Board of Trustees

A second-generation Mensa member, Jennifer Wise is a Seattle-based content writer and editor, and she holds a master’s in literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has served as Foundation Secretary, Scholarship Chair at the local and regional levels, Scholarship Volunteer Coordinator, Young Ms Coordinator, and GenY Coordinator.

A member of Mensa since 2005, Michelle Rakshys serves as Scholarship Chair and Proctor for Mensa of Western Washington. Michelle is VP of Executive Learning and Development at Cadence Leadership, previously worked at Amazon and Oracle, and holds a master’s in business from New York University. She joined the Foundations Board of Trustees in 2020 and was appointed Treasurer in 2023.

Billie Lee has been a member of American Mensa since 2007 and currently serves as Chair of the Gifted Youth Committee. She was appointed a Trustee in 2022.

Charlie Steinhice, a member of Mensa for more than 20 years, joined the Mensa Foundation Board of Trustees in 2016. Charlie is a Business Analytics Manager of Internal Strategic Analytics & Reporting at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.

Jeff Papa is a member of the Central Indiana Mensa chapter and is Chief of Staff and General Counsel for the Indiana Senate. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Mensa Research Journal. He was appointed Trustee in 2022.

Matthew Guggemos is a communication scientist, speech-language pathologist, and technologist dedicated to exploring the potential of AI and multi-sensory experiences to enhance learning, education, and communication interventions for neurodivergent individuals. As the co-founder and CTO of iTherapy, Matthew leads the development of advanced AI-driven solutions that empower individuals across the communicative spectrum. Matthew is a member of Redwood Empire Mensa.

Dr. Ryan Donlan serves currently as Professor in the Indiana State University and Bayh College of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership, teaching at the Ph.D., Ed.S., and M.Ed. levels, after having served prior for 20 years in K–12 education, most of that time as a Superintendent, as well as a Principal, Assistant Principal, and Teacher. 

Diarra Edwards lives and works in New York, NY where she is a corporate restructuring attorney at Kirkland and Ellis. Di is a member of Greater New York Mensa (GNYM) and became the Area Coordinator for the Bronx and Westchester in 2023. In GNYM, she consistently demonstrated commitment to fostering member engagement in the New York Mensa community. She represented her local chapter in the 2023 Misster Mensa pageant where she was the first runner-up.

Lori Norris was elected First Vice chair on the American Mensa Committee in 2017, re-elected in 2019, and again in 2021. She’d previously served as AMC Secretary. She assumed the position of AMC Chair with the resignation of Timmy King in September of 2022.