President: Erika Bryant-Northcutt
Erika Bryant-Northcutt is a 2015 Graduate of The University of South Carolina from with a degree in Music. She most recently hails from the nonprofit world with a Master’s in Arts Non-Profit Management from the highly selective program at American University. She completed an extensive research project on fundraising and event planning for small nonprofit organizations.
She has been a social media and fundraising consultant for social organizations, rural theatres, as well as small businesses. She single-handedly managed an overseas tour to Greece for the American University Chamber Singers. She has studied at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, and her research has been published in their annual report.This is her second tour to Yokosuka, Japan. Previously, she was the OSAY event coordinator, Vice President, and President. She is the proud owner and co-host of a Top 100 History Podcast, The Pithy Chronicle LLC!
Vice President: Cherise Menard
I’m originally from Orange, CA where I met Phil, my husband of 27 years, in Kindergarten. We have been a Navy family for 19 years and moved to Yokosuka in December 2016. We have 3 children; 1 college graduate, 1 college Freshman, and 1 high school Sophomore. I have a Bachelors degree in Behavioral Science/Sociology and a Masters in Business Administration. I served on the OSAY board in 2017/2018 as membership co-chair and have been involved in several organizations on base. I enjoy spending time with my family, exploring Japan, cooking and baking, creating macrame, and cuddling on the couch with my dog, Raymond. I’m really looking forward to serving our spouse community.
Treasurer: Jasmine Biggness
I was born in Charleston, SC where I met my husband while he attended The Citadel. After graduation, he commissioned and moved to San Diego, CA. I met him there a year later, and a year after that, we were married. Our second duty station was Norfolk, VA, where I was very active in the Surface Officer Spouses (SOS) Norfolk organization. While in Norfolk, I served as treasurer for SOS for 2 years, and we had our first child before we moved to our third duty station. We welcomed our second child two years after our first, and I am a stay-at-home mother. This is move number five now, and we are very excited to be in Japan. A friend told me about OSAY, and I am very excited to join the ranks and help this awesome organization!
Secretary: Sherri Tobin
I am a 3rd generation Navy brat. I currently serve as chaos coordinator for five boys and one husband. You can find me reading or planning a trip, near or far, if I find any spare time.
Communications: Lauren Claus
I am a New Jersey native with a background in communication and e-commerce. After a career as a Social Media Producer for HP, I moved to Hawaii to work as the Marketing Director at San Lorenzo Bikinis and E-commerce and Marketing Specialist at Tori Richard. While in Hawaii I met my Husband, Louis. We got married in August 2023 and PCSed to Japan a couple of days later. You can find me on Ikego with my goldendoodle Poi.
Membership: Tess Poppert
Tess Poppert has always been a hopeless wanderer. Yokosuka is her 18th official address, 4 of which are courtesy of the US Navy, with Yokosuka being her first OCONUS address. She is happily married to her best friend of half her life, Reilly, and she’s been living that Military Spouse dream for the past five years. Currently, she is a stay-at-home mom to Liam (2) and a self-published author of a futuristic dystopian YA series on Amazon called the Lux Series.
Her background is working in Higher Ed Marketing, Event Planning, and as a Ballroom Dancing Instructor. Her hobbies include consuming copious amounts of literature, slowly but surely killing all of the herbs in her window sill garden, attempting to capture everyday magical moments via iPhone, and playing three instruments equally poorly. Her passion each duty station is for hosting events and bringing people together in her own home. Being a part of the OSAY Board seemed like the perfect way to continue to do that on a greater scale.
Events Manager: Ali Maruca
Alison (Ali) Maruca is a Navy wife to Nick of 10 years, mom of three kids, PAO in the Navy Reserve, and a staunch advocate for Navy families everywhere. She and her family have lived in Yokosuka since August 2022, but have been stationed here twice previously.When she isn’t working, drilling, or shuttling her kids to a plethora of activities, Ali enjoys writing, adventuring throughout Japan, and an having occasional date nights with her husband. She is looking forward to sharing her passion for Japan through future OSAY events and meeting more of the amazing spouses who are part of our incredible community.
Hikes/ Cultural Outings: Hillary Stickler
I was born and grew up in Orange County, California, so I am thrilled to be back near the ocean! My husband's platform took us to Oklahoma and Nebraska, so I haven't been this close to the water since flight school way back in 2007! My husband and I met while Midshipmen at the Naval Academy, and since then, I have been fortunate to have been stationed in one place long enough to attend and graduate nursing school and begin my career as a bedside oncology nurse. About eight years ago, I made the jump to healthcare IT to support and create charting tools for hospital staff, and I loved being able to blend my first degree (Electrical Engineering) with my nursing background. In November 2021, I had our first child, Carmen, and I was able to stay home with her while working since my position was moved remote during the Pandemic. This is my first time not working in my adult life, but I feel more exhausted than ever "just" being a SAHM with her! I love traveling, singing, going to the beach, and vegetable gardening. When we retire, my dream is to start a community garden to provide access to fresh, local food!
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