Officers
National NOW President, Kim Villanueva
Kim’s passion for social justice stems from her lived experiences as a bi-racial lesbian in the Midwest. The oldest of five girls, Kim grew up surrounded by politics. Her father was a university professor who immigrated from the Philippines to study political science. Dinner-table discussions centered around current events, while summer vacations often included a visit to a presidential library. Her mother, a registered nurse from upstate New York, instilled a commitment to service and the belief that every person deserves to be heard, acknowledged, and appreciated.
As a journalism student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Kim chose women’s issues as her “beat,” despite the discouragement of her instructor. She wrote articles on pay equity, the workforce experiences of women with families, and the Equal Rights Amendment. Her first involvement with NOW came as a result of interviewing local activists about the failure of the Illinois General Assembly to ratify the ERA.
After moving to Springfield, Illinois, she sought out NOW, volunteering in the state office and joining the Springfield chapter in 1987. As her first action, she organized a Take Back the Night rally at the Old State Capitol that raised funds for local domestic violence and sexual assault agencies.
In 1989, Kim was elected as one of the youngest state presidents in NOW herstory. Travelling around the state, she recruited members, spoke at rallies and legislative hearings, and helped build bipartisan coalitions on sexual harassment and family/medical leave – leading to Illinois NOW’s recognition by Illinois Times readers as the “Most Effective Advocacy Group” in 1990.
She also chaired the Illinois NOW Political Action Committee, where she registered voters and organized phone banks to elect Carol Moseley-Braun as the first African-American woman to the U.S. Senate in 1992.
Kim again worked the phones and volunteered as a downstate organizer for the 2013 March on Springfield for Marriage Equality and the 2018 campaign to ratify the ERA in Illinois. One of her proudest moments as a feminist was sitting in the Illinois House gallery during the successful vote for ERA ratification.
She also served on the Illinois NOW committee that drafted a proposed Freedom of Choice Act — initially rejected by pro-choice allies as ‘too radical’ –- that became the precursor to the Illinois Reproductive Health Act adopted in 2019.
At the national level, Kim has served two terms as a NOW/PAC and NOW Equality PAC board member. As NOW Elections chair from 2017-2022, she partnered with a team of state presidents to revolutionize NOW’s election procedures, implement hybrid voting, and boost member involvement during the COVID pandemic.
In 2022, Kim was elected to the NOW Board of Directors, where she has served on the Finance, Global Feminism, LGBTQIA, Membership, Reproductive Justice, and Structure and Process committees. In addition, she co-founded NOW’s Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus and helped organize two webinars on Asian-American identity.
Outside of NOW, Kim has nearly 40 years of experience in legislative advocacy, member relations, fund development, and board governance.
As communications director for the Illinois Community College Trustees Association since 1985, she advocates for the nation’s 3rd largest community college system. Her responsibilities include facilitating board retreats and staffing ICCTA’s Awards, Bylaws, Executive, and Nominating committees – work that values collaboration, confidentiality, transparency, mutual respect, inclusivity, and active listening.
Kim has twice served as acting executive director: during the 2016-2017 medical leave of ICCTA’s executive director and during the association’s 2019 leadership transition. She has also held leadership roles for a number of community groups, including founding co-chair of the Central Illinois Gay and Lesbian Task Force; president of the YWCA of Springfield; chair of the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation Committee; and treasurer of the Illinois Women’s Political Caucus and the Springfield Women’s Political Caucus.
As president of the Springfield Area Arts Council, she successfully navigated the organization through the wreckage of the 2008-2009 recession – and the loss of its state grant — by strategic staff restructuring, targeted fundraising, and one-on-one reconnection with key donors and business supporters.
Most recently, Kim served two terms as president of the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation. At the start of her second year, she challenged the congregation to pursue its “Field of Dreams”: a new sanctuary. The groundbreaking took place in March
Member since 1987; Illinois NOW president, 1989-1991; Illinois NOW PAC chair, 1989-94 and 1999-2001; NOW/PAC and NOW Equality PAC board member, 1995-1998 and 20132016; NOW Elections Committee chair, 2017-2022; NOW Board of Directors, 2016 2018 and 2022-2024
National NOW Vice-President, Rose Brunache
Rose Brunache is an inclusive, millennial woman of color who brings a committed grassroots focus to her activism. She is energetic, open-minded, thinks outside of the box, and holds a strong passion for women’s rights.
The daughter of immigrants, Rose was born in Queens, New York, but grew up in the suburbs of Allentown, Pennsylvania.
After high school, she majored in economics at Temple University. She chose economics as her field of study because she wanted to understand how public policy shapes the country and the world. Her final paper explored the effects of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) on the poor and how to reform it. Her interest in the feminization of poverty continues today.
Rose moved to the Washington, DC area after graduating from Temple and has worked for various federal government agencies.
