Who We Are
The Matriots is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization based in Columbus, Ohio. Our members are women and men: Democrats, Republicans, and independents; Ohioans and out-of-staters.
From what I’ve seen, The Matriots is a group of badass women who have just decided enough is enough.
– Jennifer Williams, Matriots Member
Our Team
Emily Quick Schriver
Chief Executive Officer
Emily Quick Schriver is the Chief Executive Officer of The Matriots. As CEO, Emily leads the organization’s mission to elect more Ohio women to public office who will promote a healthy economy in which women can thrive and prosper. In this role, she partners across the state with engaged Ohioans seeking to increase representation.
Emily joined The Matriots in 2021, following a career as a lawyer representing institutions of higher education on issues of public policy and regulatory compliance. Most recently, she was an attorney in the Office of Legal Affairs at The Ohio State University, and before that she was a Washington, D.C.-based associate at the international law firm Hogan Lovells US, LLP.
Emily holds a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago and a Bachelor of Science from The Ohio State University. Raised in central Ohio, she now lives in the Columbus area with her husband, three daughters, and devoted dog.
Emily’s preferred pronouns are she/hers.
Fizz White
Program Manager for Endorsements and Candidate Support
Fizz White manages the endorsements process for The Matriots. Fizz partners with Matriots leadership to recruit and oversee the endorsements process for the primary and general elections. They are instrumental in ensuring The Matriots researches and interviews all candidates before issuing an endorsement.
Fizz grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from Xavier University in 2020 with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and the Public and a minor in Gender and Diversity Studies. They also worked as a legislative aide to Rep. Sedrick Denson of Cincinnati.
Fizz’s preferred pronouns are they/them.
Heather Blackmon-doForno
Matriots Business Manager
As the Matriots Business Manager Heather Blackmon-doForno oversees the business and administrative operations for the organization.
Heather’s professional and volunteer experiences include Event Planning, Fundraising, and Marketing in areas of education, the arts, charitable non-profits, and professional sports.
Heather holds a BA in History of Art from The Ohio State University and is a passionate world traveler, foodie, and dog lover.
Originally from Northwest Ohio, she now lives in Columbus with her husband and husky.
Heather’s preferred pronouns are she/hers.
Our Board
Barbara Fillion
Terri Gehr
April Zimmerman Katz
Valerie Lemmie
Cathy Lyttle
Urvi Patel
Where We Started
The Matriots was founded after six central Ohio women participated in the Women’s March on Washington in January 2017. Mindy Coffey, Sally Crane Cox, Rebecca Ibel, April Zimmerman Katz, Cathe Kobacker, and Sharon Steele.
These Marchers came away from the event inspired to create a force that worked to elect more women to public office in Ohio to support economic justice for women and address our country’s political stalemate. That force is The Matriots.
Founding Members
Our founding members built the foundation for The Matriots. Their legacy lives on in the work we do every day.
Current Members
Our donors make it possible to continue electing women and changing the conversation.