global Business from the University of Redlands. As an undergraduate she worked in Campus Diversity and Inclusion as a Pride Center Intern and was engaged across campus with various student clubs. Janelle then went on to earn her MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science where she was a Rotary Global Grant Scholar for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Most recently she worked at the Southern Poverty Law Center as a Program Coordinator where she helped develop programming for college students working on LGBT Rights, Immigrant Rights, Racial Justice, Economic Justice, and Voting Rights.

Nicholas Velasco
Campus Organizer

nicholas.velasco@secularstudents.org

Biography

Nicholas Velasco holds an associate degree from San Diego Mesa College and bachelor’s degree from California State University San Bernardino in United States history. After graduation Nicholas began working in education as a youth leader for the YMCA. After several months he rose through the ranks to become an assistant site supervisor then a site director for YMCA youth programs.

He is pursuing a master’s degree in higher education through Saint Cloud State University. He hopes one day to become an academic advisor for a community college or university. As a recent transplant from San Diego, Nicholas spends his free time exploring Los Angeles, practicing photography, and trying new recipes.

Board of Directors

Evan Clark, Chair

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.

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Harry Shaughnessy, Treasurer

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."

Claire Vinyard, JD, Secretary

Board Member since 2017

Chicago, Illinois

Biography

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.

Jennie Frishtick

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.

Kayla Bowen

Board Member since 2017

Morehead, Kentucky

Biography

Kayla is an undergraduate student at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, studying psychology and philosophy.

Her plans are to attend graduate school, earn a Ph.D in psychology, and become a professor. She founded the MSU Secular Student Alliance chapter her freshmen year in response to anti-gay discrimination by Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused marriage licenses to gay couples after the Supreme Court decision to legalize same sex marriage. She also volunteers for the Morehead Pride Festival.

EJ Sorrell

Board Member since 2019

Austin, Texas

Biography

EJ Sorrell is an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, double majoring in Aerospace Engineering and Women’s and Gender Studies. They got involved with the Secular Student Alliance their first semester at UT in the fall of 2014 and found it incredible to be in a room full of other secular folks and know that they wouldn’t be interrogated and argued with about their religious beliefs or lack thereof. EJ has held three different officer positions in the organization, including their current position of president.

The SSA at UT Austin is primarily focused on community building for secular students. They want to provide a sense of community and welcoming that they remember feeling sitting in their first SSA meeting. People of any faith are welcome to attend, but they are mainly focused on allowing atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and other non-believers to have the space to talk openly about their lack of belief without feeling harassed or judged for it. They also strongly believe in the importance of a diverse and inclusive secular movement, especially given the history of many atheist spaces being unwelcoming to LGBT+ folks and people of color. They make an effort for anyone who believes in secular values to feel welcome, safe, and comfortable participating in their organization.

Lincoln Dow

Board Member since 2017

New York, New York

Biography

Lincoln Dow is a Politics student at New York University who founded the Secular Student Alliance affiliate at St. John’s School in his hometown of Houston, Texas.

He previously served as the founding political director of Texas Students United, a political action committee focused on youth advocacy, and has worked for a number of campaigns and public interest organizations.

Lincoln is passionate about secularism, civil and LGBTQ rights, animal rights, and environmental protection.

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.

Karma Alvey

Southeast Missouri State, '19

Biography

Karma Alvey is a Senior at Southeast Missouri State University pursuing a degree in Writing. She has been a member of the SEMO SSA chapter since it's revival in 2015, and currently serves as the chapter president.

Since coming into her secular identity, Karma has been involved in many causes, such as the Women's March on Washington and the March for Science. In addition, her advocacy extends home on the SEMO campus, where she has advocated for the removal of prayer at the university's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. dinner and has helped facilitate events such as interfaith dinners and talks from prominent atheists like Nathan Phelps.

