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.

Matthew Korn
National Organizing Manager

ssaorganizer@secularstudents.org

Biography

Born in Colorado and raised in St. Louis, Matt was a resident of Austin, Texas for over 20 years before recently moving to Los Angeles. During his time in Austin, Matt was an activist in a variety of movements, including anti-death penalty, anti-war, queer rights, gender equality, and union solidarity organizing.

After earning his BA in Anthropology from Texas State University in San Marcos, Matt helped co-found Queerbomb Austin, an alternative and fiercely inclusive annual queer pride event. Following the 2016 election, Matt helped to organize solidarity events to show broad support for Austin's Muslim community. He also co-founded Austin LGBT for Black Lives in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd in 2020. More recently Matt has worked on electoral campaigns in central Texas, helping to support progressive candidates at the city, county, and state levels. He also served as Campaign Manager for Austin is Safer When, a project to reallocate funds away from the Austin Police Department and toward alternative public safety projects and supportive housing for houseless folks.

Matt is excited to now call Los Angeles home and lives there with his partner Wyatt and their two adorable fur babies, Becca and Hansel.

Stephanie Torres
Campus Organizer - West

ssawest@secularstudents.org

Biography

Chase Daseler
Campus Organizer - East

ssaeast@secularstudents.org

Biography

Chase Daseler has been involved in activism since age 19 when he took his first canvassing job during the summer in between years attending college. This awakened in him a desire to create positive change in the world and a new awareness of just how needed this is. He thus discovered that nurturing communities who work to achieve together what they can't do alone would be the passion that would drive him forward through the rest of his life.

Chase is also passionate, in his spare time, about watching movies, going on hikes, and spending time with friends and family.

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/Secretary

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.

Ryan Bodanyi

Board Member since 2022

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Biography

Ryan Bodanyi's career spans research and advocacy, primarily in the environmental movement. He holds a Ph.D. and MS degrees from the University of Washington, where his research explored what cities and counties in the US are doing to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions, and how those efforts influence local finance. He's built campaigns for the National Wildlife Federation, Clean Water Action, and the Clean Air Task Force. And he founded a non-profit to advocate for the half-million survivors of the 1984 chemical disaster in Bhopal, India, which he led for five years. He currently works with the Climate & Energy team at CivicWell.
When Ryan isn’t trying to save the world – how’s he doing so far? – he enjoys the company of his houseplants, to which he coos unselfconsciously. He also loves long bike rides, building community, and justice, not necessarily in that order.

Kristina Lee

Board Member since 2022

Fort Collins, Colorado

Biography

Kristina M. Lee is currently completing her Ph.D. in Communication Studies at Colorado State University and will be starting as an Assistant Professor at the University of South Dakota in the fall of 2022. Her research focuses on the intersections of religious and political rhetoric with a particular focus on secular rhetorical criticism, Christian nationalism, and the marginalization of atheists. Her award-winning work on “theistnormativity” focuses on and challenges how political discourses, rituals, and symbols normalize a connection between good citizenship and belief in God in the United States. She is passionate about promoting productive interfaith dialogues and civic engagement.

Chinelle Ekanem

Board Member since 2022

Bethesda, Maryland

Biography

Chinelle Ekanem is a Nigerian-American Attorney with a passion for marginalized community advocacy. Chinelle works as the Assistant Corporate Counsel for Melwood, a nonprofit that advocates for and empowers individuals with disabilities to transform their lives through unique employment opportunities, job training, life skill improvement, and recreational services in the Washington D.C. area.

Chinelle has a B.A. in Political Science and focused her studies on international relations (Virginia Commonwealth University), as well as a J.D. with a focus on Business Law and Civil Rights (New England Law). Chinelle has a wide range of professional experience in the public and nonprofit sectors, and has been committed to creating change in her community through grassroots organizing and volunteering with local nonprofits. In her free time, Chinelle enjoys mentoring underrepresented college students, psychology, yoga, and exploring other cultures through cooking and music.

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, legal advocacy, and public health. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Legal Services NYC, the nation's largest provider of civil legal services for underserved communities. Previously, he was Executive Director of New Yorkers United for Justice, a criminal justice reform coalition, and Chief of Staff of The Doe Fund, one of the country's best known providers of homeless services. 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.

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.

Advocacy Committee

Sasha Sagan

Member since 2022

Boston, Massachusetts

Biography

Sasha Sagan is a writer and speaker. Her essays and interviews on mortality, motherhood, and history, from a secular viewpoint have appeared in The Cut, O the Oprah Magazine, Parents, and beyond. She’s the author of the critically acclaimed book For Small Creatures Such As We, an exploration of celebrations and rituals through a scientific lens. Inverse named Sasha one of their Future 50, “a group of 50 people who will be forces of good in the 2020s”.

Rev. Barry Lynn

Member since 2022

Washington, DC

Biography

Barry W. Lynn is both an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a member of the Supreme Court bar. He worked on fighting censorship during years with the Washington Office of the ACLU and began advocacy there for a strong separation of church and state. He continued this work for 25 years as Executive Director of Americans United For Separation of Church and State, retiring in 2019. Since retirement, he has been working on a memoir called "Paid To Piss People Off" and is a regular commentator on the "David Feldman Show" on YouTube and John Fuegelsang's Sirius/XM radio broadcast "Tell Me Everything"

Lynn is the author of three previous books and has appeared on virtually every major radio and television show in the United States. He is a graduate of Dickinson College, the Boston University School of Theology and Georgetown University Law Center.

