As a member-driven organization, we need you. Your leadership and voice are important!
Apply yourself or nominate someone today!
Leaders of NWMAF are everyday martial artists and self-defense and healing arts practitioners, just like the majority of the organization’s members. Get to know them, and consider becoming a leader yourself.
- Board positions run in staggered two-year terms.
- Meet and collaborate with your peers.
- Gain organizational skills at the national and even international level.
- Learn to think and plan nationally and globally.
- Provide a service not found anywhere else in the world.
- Descriptions of all positions can be found in the NWMAF Bylaws.
Open positions:
Events Coordinator
The EC accepts, reviews, and prepares proposals for NWMAF-endorsed events for action by the Board. The EC manages the logistics, administrative needs, and production of the annual conference with necessary support as coordinated by the Chair and other members of the Board. The EC will work with the Martial Arts Coordinator, Healing Arts Coordinator, and Self-Defense Coordinator to coordinate and vet classes for the annual conferences, and create and maintain all event safety policies needed.
Equity and Inclusion Coordinator
The EIC focuses on maintaining an inclusive and diverse organization, from the membership to the Board to conference attendees and instructors. Duties include creating/ updating policies and consulting with other Board Members to help keep their respective projects/ programs diverse and inclusive.
Current Board Members
Corinne Lagermasini, Chair
Serving 2026-2028
Email: chair@nwmaf.org.
Corinne Lagermasini is an Empowerment Self-Defense Instructor based in Philadelphia, PA. She originally studied ESD and Tae Kwon Do with Sensei Carol Middleton in Washington, DC. For the past 20 years, she has taught ESD with WAVE Self Defense in Philly. Corinne’s professional background is in public health and nonprofit management and leadership.
Ellen Krause-Grosman, Treasurer
Serving 2026-2028
Email: treasurer@nwmaf.org
Ellen first joined NWMAF 1993 when she attended her first Special Training and loved it! She has been an active member since 2016, and serves on the planning committee for the 2026 NE Regional Training. She has trained in Karate, Judo, Tae Kwan Do, and Empowerment Self Defense (ESD). Ellen is passionate about ending Gender Based Violence by scaling access to ESD and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Bonobo Sisterhood Alliance. Prior to that she was the first Executive Director of ESD Global. Ellen has served as treasurer on a number of non-profit boards and looks forward to supporting the work of NWMAF in this role.
Isabelle Lombardo, Secretary
Serving 2026 – 2028
Email: secretary@nwmaf.org.
Pronouns: She/Her
Isabelle practices Aïkibudo since 2009 and Jiujitsu since 2024. She also teaches ESD in Quebec, Canada since 2025. Isabelle has an academic background in political science and a career as a strategic director in the Quebec government. She also has had prior experience as a board member of the Association d’Aïkibudo et de Kobudo du Québec. Isabelle is convinced that promoting an empowerment and feminist approach in martial arts and self defense is essential for social justice and political change. From this perspective, becoming involved in the NWMAF board is Isabelle’s way to contribute to a broader movement towards safety and equality.
Beth Deal, Membership Coordinator
Serving 2024 – 2026
Email: members@nwmaf.org.
Emily McKee, Martial Arts Coordinator
Serving 2023-2025
Email: martialarts@nwmaf.org.
- Home town: Qathet, B.C., Canada
- Pronouns: she/her
Emily McKee began studying wing chun kung-fu in 2007 while living in Taipei, Taiwan. She trained with Master Lo Man Kam and Thierry Cuvillier in the Lo Man Kam Lineage for 11 years, before becoming a certified instructor in 2018. Since then, she has taught wing chun kung-fu and Empowerment Self-Defense at the Thierry Cuvillier Wing Chun Academy in Taiwan and in Canada, and now runs a school in qathet, British Columbia.
Emily became an NWMAF member in 2019 and joined her first annual conference virtually in 2020. She received her NWMAF ESD certification in 2021 and taught beginners wing chun and meditation classes at the 2021 Rise Conference in Buffalo.
Emily is a longtime vipassana meditator and in her spare time she enjoys swimming, hiking, and hitting her wooden dummy.
Rachel Piazza, ESD Coordinator
Serving 2026 – 2028
Email: selfdefense@nwmaf.org
Rachel Piazza is the Founder of Feminist Self-Defense, where she’s developed a research-based, trauma-informed empowerment self-defense curriculum that helps participants build confidence and navigate verbal and physical interactions with more confidence and ease.
A former Women’s & Gender Studies professor, certified empowerment Self-Defense (ESD) instructor through the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation, and brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Rachel believes people learn best when they feel safe, supported, and engaged. She brings warmth, humor, and play into every workshop, creating an environment where participants can build practical skills for their everyday lives.
Through train-the-trainer partnerships, the Feminist Self-Defense curriculum is licensed and taught at universities including Baylor University, the University of Calgary, and The University of Southern Mississippi, preparing educators and staff to deliver the program within their own communities.
Rachel’s work has been featured in The New York Times, TODAY, The Economist, and ESPN, and she has taught at institutions including Pomona College, Barnard College, the National Organization for Women, and Omega Institute.
When she’s not helping people set boundaries, you can find her birdwatching in her backyard in Connecticut (where she’s identified more than 90 species!) with her partner, Brad, and their 17-year-old pup, Oliver.
Ashlyn Johnson, Healing Arts
Serving 2025 – 2027
Email: healingarts@nwmaf.org
Ashlyn Johnson is a nurse practitioner, assistant professor of nursing, and lifelong martial artist committed to the intersection of healing and empowerment through martial arts. With over 15 years of clinical experience, she is dual board-certified in family and psychiatric-mental health practice, providing care to many individuals navigating trauma, PTSD, and resilience-building. Ashlyn’s professional and academic work centers on trauma-informed care, mental wellness, and the therapeutic potential of martial arts and self-defense training.
With more than 25 years of experience training in diverse martial arts systems, her current focus is on Kali and Silat. Ashlyn believes in the transformative power of martial arts and self-defense training as a pathway to reclaiming agency, especially for trauma survivors. She is deeply grateful to her teachers, including Guro Jeremiah Lovejoy, and is honored to be an instructor under the legendary Guro Dan Inosanto.
Emma Thornton, Youth Coordinator
Serving 2026-2028
Email: youth@nwmaf.org
Emma Thornton is a Biology student at the University of Texas at Austin, and she has practiced Seido Karate with Sun Dragon for 12 years. She loves assisting in classes, summer camp, and in the Sun Dragon ESD Violence Prevention Program. Emma enjoys practicing martial arts due its elements of mindfulness, constant growth, and community. In her free time, Emma enjoys hiking, painting, and reading.
Vivian V., Digital Coordinator
Serving 2026 – 2028
Email: digital@nwmaf.org for questions about this website.
Pronouns: They/She
Vivian has been a martial artist for around 16 years, and a student of Shaolin Long Fist kung fu and Hung Ga for the past 10 years. They earned their black belt and instructor title in 2019. Outside of their school, they have spent the past few years organizing informal, horizontal community training groups, with the goal of creating spaces where people can learn from and empower each other free from the power dynamics of instructor/student models of learning.
Currently, Vivian calls Brooklyn home and focuses on the digital side of self defense, spending time building technical infrastructure for local community spaces that empower people to enforce their digital privacy and autonomy.