Karma is also an aspiring writer, and her first short story featuring an atheist protagonist was recently published by the student literary journal on campus. In her spare time, Karma enjoys playing with her her hedgehog, Puck, and singing karaoke (she does a pretty good Wagon Wheel, honestly).

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.

Lisa Daugherty

Ivy Tech Community College

Biography

Lisa Daugherty is studying to be a substance abuse counselor at Ivy Tech Community College Evansville. She is a mom of 8 who was a licensed childcare provider for 10 years. Lisa always had a desire to help people and when she lost a family member to addictions she decided to go back to school.

She founded the Secular Student Alliance Evansville in the Spring of 2018 and is currently still President. Living in a very religious area there was a lot of adversity trying to start a secular club. She did not give up and realized that the best thing she could do was to create an interfaith community that could respectfully come together and recognize each other’s right to exist. She has become friends with the Bible Study Club president and has educated many at the school who had never met an atheist. Three of her biggest supporters for the club are Christians. They became members of SSA as allies when they saw the hate projected toward Lisa while just putting up flyers and tabling for the club.

Lisa has worked hard at breaking the stigma of being an atheist at her school. She tables at her school and is always busy educating students and professors about what secularism means. She has also been elected president of the Gay-Straight Alliance and will be interning with the local LGBTQ youth group, Tri-State Alliance, in the Fall. Lisa was the first openly atheist candidate to run for Student Government Vice president and won the position for the Fall of 2019.

Lisa also works part-time for the Campus Activities Board at her college and loves to volunteer. She went to Yabucoa, Puerto Rico during her Spring Break to volunteer with All Hands and Hearts to rebuild homes that were damaged from the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria. Lisa is excited to be a part of SSA’s National Leadership Council to continue doing her part in normalizing atheism.

Noah Davis

Jacksonville State University

Biography

Noah Davis is a sophomore studying geography at Jacksonville State University. Noah grew up in the rural collage town of Jacksonville, Alabama, where he attends college. Having experienced the isolation of being an atheist in the Bible belt of the south he was shocked and excited when he discovered that his college had a Secular Student Alliance in his freshman year. It didn't take long for Noah to know that he wanted to be more involved in this organization, and was able to take office of president of SSAJSU after only two semesters of being in the organization. He has been president of SSAJSU for only two semesters but has been able to lead the organization well by keeping the organization active and well attended after the founding members had graduated.

For the SSA he has organized major campus events, organized weekly meetings and facilitated fundraising. Noah Is dedicated to the idea of normalizing skeptical and secular thought in his community. In this endeavor, in addition to his work with SSA, Noah hosts a radio show on his community radio station devoted to challenging the political, religious, or philosophical beliefs of his listeners who call in. Noah is excited to extend his secular outreach by working more closely with SSA as a member of the National Leadership Council.

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.

Rachel Falk

Sonoma State University

Biography

Rachel Falk is an undergraduate student at Sonoma State University in northern California. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor's in psychology with a minor in biology. Her end goal is to earn a Ph.D. in neuroscience and work with children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

She first became active in the secular community after attending Camp Quest West (CQW) in 2015. During her first semester at SSU, she started Secular Seawolves with a goal to create a space that exudes the same sort of compassion, community, and acceptance that is modeled to her at CQW. She describes Secular Seawolves as a place for anyone, regardless of religious identity, to gather and rationally and respectfully discuss big ideas.

Alex Jackson

Carnegie Mellon University

Biography

Alex Jackson is an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon University studying Physics with a double major in Ethics, History and Public Policy (EHPP). She is the President of the Humanist League, a secular student group on her campus that she has been part of since freshmen year. In addition Alex serves on the board of directors, and as the chair of activism and social justice, for the Pittsburgh Freethought Community, a non-profit devoted to promoting humanistic values and secular action.

Her work focuses on educating and advancing secular values and philosophy among groups that are traditionally left out of these spaces. Alex accomplishes this by organizing and leading efforts such as speaking events, interfaith dialogs, and rallies, with student groups and communities across her city. Through her work, Alex hopes to create meaningful dialog that will bring people together and destigmatize secularism, in particular for people of color.

