Meet the Board
Who is helping me lead these ladies on their health journey?
Get to know our board a little better below!
Mujeres Que Mueven has chosen a international board of wonder women committed to our mission and expanding what MQM has to offer. Here’s a chance to get to know these ladies a little better!
I asked our board to answer the following questions. Check out their responses below!
Interview Questions
Question 1.) Where do you currently live
Question 2.) Favorite sport or activity
Question 3.) What part of MQM mission is meaningful to you and how will you help MQM achieve that mission?
Question 4.) Organizations who consciously create culture have more success in achieveing their desired goals as it allows the actions of every individual in that organization to be motivated from the same place. Thats’s why Mujeres Que Mueven cam together to choose five core values around which to consciously create a culture here in Aserradores (and abroad). These core values (featured in our logo) are what drive and motivate every decision we make as an organization.
What is one of your individual core values, and how does it connect to those of MQM?
MQM Core Values as seen in our logo: Responsibility, Self-Discipline, Humility, Teamwork, Equality
Question 5.) What are you most looking forward to as a member of the MQM team?
Question 6.) If you had to choose one great female leader dead or alive to have dinner with, who would you choose and why?
Shazia Mazhar | Director
B.A. in Sociology and Post-Grad Certificate in Communications and PR
1.) Toronto, Canada
2.) Surfing! And yes, I surf the Great Lakes in Canada
3.) It's all so important, but the self-advocacy really stands out to me. Through nutrition and exercise the women are also empowering themselves. I feel that I can help through spreading the word, providing support to the women, and sharing their successes to lift them up.
4.) I would say for me a core value is inclusion; making sure that we are lifting the voices of those that don't easily have a voice. This aligns a lot with the MQM value of equality. How we can help level the playing field for these women so they can be successful.
5.)The community of Aserradores have given me so much; I want to give back to them. When I can be there in person I always look forward to connecting with the women. And from afar I want to tell their stories!
6.) There are so many women that have had huge impacts it's hard to choose! I will say, based on the pandemic events of 2020 I would choose Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand. I think she's showing how to lead with compassion, empathy and decisiveness.
1.) Currently I live in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. I recently moved here from Boston, Massachusetts having lived there for 30 years.
2.) This is difficult for me to answer as I truly enjoy many different activities. I love to read, garden, doctorate/design, I love hockey(especially my Boston Bruins), and I’ve played soccer for over 30 years! As of this year I am no longer playing soccer, so I have taken up golf. Not as exciting, but definitely challenging.
3.) MQM’s mission on a whole truly speaks to me, but to me the mission of female empowerment speaks the loudest! Women who are confident and empowered change lives; theirs and those they touch. I am looking forward to providing MQM with medical knowledge that is helpful and appropriate for the benefit of the MQM members and their families.
4.) One of my inner core values is responsibility. The first step in responsibility is showing up. In order to be responsible for anything we have to show up first. From a very young age I had to be responsible, that doesn’t mean perfect. I had to show up each day and do the best I could that day. After a while those days add up and progress can be made. The women of Aserradores that attend the classes at MQM have multiple responsibilities and barriers to overcome before that can even get to class. That they push through those barriers and show up is a win for each one of them and the group as a whole! They are the true definition of responsibility!!
5.)I am very much looking forward to the growth of MQM on a whole. The growth of each individual member with regard to their knowledge of health/movement, and their growth as a supportive team of women who not only support each other, but use their knowledge to help themselves and their families.
6.) I would choose Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court. Justice Ginsburg is a true leader of her time and has written many judicial opinions that govern our country as well as empower the rights of women. She is a true leader.
Casey Leber | Vice-President and Secretary
B.S. in Nursing, M.S. in Nursing
Drew Reinhardt | President and Founder
Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist
1.) I live between Nicaragua and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
2.) Surfing and Olympic Weightlifting
3.) In the last 10 years of my life I have been focused on learning how to care for myself and my wellbeing. From living a more balanced lifestyle, to learning about what foods and wellness practices keep my feeling balanced and energized, to understanding the putting my personal health and wellbeing as my main priority allows me to show up, in the best version of myself, for all other areas of my life. A big part of MQM’s mission to learning how to self advocate. To know your “self” in a way that gives you permission to do what is right for you when you need it. And I hope to share as much of that knowledge as I can with the women of Aserradores and the greater community.
4.) One of my core values is authenticity. To me authenticity is the practice of honestly knowing oneself and approaching life from where we are and accepting where that place is. When we are honest with ourselves about where we are, we can create a path to achieve whatever goals we put our minds to. This speaks to the core values of MQM especially honesty and responsibility. When we know where we are. When we are able to stand authentically in ourselves and examine with kindness and curiosity what is fueling our growth and what is not and we have the courage to make changes and choices that serve us we are capable of achieving any goal. We are infinitely more powerful than we think.
5.) I am most looking forward to connecting with my community and finding ways to genuinely support the growth of the women of Aserradores where they need it most. Being able to care for ourselves, our nutrition, our health, is the foundation for personal success and a fantastic starting point for MQM. But I look forward to learning how MQM can be best of service to the women of the community, helping them to overcome barriers to wellness, fueling their personal and professional growth and providing them with opportunities for education and training that are currently unavailable in Aserradores. And of course always keeping the goal in mind of scaling those successful programs and bringing them to women across rural Nicaragua.
6.) I’ve always been attracted to stories about women who broke down social barriers in the name of achieving what they were told they could not. I don’t know if I could choose just one! There are so many but Eleanor Roosevelt, based on her famous quote “Well behaved women rarely make history” comes to mind. A quote given to me by my own mother which hangs in my bathroom. Closely behind might be Amelia Earhardt and Joan of Ark, who I have been enamored of since I did a report on her in the 3rd grade!
1.) Nicaragua
2.) Boxing and Yoga
3.) Promote a healthier lifestyle for women and encourage them to take time for self-care. Also, because it is the only safe space for local’s women in the area. In my role as treasurer I can help with project management and looking for funding opportunities.
4.) I believe we can do more in a group than working alone. That's why i believe teamwork is the key to achieve social cohesion and a sense of belonging. I also advocate for women's rights and equality.
5.) I look forward to promoting workshops in different areas such as gender, female leadership, self-esteem, feminism and sorority as well as women's rights.
6.) Simone the Beauvoir, Malala for her work in women’s rights and gender equality.
Edith Barreda | Treasurer
B.A. in Social Science and Economics
Melissa Lowery | Director
U.S. Army Combat Medic
1.) Myrtle Beach, SC
2.) Golf, kayaking and fishing
3.) The culture that MQM wants to create for women to help them on a stronger path and to empower them to achieve any goal that they set their minds to
4.) Trust and Respect. Because this particular core value is both internal and external it is something that can be used in the daily Operations as well as with communications of MQM
5.) What I look forward to would definitely watching MQM grow and the possibility of it branching to other areas. I also look forward to seeing how these women’s lives continue to change and how it impacts their families lives as well
6.) Margaret Thatcher. She was a highly educated women that always continued to strive and make herself better. She was the first female British Prime Minister and has held that seat longer than anyone and she started at the bottom and worked her way up to Prime Minister. She always handled herself with dignity amongst the staunch members of the Parliament. She pulled her country through a recession and survived an assassination attempt, but still continued to serve as the Prime Minister.