Anjan Chakravartty

Member since 2022

Miami, Florida

Biography

Anjan Chakravartty is the Appignani Foundation Chair for the Study of Atheism, Humanism, and Secular Ethics at the University of Miami. He holds a BSc in Biophysics and an MA in Philosophy, as well as an MPhil and PhD in the history and philosophy of science. Anjan is a Guggenheim Fellow, authoring books and articles in the philosophy of science, metaphysics, and epistemology. He taught previously at the Universities of Cambridge and Toronto, where he was Director of the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, and at Notre Dame, where he was Director of the John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values. Between degrees, he worked on various projects in international development, a cause he feels strongly about to this day.

Elizabeth Reiner Platt

Member since 2022

New York, New York

Biography

Elizabeth Platt is the Director of the Law, Rights, and Religion Project at Columbia Law School. Before joining Columbia, she was a Staff Attorney at MFY Legal Services Mental Health Law Project. After graduating from New York University School of Law, she was a Carr Center for Reproductive Justice Fellow at A Better Balance. During law school, Liz worked with the Urban Justice Sex Workers Project, New York Civil Liberties Union, and Brennan Center for Justice. In 2013, she published Gangsters to Greyhounds: The Past, Present and Future of Offender Registration, 37 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 727 (2013).

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.

Paschal Obochi

(he/him)

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Biography

Paschal Ogochukwu Obochi is an International graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is pursuing a master's of law with a double concentration in Corporate Law and International and Comparative Law.

Paschal founded the SendAChildToSchool Initiative, a non-profit organization that sponsors indigent kids to go to school. Paschal advised Goodcare Global Group and other corporations in Nigeria as a corporate counsel and worked at the National Assembly of Nigeria.

Paschal is kind, open-minded, empathetic, and an ardent believer in rationality. He is passionate about secularism and the education of children. He aims to expand the reach of secular thought in Africa, where religion has enslaved many. He enjoys working with experts and committed individuals in different fields of human endeavors.

Rachel Himelhoch

(she/her)

University of Michigan

Biography

Rachel Himelhoch is a Health Science Scholars Program student at the University of Michigan and is planning to major in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience. As a freshman in the HSSP program, Rachel has had the opportunity to learn about medical inequity from a diverse group of speakers, as well as explore the medical field.

Rachel identifies as a Secular Humanistic Jew and has been attending The Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit since she was 9. However, she was raised in a predominantly white, Christian city. Being different fueled her passion for a more diverse and inclusive society, leading her to join the Secular Student Alliance.

Rachel is currently working to re-start the University of Michigan’s SSA chapter in order to give secular, humanist, and allied students a place to build community and volunteer. Additionally, she would like the UMich SSA chapter to add to the UMich Interfaith Council, in order to help promote understanding and empathy between different groups.

Andrew Ladenheim

(he/him)

University of New Hampshire School of Law

Biography

Nathan Unruh

(he/him)

University of Central Oklahoma

Biography

Nathan Unruh is a Psychology senior at the University of Central Oklahoma. He is the president of Psi Chi The International Honor's Society in Psychology. He is also the president of Peer Health Leadership, which does evidence based programs to promote general health behaviors on campus. Nathan also serves on the executive team for Big Event, the largest day of service at UCO.

Nathan grew up in a fundamental Wesleyan household. He started doubting his faith around senior year of high school and became an agnostic atheist around his sophomore year of college. His junior year he started the SSA chapter on UCO's campus and served as President for its first year. Nathan was moved to start an SSA chapter on his campus because he knew what it was like to not fit in with a church anymore and knew there were others like him who were seeking a secular community in the midst of the Bible Belt.

Nathan has since stepped down as chapter President but continues to give advice and guidance to the current officers to ensure the chapter thrives after his graduation.

Jessica Finger

(she/her)

Cornell University

Biography

Jessica Finger is a junior at Cornell University majoring in Agricultural Sciences and minoring in Religious Studies. Jessica is from Long Island, New York, and is a lifelong atheist who was raised Jewish. She went to a religious school until sixth grade, and all of her friends and family were Jewish. She did not spend a lot of time thinking about why she rejected religion and didn’t believe in God until she met friends in high school who challenged her thinking by virtue of their strong religious beliefs.

Jessica's visit to Peru in 2020, where Christianity was pervasive, elevated her skepticism of religion. Inspired to become a better skeptic and investigate her lack of belief, she began listening to atheist podcasts and reading the Bible for herself, blogging about it on Instagram @atheistbiblestudy.

Secularism and atheism became a big part of Jessica’s identity, inspiring her to found Secular Students of Cornell this past year. Jessica wants to promote critical thinking and skepticism, as well as secular values and secular pride. Besides secularism, she is passionate about plant-based foods, sustainable agriculture, and animal rights.

Bylaws & Finance

Our People

Staff

Board of Directors

National Leadership Council

Staff

Kevin Bolling Executive Director

Matthew Korn National Organizing Manager

Stephanie Torres Campus Organizer - West

Chase Daseler Campus Organizer - East

Louise Jett Social Media

Board of Directors

Harry Shaughnessy, Chair

Jennie Frishtick, Vice Chair/Secretary

Shanti Priya, Treasurer

Ryan Bodanyi

Kristina Lee

Chinelle Ekanem

Mary Zhang

Josephine Jacob

Paul Reed

Charles Legg

Alexander Horwitz

Dave Pasin

Advocacy Committee

Sasha Sagan

Rev. Barry Lynn

Anjan Chakravartty

Elizabeth Reiner Platt

Get Involved!

National Leadership Council

Paschal Obochi

Rachel Himelhoch

Andrew Ladenheim

Nathan Unruh

Jessica Finger

Kevin Bolling
Executive Director

Matthew Korn
National Organizing Manager

Stephanie Torres
Campus Organizer - West

Chase Daseler
Campus Organizer - East

Louise Jett
Social Media