Ruth’s List Florida Action seeks to increase the number of pro-choice women running for office in Florida through its state-wide training programs. For more information, view our training calendar page.
Ruth’s List Florida Action does not make candidate endorsements.
Ruth's List Florida Action Board
Erin Aebel, Chair
Tampa
Erin Smith Aebel is a partner at a Tampa law firm where she practices business and health law. A board certified health lawyer, she represents physicians, hospitals, dentists, pharmacies and other healthcare providers in their business and compliance needs. She is a member of the Athena Society and serves on various philanthropic boards in the Tampa Bay Area.
Erin is a co-founder of the Surly Feminists for the Revolution and works to advance women and diversity in business and in federal, state and local representation.
Maria Corina Vegas, Vice Chair
Miami
Maria Corina Vegas is an experienced project finance, corporate transaction attorney, and political strategist with three decades of experience in the US and Latin America. She worked at two leading New York City law firms and as general counsel to a nationally chartered bank based in Miami, FL. In the advocacy sector, she worked as Consultant and Interim Director of the IMPAC Fund in Miami, Fl, and subsequently as Florida Deputy Director for the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), the national successor to the IMPAC Fund.
She is a leading Venezuelan community advocate & media surrogate on national, state & local English & Spanish media, with specialist expertise in disinformation, Latin American diaspora, immigration policy, gun violence prevention & political campaigns. Maria Corina was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, and received an LLM degree from Columbia University Law School in New York and a law degree from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Caracas, Venezuela.
She is a member of the Giffords FL Steering Committee and serves on the Boards of the Women’s Emergency Network (WEN) and INRAV (Venezuelan Asset Recovery Initiative).
She met her husband, Rafael, in New York City and later settled in Pinecrest, Florida where she has been an active participant in the community and raised their two daughters.
Pauline Parrish, Treasurer
Sarasota
Pauline Parrish is an experienced financial executive with a track record of successfully leading finance functions of non-profit organizations. She is currently the Controller of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a $130 million non-profit. Ms. Parrish served as the COO/CFO/VP of Finance at Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida from 2008-2022. Prior roles include Controller at the Sarasota Family YMCA and Director of Financial Reporting for Comdial. Non Profit Board Experience includes Equality Florida (Treasurer), Board Member of Also Youth and Finance Committee Member at the Selby Foundation. Ms. Parrish holds a BBA in Accounting from Hofstra University and earned her CPA in the State of New York (not currently active.)
Dr. LaVerne Green, Secretary
Bradenton
Caring, self-motivated individual with a passion for helping people and improving their quality of life.
Accomplished community philanthropist, volunteer, Veteran, and Nurse Educator.
Retired Captain (0-6) Public Health Service Nurse Officer, after 28 years of service in nursing and health administration. Served as Nurse Director for five years, and Director of Special/Underserved Population Programs in federally funded health centers across the United States, focused on School-Based Health Centers, HIV Programs, Health Care for the Homeless and Mental Health within the Department of Health and Human Services.
After retirement, served as an Associate Professor of Nursing in the Washington, DC area.
Later moved to Bradenton, Florida, and continued to be active in seeking opportunities to provide services to others, fundraising for nursing scholarships and community organizations, the arts and political activism.
Stacy Estes Yates
Tampa
Stacy Estes Yates is an experienced trial attorney and a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Mediator. She was named a 2019 Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine, a Top Lawyer in TAMPA Magazine, a 2019 Featuree in KNOW TRIBE Tampa Bay, and holds an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale Hubbell. Stacy is a frequent public speaker on a variety of legal and non-legal topics.
As a litigator and former prosecutor, Stacy has tried over forty jury and non-jury trials and is admitted to practice in all State Courts of Florida, the Middle District of Florida and the Southern District of Florida. Her extensive litigation practice includes defending liability and coverage issues for automotive, homeowner, and commercial property insurance companies and their insureds.
Stacy is active in her Tampa Community. She’s a member of the Athena Society, a Girl Scout Leader, a member of Ye Loyal Krewe of Grace O’Malley, a member of the Krewe of Tronando, the Advocacy Committee Chair at Roosevelt Elementary PTA, a member of Tampa Bay Inn of Court, a member of the Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers. She serves on several philanthropic boards and loves to mentor young professionals.
Stacy consults for many local and state political campaigns and participated in the historic 2018 Florida election recount.
Burnadette Norris-Weeks
Ft. Lauderdale
Burnadette Norris-Weeks is a partner in the law firm of Austin Pamies Norris Weeks, LLC. She serves as counsel to various corporations and governmental entities, including the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office and two Florida municipalities. In addition, the law firm also handles serious personal injury and wrongful death cases.
Currently serving her second term on the Broward County Charter Review Commission, she also serves on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Broward. She is a graduate of Leadership Florida and of Leadership Broward.
