Raleigh | June 15, 2015: The Junior League of Raleigh announced today that nine new members will join its board of directors in 2015-2016. Remaining on the board is Kathryn West, a Raleigh Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices YSU Realty, who will serve a one-year term as board President after having served as President-elect in 2014. Also remaining on the board is Mary Paige Phillips, formerly with the Wealth Management Division at Wachovia Bank, who will serve as Nominating Captain.

New members replace those whose terms expired this year.  New members include:

● Rebecca Ayers, President-elect. Ayers has been a League member since 2008 and is an active board member at the NC Partnership for Children, the board that oversees N.C. Smart Start Programs. Ayers serves as a Performance Management Manager at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

● Liz Riley-Young, Secretary. Riley-Young has been a JLR member for seven years and has served on several software industry boards as well as on the board of a local charter school in Raleigh. She currently serves as Principal Engagement Manager in Professional Services at SAS.

● Crystal Smith, Treasurer. Crystal has been active in the League since 2009. In addition to her role with the JLR, Smith serves as PTA Treasurer for Lacy Elementary, volunteers in the classroom and teaches Sunday school at Hayes Barton United Methodist Church.

● Lucy Austin, Treasurer-elect. Austin has been an active member of the League since 2010, most recently as Co-captain of the JLR’s signature event, A Shopping SPREE!. A Deputy Special Council with the North Carolina Industrial Commission, Austin is active in the North Carolina Bar Association and Wake County Bar Association and serves on the board of the Badger-Iredell Foundation.

● Jennifer Reel, Vice President, Communications & Strategies. Reel joined the JLR in 2010 and volunteers with the Carolina Poodle Rescue. She is the Director of Talent Acquisition and Development for Clarkston Consulting.

● Danielle Shuirman, Vice President, Community. Shuirman joined the JLR in 2005 and has been active in the League’s community programming. She has also served on the state board for Learning Ally. Prior to staying home to raise her children, Shuirman was a mortgage underwriter with Wachovia Mortgage.

● Marisa Bryant, Vice President, Funding. Bryant has been a member of the Junior League since 2006 and has also been active in the League’s community programming. Prior to becoming a stay-at-home mom, she worked in nonprofit fundraising.

● Katie Pollara, Vice President, Membership. Pollara joined the JLR in 2006 and also serves as a board member on both the United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council and the Women’s Center of Wake County. Pollara serves as the Manager for Employment and Employee Relations at Rex Healthcare.

● Jamie Martin, Vice President, Training. Martin has been a member of the Junior League of Raleigh since 2007 and designed the Young Entrepreneur Program for the League’s signature event, A Shopping SPREE!. She has served on the board of directors for several local organizations including the Youth Life Foundation of the Triangle and the UNC-Chapel Hill Wake County Young Alumni Council. Martin currently serves as the Assistant Director of College Counseling at St. David’s School in Raleigh.

● Lanier McRee, Member-at-Large. McRee joined the Junior League in 2006 and is an active volunteer with KidzNotes, the Wake County Animal Center and Planned Parenthood. She currently serves in the Fiscal Research Division of the North Carolina General Assembly

The JLR board guides organization efforts to promote volunteerism and leadership throughout Wake County. In the coming year, the board will focus on further educating Wake County on opportunities the League enables through the continued leadership, service and commitment of our members. “The women who have volunteered to serve on this year’s board bring with them a wealth of professional expertise and passion for impacting the community,” said JLR President Kathryn West. “We are proud to welcome these leaders to the board.”

About the Junior League of Raleigh

The Junior League of Raleigh is the local chapter of the Association of Junior Leagues International, an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. The Junior League reaches out to women of all races, religions and national origins who demonstrate an interest in, and commitment to, volunteerism. Now in its 86th year, the Junior League of Raleigh boasts nearly 1,700 women supporting community organizations around Wake County