Board of Directors
Gary Kaplan
President
Gary Kaplan
Gary Kaplan has been vegan for over 22 years and has been involved in vegan activism for much of that time. He is an RN working in nurse simulation education and holds Master’s degree in Nursing Informatics. He currently lives in Rockville MD with his rescued kitty.
Jeanette Irwin
Vice President
Jeanette Irwin
Jeanette has been on the Board since June 2020, and a vegan since she started adopting racing greyhounds in 2008. She organizes several of VSDC’s activities including the Vegan Trekkers hikes, Potluck Cook Club and Game Nights. Originally hailing from San Francisco, she moved to the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington DC in 2000, where she now lives with her husband, Dave, and their two feisty cats, Henry and Russell.
Elissa Free
Elissa is a long-time member of VSDC and has served on the board since 2016. Her first exposure to VSDC was when her mother brought her to VSDC potlucks in a church basement in the 1970s!
A vegan since 2008, Elissa lives with her husband Bill, three cats (Freddy, Anna & Babycake) and little dog, Chucky. Her daughter Amanda, who inspired her to go vegan, lives in Colorado and runs marathons. Elissa’s professional background is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elissa-free-9a75846/
Sara Murray
Secretary
Sara Murray
Sara is a plant-based Registered Dietitian, a supporter of animal rights organizations, and an active investor in vegan startups. In 2004 she became a vegetarian and has been vegan for the majority of the time since then. She is also on the board of the Farvue Foundation. She’s a DC native and happy to be back after spending several years in San Francisco. A rescue mutt and a rotating assortment of foster cats and kittens ensure that there is never a dull moment at home.
Saurabh Dalal
Co-Treasurer
Saurabh Dalal
Saurabh Dalal enjoys being involved in outreach, education, and greater advocacy of a vegan lifestyle as a compelling solution to many global problems. Saurabh is a lifelong vegetarian, ethical vegan since 1991, and volunteers as a board member/advisor to numerous vegan-oriented organizations. He has been active in the Jain community and has long been interested in ethical investments. Saurabh works as an engineering consultant, holds graduate degrees in engineering and physics, and explores ways of integrating sound science into related activism.
Molly Kogan
Co-Treasurer
Molly Kogan
David Banks
At-large
David Banks
David has been vegan since 1995. He has served on several national and local boards including National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, Fairfax County Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Board, and foundation boards of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Born and raised in NYC, now living in Germantown, MD with Nia (13 year old cat originally from the DC Animal Shelter). Linkedln profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbanksperfil.
Elissa Free
At-large
Key Volunteers
Beth Preiss
Book Club Coordinator
Beth Preiss
Beth (she/her) has coordinated the VSDC Book Club for more than 25 years! Beth previously served on VSDC’s board for two years, helped edit the newsletter, and planned numerous VSDC events including author talks, picnics, and outings to museums, movies, and concerts.
Beth went vegetarian in high school, after learning her biology class would be dissecting animals, and transitioned to vegan in the mid-1990s after attending a vegetarian conference. She returned from that conference with ideas that various vegetarian organizations were using to attract new members. Beth created early versions of VSDC’s brochure and t-shirts from that experience.
Danielle Kichler
Email Coordinator
Danielle Kichler
Danielle Kichler (she/her) has been a member of VSDC since 2002. She has served on the board and as restaurant visit coordinator. Currently, she monitors and manages the VSDC email account.
She went vegetarian in January of 2002 and a few months later went vegan, at the dawn of vegan awareness and acceptance. She's also a huge Washington Capitals fan (yes, there are vegan sports fans!) and her dream is to go to a Caps game at all 32 NHL arenas. She's been to 16 so far.
She lives with her cat, Penelope, a 13-pound British shorthair mix with a tabby coat.
Bethany Banks
Children's Meetup Group Co-Coordinator
Bethany Banks
Pujak Arora
Biking Co-Coordinator
Luke Gessler
Luke Gessler joined VSDC in 2018 and helps VSDC with its IT operations. Luke has been veg since 2014, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in computational linguistics.
Sonya Eremenco
Membership Co-Coordinator
Pujak Arora
Pujak, eating veg since 1986, co-organizes biking activities. He loves nature and is an avid hiker too. Originally from India, he has been in the area since 2008.
Kelsey Steele
Running Group Coordinator
Sonya Eremenco
Sonya Eremenco(she/her) serves as the Membership Database Coordinator for VSDC.This roleprocesses new memberships and renewals and maintains the database containing information for eachmember and contact. This role also updates contact information and membership status as needed.
Sonya has been a VSDC member since 2009. She has been vegetarian since 1995 and went vegan in 2013. She enjoys participating in VSDC events as well as seeking out veg restaurants and businesses when traveling to other locales. She lives with a cat named Zokni.
Dave Herring
Dave is a longtime VSDC member who has served in many roles, including board vice president, newsletter editor, and director of the Eat Smart Program. He is currently on the membership team. He lives in DC with his boyfriend Marcos and their cat Limpy.