Burnadette is founder of the Women of Color Empowerment Institute, Inc. (WOCEI), a membership organization with the mission to enhance and expand leadership opportunities for women of color. WOCEI sponsors a yearly conference that brings together hundreds of women in leadership. Her extensive community and professional involvement has earned her the Above and Beyond Award from the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation, the Urban League’s Margaret Roach Humanitarian Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the T.J. Reddick Bar Association. She is a past honoree of the National Trumpet Awards Foundation and was recognized by Legacy Magazine as one of South Florida’s 25 Most Influential and Prominent Black Women in Business. Burnadette has also received a “Leader of the Year” award from the Leadership Broward Foundation, among other impressive awards and recognitions.
Burnadette is the Chair of the 17th Judicial Circuit’s Bar Leadership Committee. She is a past National Chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Litigation Section’s Minority Trial Lawyer Committee and a former Chair of the ABA’s Young Lawyer Leadership Team. She is also a Past-President of the Tallahassee Barristers Association. Burnadette is admitted to practice law before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.
June Piscitelli
Fort Lauderdale
June’s first exposure to politics was right out of high school when she followed a young man to Washington D.C. and secured a job with the newly elected Senator Paula Hawkins. At that moment, she did not have a political bent as her family was not at all involved in politics. She left D.C. when her father became ill, and her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at almost the same time.
Many years later, June met her now husband and began a different journey in academics. At the age of 29, while living in Tallahassee, he encouraged June to go to college. Though she had taken the SATs and done well, her family was not in a financial position for me to pursue this dream. With his support, she applied to FSU and was accepted. Three years later, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with Honors. Her academic journey continued at Wake Forest, where she received her Masters, and at the University of Miami for her PhD, where she was honored at her robing by then UM President Donna Shalala as Outstanding Graduate Student. Over eight years, June had gone from wondering about her life’s goal to having three letters after her name.
Along the way, she taught English Literature and eventually began teaching at Florida Atlantic University. Those nine years helped June recognize the importance of educating young people about the need for critical thinking and acceptance of ideas outside of those espoused by their communities. June left FAU and moved to an online environment where she managed teams of up to 50 writing tutors. Her role was not just overseeing the quality of their writing advice but also ensuring that tutors were sensitive to students whose ideology might not align with their own.
It was when June left this role in 2021 that she began to reengage with politics during the Florida 2022 gubernatorial election cycle. The connections she made there have evolved into much greater engagement, particularly with Florida politics and groups supporting women’s rights and freedoms.
June and her husband currently have two wonderful rescue pups. She also has two terrific grandsons who live with her stepdaughter and her husband in Austin, Texas.
Phoebe Brown
St. Petersburg
Phoebe Brown, a seasoned television producer known for her work with networks such as PBS, National Geographic, Vice News, and Disney, has dedicated her career to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. With over a decade of experience working with young people in India, Phoebe has collaborated with NGOs in Kolkata to create community-based media projects that advocate for girls’ education and people living with disabilities.
Phoebe recently relocated to St. Petersburg after 20 years in Atlanta. She has an MFA in Digital Filmmaking and a BA in Communication from Georgia State University. In Atlanta, Phoebe was deeply involved in the effort to grow Georgia’s local film economy. She was a key researcher on the University System of Georgia’s workforce study which led to the launching of the Georgia Film Academy.
Phoebe was also very active in the Atlanta LGBTQI community, as a volunteer for Lost & Found Youth and supporting the City Council campaign of Liliana Bakhtiari the first queer Muslim person to be elected in the state of Georgia, and the first nonbinary person elected in the city of Atlanta.
Crystal T Whitescarver
Tampa
Crystal is a retired attorney who practiced corporate law, with a specialization in trademark and franchise law, for eight years with Carlton Fields law firm. Thereafter, she served for three years as General Counsel to Brooksville and Spring Hill Regional Hospitals.
In retirement, she has dedicated her time and resources to various progressive candidates and causes. In Tampa, she focuses on volunteering and supporting her local children and family organizations, principally Joshua House Foundation (“JHF”) and Champions for Children. She has served on the JHF Circle of Friends Gala Committee for many years and chaired the event once. In addition to children and family organizations, she is dedicated to numerous political organizations. She has served on the Tampa Bay Choice Affair Committee for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, and was a poll watcher with the Hillsborough County Democrats for several election cycles. She is a proud supporter of Ruth’s List Florida and its endorsed candidates.
She graduated with a B.A. in political science from Furman University, and earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia.
Crystal and her husband Steve have been married for 42 years, and they have two adult children living in the Tampa area.
A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free within the state (800-435-7352 or online: https://csapp.fdacs.gov/CSPublicApp/CheckACharity/CheckACharity.aspx). Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the state.