Gwen Salm

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Biography

Gwen Salm is a senior at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She’s majoring in biology and plans to go to pharmacy school after finishing her undergraduate degree. She joined her school’s Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics (AHA) group in her sophomore year when she transferred to UW–Madison. She joined as an intern and has moved up to co-president for her senior year. Gwen’s road to secularism has been challenging, and the AHA group has been really supportive through all of it. She feels fortunate to be a part of a group that can be a community for struggling secular and questioning folks.

Gwen has also been a fellow for the Center for Religion and Global Citizenry and is working on starting a group, The Interfaith Network, at her school. She grew up Catholic and has used interfaith work as an outlet to express her humanist values and make peace with her past. She feels strongly about fighting for inclusivity in the secular and general community, and makes that a priority in all of her work with AHA

Michael Surgeon

Southern Oregon University

Biography

Michael Surgeon is a junior at Southern Oregon University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in philosophy. He transferred to SOU after completing his associate’s degree at Rogue Community College, where he founded the RCC Secular Student Alliance in the Spring of 2018. He has now revived the Secular Students of Southern Oregon at SOU and will serve as the club’s president.

At Rogue Community College, Michael sought to create a club for secular students to come together and create change. For RCC’s SSA he organized major campus events such as a Drag Show that he also hosted and performed in as Antoinette, created workshops focused on discussions of race, religion, and oppression, and raised funds for the gender and sexual orientation club and the Trevor Project. Michael is dedicated to promoting and educating the public on secular values and he staunchly defends the separation of church and state as an avowed atheist.

Michael currently volunteers for the Rogue Action Center, a local nonprofit committed to environmental and social justice. He is currently working on recognizing and exposing white supremacists and other hate groups in Southern Oregon. A member of the LGBTQ community, Michael is committed to diversity and inclusion for all people. As a member of SSA’s National Leadership Council, Michael hopes to provide a voice for those in the secular community who may not always be heard.

Heather Swanson

Clarion University

Biography

Heather Swanson is a junior at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Environmental Biology with two minors: Environmental Sustainability and Geosciences. An animal rights lover and environmental enthusiast, she is happy to represent her chapter of SSA on the National Leadership Council.

Heather joined Clarion SSA the fall of her freshman year, and immediately took up the public relations chair. A then defunct campus group, she took up presidency her sophomore year and revitalized the club, valuing interfaith work and campus reachout. Besides SSA, she is a part of LGBT group A.L.L.I.E.S as well as Clarion Young Democratic Socialists of America. With the devoted help of her group members, Heather organized many new and old events for Clarion SSA, including Reverse Baptism, Stone an Atheist Day, Send an Atheist to Church, Secular Snacktime, movie nights, game nights and more. Clarion SSA can’t wait to get out there and do even more, and neither can Heather!

Bylaws & Finance

Our People

Staff

Board of Directors

National Leadership Council

Staff

Kevin Bolling Executive Director

Ryan Bell National Organizing Manager

Louise Jett Social Media

Janelle Cronk Campus Organizer

Nicholas Velasco Campus Organizer

Board of Directors

Evan Clark, Chair

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Harry Shaughnessy, Treasurer

Claire Vinyard, JD, Secretary

Nicholas Benedict

Jennie Frishtick

Kayla Bowen

EJ Sorrell

Lincoln Dow

Get Involved!

National Leadership Council

Karma Alvey

Alana Carter

Lisa Daugherty

Noah Davis

Kennisha Entsminger

Rachel Falk

Alex Jackson

Gwen Salm

Michael Surgeon

Heather Swanson

Kevin Bolling
Executive Director

Ryan Bell
National Organizing Manager

Louise Jett
Social Media

Janelle Cronk
Campus Organizer

Nicholas Velasco
Campus Organizer