Join the Public Policy Council

The Public Policy Council is a group of committed Tahirih supporters who have come together to provide financial support and leverage resources for Tahirih’s pioneering advocacy initiatives. The Council’s critical support will further Tahirih’s efforts to enhance legal protections available to women and girls fleeing violence, and allow Tahirih to respond to developments and engage in policy debates that affect our clients at the national, state, and local levels.

Benefits of Membership

We need your help to protect women and girls fleeing violence and invite you to join the Public Policy Council today. Please consider joining as an individual (annual donation levels: $500, $1000, or $1500) or as a corporation (annual donation levels: $2500 or $5000).

For more information about joining, please contact Jeanne Smoot, Director of Public Policy, at policy@tahirih.org or 571-282-6196.

Founding Co-Chairs


Sara Glenn, Government Relations, Shell Oil

Sara Glenn is Senior Counsel and Director of Government Relations for Shell Oil Company. She has previously held various positions with Mobil Oil Corporation. She practiced law with the Washington, DC firm of Crowell & Moring, and worked in the US Senate. Sara holds a law degree and a master’s degree from George Washington University, and an undergraduate degree from Duke University. She lives in the District of Columbia with her two sons, George and Phillip Geiger. Sara is a co-chair of Tahirih’s Public Policy Council and a former member of Tahirih’s Board of Directors.


Randa Fahmy Hudome, President, Fahmy Hudome International

Randa Fahmy Hudome has more than twenty years of experience in the international affairs arena, including service in both the executive and legislative branches of the US Government. She is the President of Fahmy Hudome International (FHI), a strategic consulting firm that provides critical advice and counsel to Fortune 500 companies, foreign governments, media organizations, private sector entities, and educational institutions with an interest in international energy and foreign policy.

Prior to assuming the presidency of FHI, Randa served as the Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy in the Administration of President George W. Bush.

Prior to her executive branch experience, Randa was Foreign Policy Counselor during Senator Spencer Abraham’s (R-MI) tenure in the United States Senate. During the six years she spent in the legislative branch, she was credited with shaping many pieces of legislation that affected US interests abroad.
Randa practiced law as an associate attorney at the law firm of Willkie, Farr and Gallagher, where she specialized in the areas of communications, international trade, and corporate litigation. Randa maintains bar memberships in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the United States Court of International Trade.

She received her juris doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as Administrative Editor of the Georgetown Journal of International Law. Her Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, in political science and international studies, was awarded from Wilkes University in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Randa is a co-chair of Tahirih’s Public Policy Council and a member of Tahirih’s Board of Directors.


Fern O’Brian, Partner, Thompson Hine LLP

Fern O’Brian is a partner at the law firm of Thompson Hine LLP. She focuses her practice on health effects litigation and regulatory matters involving product liability and toxic tort. Fern also regularly counsels clients on liability prevention, regulatory matters, and liability-related transactional issues. She is a frequent author and speaker on product liability and mass tort issues such as class actions, admissibility of expert evidence, and product liability prevention.

Prior to private law practice, Fern served as a law clerk to former Circuit Judge Kenneth W. Starr of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She received her juris doctor, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center. Her Bachelor of Arts degree, with highest honors, was awarded from the University of North Carolina. Fern is a co-chair of Tahirih’s Public Policy Council and a supporter of Tahirih’s work since its inception.


Marti Thomas, Vice President, The Duberstein Group

Marti Thomas is Vice President of The Duberstein Group, an independent, bipartisan, analysis and advisory government relations company based in Washington, DC. In this capacity, Marti assists corporations, associations, and other clients to anticipate, plan for, and adapt to national, as well as global government policies.

Marti joined The Duberstein Group in 2009 from the Washington office of firm client, Goldman Sachs and Co. where she had served as a Vice President since January, 2007. Prior to joining Goldman, Marti was a Director and equity partner at Quinn Gillespie and Associates, a bipartisan government and public relations consulting firm.

Marti’s government service included three years in the Clinton Administration as Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs and Public Liaison under Secretary Summers and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax and Budget under Secretary Rubin. She also served for close to a decade as Executive Floor Assistant to House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt, and held other positions on Capitol Hill.

Marti worked on a variety of Federal election campaigns as well as in the political departments at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and National Women’s Political Caucus. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University and her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. She resides in Washington, DC with her husband Michael Zola and two young children, Nate and Iris. Marti is a co-chair of Tahirih’s Public Policy Council and a former member of Tahirih’s Board of Directors.