Our Team
Ready to Launch was founded by Charlotte White Canter and Erica Liepmann, two friends who met working in politics and civic engagement in Los Angeles. They decided to turn their passion for helping more women get started in government and politics into their full-time mission, and they created Ready to Launch to provide support and resources for emerging women leaders.
Read more about this work here.
Founders
Charlotte White Canter
Co-Founder and Board Member
Charlotte’s background is in finance and operations, having managed multi-million dollar political campaigns, PACs, and nonprofit initiatives. Charlotte previously managed economic development programs at Accelerator for America. She began her career at Goldman Sachs after graduating from USC. Charlotte has served on the boards of numerous organizations including The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company, the California Democratic Party’s Asian Pacific Islander Caucus, and the Asian Democrats of Los Angeles County.
Erica Liepmann
Co-Founder and Board Member
Erica’s career has spanned the public, private, and nonprofit sectors – with experience in public policy, program development, and communications. Erica led digital communications in the Office of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. Erica has also worked on several political campaigns in staff and volunteer capacities. Erica is the past President of LA County Young Democrats. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College and a master’s degree in public policy from USC.
Board members
Amaka Obidegwu
Board Member
Amaka is an Operational Program Manager at Blue Shield of California, where she manages Medi-Cal strategy and governance for the Clinical Quality Improvement Team. Amaka has her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Davidson College and holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Southern California.
Marissa Roy
Board Member
Marissa is an attorney who represents local governments in high-impact litigation. During the Trump Administration, Marissa worked on prominent lawsuits challenging the Administration's anti-immigrant agenda. Marissa also serves as the Endorsements Chair for California Women's List, a PAC that supports women running for office in California. Marissa believes that political change grows from state and local government, and supports expanding access for more women to build a career in politics.
Jackie Molina
Board Member
Jackie has spent the majority of her career in international logistics, with a passion for optimization and efficiency. Currently, she is a Sr. Customer Success Manager at Project44, a software company with a mission to optimize the movements of products globally through technology. Jackie has a Bachelors of Science in Industrial & Systems Engineering and a Masters in Supply Chain Management from USC. She also has a long history of volunteer service in the LA area as a part of the National Charity League, including with LA County/USC Hospital and Ronald McDonald House.