Our Team
Rooted in the intersecting power of arts, culture, research, and policy, we challenge structures of injustice while fostering joy-filled futures. With love as strategy and collectivism as our compass, we work alongside neighborhoods, artists, scholars, and advocates to build a radically inclusive and equitable community for generations to come.
Board Of Directors
Paul English is a cofounder of Lola.com, an online travel service dedicated to serving the needs of business travelers and their company. Paul was previously the cofounder of Kayak (sold to Priceline), GetHuman (ongoing), Boston Light Software (sold to Intuit), Intermute (sold to Trend Micro), and the World Xiangqi League.
Non-profit work: Paul is the cofounder of Embrace Boston, Summits Education (a school system with 10,000 students in Haiti), the Winter Walk (Boston homeless awareness), and also serves on the boards of Humanity Rises (refugees), Partners In Health (global health) and Village Health Works (Burundi).
Roxbury Presbyterian Church’s senior pastor, Reverend Liz Walker, joined the Church in December 2011. Rev. Liz, an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal tradition, is a 2005 graduate of Harvard Divinity School and a veteran television journalist, the first African-American weeknight news anchor in Boston.
Rev. Jeffrey L. Brown is a nationally recognized leader and expert in gang, youth and urban violence reduction and coalition building. He is the founder of RECAP (Rebuilding Every City Around Peace), an international initiative organized to assist cities build better partnerships between the faith-based community, government and law enforcement agencies in an effort to reduce gang violence. Brown is also one of the architects of the “Boston Miracle”, a process where the city experienced a 29 month period of zero juvenile homicides in the 90s, and spawned countless urban collaborative efforts in subsequent years that followed the Boston Ceasefire and faith-based model. He recently started My City At Peace, a real estate and programmatic initiative that seeks to invest in multi family properties and build mixed-use housing in distressed communities plagued with high cap rates.
Michael Curry, Esq. is the CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, which represents 52 health centers, serving over 1 million patients out of over 300 practice sites throughout the state. He previously served as Deputy CEO & General Counsel for the Mass League. Prior to joining the League in 2008, Michael worked for 16 years at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, most of that time as Senior Policy Advisor in the Corporate Affairs Division, which included government, public, internal and community affairs. He has served on the health care transition teams for former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and was involved in the passage of Massachusetts Health Reform and the Affordable Care Act.
Mr. Curry is the past president of the Boston Branch of the NAACP (2011-2016) and has over twenty years of dedicated service to the NAACP at the city, state-area conference and national levels. He was elected to the National NAACP Board of Directors in 2014 and reelected twice in 2017 and 2020. He now serves as Chair of the National Board’s Advocacy & Policy Committee, Vice-Chair the Political Action and Legislation Committee, as well as a member of the Executive and Legal Committees.
Mr. Curry served on both the City of Boston’s COVID-19 Health Inequities Task Force, Mayor Walsh’s Reopening Advisory Group, co-chaired the Legislature’s Health Equity Task Force, and was appointed to Governor Baker’s COVID-19 Vaccine Working Group. In addition, he continues to serve on the Massachusetts Public Health Association’s Task Force on Coronavirus & Equity, while also coordinating the community health center response to the pandemic, in conjunction with the state Attorney General’s Office, Executive Office of Health and Human Services, various municipalities, and other partners. Based on Michael’s advocacy for community health centers and their patients, as well as his work to advance health equity in Massachusetts, he was named one of the Bostonians of the Year by the Boston Globe and Boston Globe Magazine.
He also served on the boards of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, and the Board of Trustees for Roxbury Community College, as well as continues in the role of Adjunct Professor for the Suffolk University Moakley Center for Public Management and New England Law Boston, where he teaches a course entitled “Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession”. He also recently joined the board of the New England Council, and has received numerous local and national awards for leadership and advocacy.
Mr. Curry earned a Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from New England law Boston, and graduated from the inaugural class of the Executive Leadership Council’s Pipeline to Leadership Program.
Alison Quirk is currently a member of two public company boards: Clean Harbors Inc., (NYSE: CLH) an environmental and industrial services company with over 18,000 employees, $4B+ in annual revenues and $6.7B market cap; she serves on both the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee. Janus Henderson Investors (NYSE/ASX: JHG) a global asset manager with $420B in assets under management across all major asset classes and $3.5B market cap; she Chairs the Compensation Committee; serves on the Risk Committee.
Alison is also a former member of the Board of Directors of Legg Mason Global Asset Management, (a diversified asset management firm with $3B in annual revenue, $750B in assets under management and 3,300 employees in 40 locations on 6 continents) where she served on the Executive Compensation Committee (Chair), Finance Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the “Special Committee” responsible for governance of the strategic merger with Franklin Templeton. She played a key role in guiding the difficult negotiations, working closely with the Lead Director to navigate the complicated dynamics between the board, management, activist investors and affiliate leadership resulting in a merger that received 99% shareholder approval. During her tenure, Alison also led the succession planning process for the firm.
Alison serves as member of the Independent Compliance Committee of Wynn Resorts, Ltd. (NASDAQ:WYNN), responsible for ensuring compliance with federal, state, local and gaming laws and advises Wynn Board of Directors and senior management on related topics. She also serves on the Finance and Nominating Committees of Bay Colony Golf Club and also serves on the Board of Trustees of Embrace Boston, a not for profit organization focused on equity and social / economic justice.
Pat Mitchell, Esq. is currently a Partner at Goodwin Procter, a leading global law firm serving the technology and life sciences industries. Pat counsels growth stage technology companies in the areas of software, artificial intelligence and healthcare technology, and several leading growth equity, private equity and venture capital firms. Previously Pat was a partner at Cooley LLP where he co-founded Cooley’s Boston office in 2007. He was a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and has served in several other leadership roles with Cooley.
