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Friends-Boston Leadership Team
Juma Crawford – Executive Director
Juma Crawford brings a wealth of experience in educating and working with youth from high risk communities with the ultimate goal of graduation from high school and success in college. Immediately prior to Friends-Boston, Juma served as the Director of Alternative Education and the Head of Little House Middle School at College Bound Dorchester. Before that, he served as the Upper School Principal at the Community Charter School of Cambridge and had a prior role as Faculty Co-founder and Foundation Board Member of the Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester. Juma has a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Amherst College, a M.Ed. from Harvard University with Concentration in Social Policy and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. |
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Michelle M. Harrington – Deputy Director
Michelle Harrington has a unique breadth and depth of experience in the non-profit sector in Greater Boston due to twenty two years in the field. Most recently, Michelle was the Boston Executive Director of Strong Women, Strong Girls (SWSG), where she built community support and led partnership efforts, including the creation of a pilot program with Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts and the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston. Prior to joining SWSG, Michelle was the Development Director for Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses, Inc. (now College Bound Dorchester). She worked closely with the senior management team to create a new mission and branding strategy while increasing individual and corporate giving to ensure the viability and sustainability of the organization. Michelle has her BA in History from UMass Amherst.
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Caitlin Day-Lewis – Director of Development
Caitlin Day-Lewis has dedicated her career to ensuring that children have an equal opportunity to reach their full potential. She has served as Associate Development Director at Jumpstart for Young Children. There she worked to build support and awareness for improving early education nationwide. She began her service in the non-profit sector as an AmeriCorps VISTA*Member, launching Youth Venture’s New Hampshire program for youth social entrepreneurship. Caitlin’s interest in working toward a quality education for all children began with a college tutoring program in a St. Louis elementary school. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Educational Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. Caitlin is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a mentor of ACCESS in Boston. |
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Marisa Meldonian – Director of Impact and Evaluation
Marisa Meldonian has vastly contributed to the development and growth of Friends of the Children-Boston’s mentoring program since she first started working as a mentor in 2008. Marisa served as a positive role model to six kindergarten and first grade students in a Boston Public School. Working as a Program Manager at Friends-Boston, she collaborated extensively with a team to develop the mentoring program into a part-time volunteer model in order to enhance and expand the program by recruiting social work students as interns. She designed performance measure initiatives to develop improved assessments of the needs of the children in the program. As AmeriCorps Program Director, Marisa successfully developed the Friends-Boston model into one of the largest social work training programs in Boston. Marisa holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in International Studies and History from Denison University.
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Julie Lynch – Director of Programs
Julie Lynch is committed to promoting strength and resiliency in children to advance their academic success and healthy development. Prior to joining Friends-Boston, she served as Program Director for Student Support Boston Connects, a program designed to nurture the strengths of elementary school children and alleviate barriers to learning. Working closely with schools and community agencies, she focused on developing and strengthening partnerships to bring increased access of rich resources to students and families of the Boston Public Schools. She has also worked as Student Support Coordinator in a K-8 school, an After-School and Summer Program Director, and a social worker in the NYC foster care system. Julie holds a Masters Degree in Social Work and Education from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
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Adkeem Jackson - Community Partnerships Manager
Adkeem is dedicated to providing education and advocacy for children. Prior to joining Friends-Boston, he worked as a Level 2 Special Needs teacher at the New England Center for Children in the staff intensive unit. He administered education program design and worked in the residence hall implementing the Applied Behavior Analysis model while serving as a case manager. Adkeem was a youth worker at Community Resources for Justice's Ambrose house providing clients with weekly enrichment workshops to foster skills in professional development and community re-entry. Adkeem has a B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from Framingham State University. |
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Judith Ellman - Clinical Program Manager
Judith Ellman, LICSW was drawn to the innovative mission of Friends-Boston out of her strong commitment to helping individuals, families and communities make changes in their lives and in society. She has worked closely with children and families in Boston since 2002, in multiple after-school and community-based settings, including a year of AmeriCorps service as a Massachusetts Promise Fellow. Directly prior to joining Friends-Boston, Judy worked in residential substance abuse treatment with women, a setting which taught her a great deal about the process of change on multiple levels. Judy has a Masters in Social Work and Certificate in Urban Leadership from Simmons College and a B.A. in Women’s Studies from Smith College.
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Carey Jacobs - Clinical Program Manager
Carey Jacobs, LICSW has over 18 years of experience working with children and families from diverse backgrounds in a variety of settings including: residential placements, public schools, community mental health centers, and non-profit grass-roots organizations. She has worked for Wayside Youth and Family Support Network, The Home for Little Wanderers, Family Service of Greater Boston, Riverside Community Care, Harvard-McLean RALLY Program, Somerville Mental Health Association, and Boston College’s Boston Connects. Carey’s passion for helping others and her love for children are at the heart of her work, and she strives to bring the best practices of Social Work to the children she serves. Carey has a B.A. in Psychology from University of New Hampshire and her MSW from Boston College. |
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Tricia Metzger - Clinical Program Manager
Prior to joining Friends-Boston, Tricia Metzger, LICSW, taught elementary school, first through Teach for America in North Carolina and then in Boston schools. Most recently, Tricia was a Medical Social Worker at Upham’s Corner Health Center, working primarily with children, teens and families. She provided individual and family therapy as well as case management for primary care, urgent care and teen clinic patients. Tricia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Human Development from Boston College and a Master’s in Social Work from Salem State University with a specialization in Children and Families. |
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Alison Mullin - Clinial Program Manager
Prior to joining Friends-Boston, Alison Mullin, LICSW worked for five years as a clinician at Longview Farm, a residential program within The Home for Little Wanderers serving DCF and DYS involved adolescent males with severe emotional and behavioral challenges. Alison provided individual and group therapy to a caseload of 8 clients in order to help develop the skills needed to transition to a less restrictive living environment. Alison holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Simmons College School of Social Work.
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Zaza Sakhat - Clinical Program Manager
Zaza Sakhat, LICSW is committed to a life’s mission of social justice and activism. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Clark University and a Master’s in Social Work from Boston University’s School of Social Work with a specialization in Group Work. She has worked as a Legal Advocate/Counselor for Voices Against Violence, a domestic violence program and rape crisis center and as a social work intern in a Newton public school setting. More recently, she has worked for five years as a Clinician/Case Manager at the Italian Home for Children’s Community Based Acute Treatment Program providing individual, group, and family therapy as well as intensive case management services. |
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