Stephanie Shumate, Director Stephanie is the Inaugural Director of the Tallahassee-Leon County Commission on Status of Women and Girls. She is a natural connector with a passion for always starting with “Why” when working with people and serving in her community, and believes connection and communication are keys to success. Stephanie brings almost two decades of community engagement, advocacy initiatives, production management, innovative communication strategies, leadership training, personal development, and group facilitation to the CSWG. Stephanie was most recently Vice President of Client Relations at CATECOMM, a Tallahassee based Public Relations and Communications firm. She brings experience from her passion as a group fitness instructor, and prior career roles with Herff Jones as a Yearbook Specialist and Educator, Executive Director of the Leon County Responsible Decision-Making Coalition, Political Campaign Staff, and Director of The Florida Youth Delegation at The Florida Department of Education. She’s a graduate of Florida State University with a B.A. in Sociology, minor in Elementary Education, and holds a Certificate in Leadership Studies and Theories.
Mary Deschler, Program Coordinator Mary is the Special Projects Coordinator for The Oasis Center and the Program Coordinator for the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. She graduated from Florida State University and double majored in Family & Child Sciences and Psychology. She believes the best way to improve your community is by empowering others to reach their dreams. Mary is looking forward to learning and growing with Oasis!
Emily Friedlander, Administrative Assistant Emily is the administrative assistant for the Tallahassee-Leon County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. She is a recent graduate of Florida State University where she majored in Human Development and Family Sciences with a minor in Psychology. Emily was previously the CSWG’s Spring 2023 Intern and is excited to continue her work alongside the Commission after graduation.
Amy Yao Hou, CSWG Intern Amy is the Summer 2023 Intern for the Tallahassee-Leon County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. She is currently a senior at Florida State University majoring in Interdisciplinary Social Science, with concentrations in History and Geography, and a minor in Chemistry. As a previous healthcare worker at a local hospital’s Labor & Delivery OR, she was fortunate to not only help deliver more than 100 babies but also share those magical moments with the mothers. There were many wonderful experiences but some were unfortunate and disheartening, which helped shape her passion for women and girls issues. Amy witnessed a patient questioning what her placenta was, and that’s when she realized that proper, adequate, and accessible education and healthcare, to all women in our community is lacking. Through this internship, she’s excited to combine both past and present experiences with the CSWG to further expand support and awareness for accessible resources to all the women and girls!