Pat and his family are active in charitable, racial justice and political initiatives in the greater Boston community, and manage EAC Productions, an independent producer of music and film projects.
Terence “TK” Ankner is a prominent lawyer and community leader in Boston. With 30+ years of legal experience, he is a trusted expert in the region. Ankner has been actively involved in the community for decades, serving on the Board of Trustees of the Freedom Trail Foundation for almost 20 years, and as Vice Chair for the last 10 years. He is also a long-standing member of the Board of Trustees of the Esplanade Association. Ankner served as President of the Teddy Ebersol Red Sox Fields for years, providing safe athletic facilities for young people in the city. Ankner is a respected advocate for the people of Boston.
Entrepreneurial/Business
Linda Mason is co-founder and retired President and Chair of Bright Horizons Family Solutions, taking it from start-up in her home, raising financing, building the organization, and taking it public. The company is the largest world-wide provider of worksite child care, early education, and education advising, operating 1200 childcare centers and employing 30,000 people.
Ms. Mason also co-founded Horizons for Homeless Children (HHC), a Boston-based organization that serves the needs of homeless children and their parents. HHC operates a large childcare center for the homeless in Roxbury serving 175 children and their parents. In addition, HHC has trained over 15,000 volunteers to work in 150 play spaces established by HHC in homeless shelters.
International
Linda Mason recently stepped down as long-term Chair of Mercy Corps. Mercy Corps is a $500 million international relief and development agency headquartered in the U.S. Mercy Corps operates in 43 countries serving 17 million people, with major programs in some of the most difficult environments in the world including Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, Somalia, and Congo, among others.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Mason managed large-scale refugee relief operations overseas. She served as Co-Country Director of Save the Children’s emergency program in Sudan during the African famine of the mid-80’s, creating a national program that served 400,000 Sudanese famine victims. She also was responsible for the operation of emergency services for two refugee camps serving over 40,000 Eritrean refugees. Ms. Mason also directed a large feeding program for malnourished children in Cambodian refugee camps along the Thai border after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia of 1979.
Additional Background
Ms. Mason is Chair of The Boston Foundation, a $1.7 billion foundation. She served as Leader-in-Residence at the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School from 2014-2016. Ms. Mason has a BA from Cornell University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. Linda also serves on the boards of the Packard Foundation, MFA Boston, and MASS MoCA.
Paul is the Chief Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Officer at State Street Corporation. In this role , Paul leads the global implementation of State Street’s inclusion, diversity, and equity strategies. He also oversees State Street’s Affirmative Action program.
Prior to joining State Street, Paul was a Managing Director and co-founder of Foster & Francisco LLC, an executive search and diversity consulting firm based in Boston.
Prior to Foster & Francisco, Paul led recruitment & consulting and relationship management functions at Bank of America, as well as Fidelity Investments, respectively. Early in his career he led recruitment efforts at Amica Mutual Insurance, and The Gillette Company.
Paul currently sits on the boards of The Base Inc., The Posse Foundation’s Boston Leadership Council, and Morgan Memorial Goodwill. Paul also serves on Boston University’s Black Alumni Leadership Council, The Partnership Inc’s., Executive Leadership Council, and the 30% Club’s Steering Committee. Additionally, he serves the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership Board of Advisors, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts Advisory Board. He is an active member of the Patriots Alumni Association, and the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. In March of 2017 Paul was appointed by Massachusetts Governor, Charlie Baker, to serve on the Black Advisory Board Commission. Paul is also one of the cofounders of the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund.
His recognitions include the Boston Business Journal’s 2007 “Top 40 under 40”, 2009 “20 on the Move” recognizing Hispanic Executives making a difference in Boston, and in 2020 the “Power 50”. Additionally, El Planeta Newspaper’s Powermeter; “100 Most Influential Latinos in Massachusetts”, and Color Magazine’s 2009 “All Inclusive Award for Leadership”.
Paul has also been recognized by the Boston National Black MBA Association with the “Corporate Leadership Award”, the Profiles in Diversity Journal “Diversity Leader” Award, and Black Enterprise 2018 “Top Executives in Corporate” Diversity, as well as by the National Diversity Council as one of the “Top 100 Chief Diversity Officers”.
Paul graduated from Boston University with a BA in Political Science. In 2018 he received a Doctor in Humane Letters Degree (Hon) from Fisher College, and also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
Kate Guedj joined the Boston Foundation as Director of Philanthropic Services in 2000. In 2005 she was made Vice President for Philanthropic and Donor Services, in 2013, her role was expanded to Vice President for Development and Donor Services; in 2015, it was expanded again to Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer and in 2018 she was made Senior Vice President. In this capacity, she oversees the Foundation’s development and donor facing efforts and works with the Foundation’s donors to help them achieve their charitable and philanthropic goals. In addition, she provides management oversight to Embrace Boston, the Asian Community Fund, the Equality Fund and the Haiti Development Institute.
Kate engages and supports a diverse array of senior leadership within the Philanthropy Group, including eight senior reports and more than 30 staff. She inspires devotion and a passion for excellence from her team and encourages cross-departmental collaboration and centering diversity, equity and inclusion in the work.
Kate is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) through the American College, having achieved that distinction in 2017. She is cited in the media as an expert, most recently in the Nonprofit Quarterly in April 2020 and the Chronical of Philanthropy in August.
Before coming to the Foundation, Kate was a senior executive with the Massachusetts Bar Association, overseeing their programs and services. She has also served as Director of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation and its grant-making program, providing civil legal services to the poor. She began her career at the Council on Foundations in Washington D.C. as a researcher, and eventually became Membership Director.
Kate is on the governing boards of the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation, the Deshpande Foundation, the Haiti Development Institute and the BASE. She holds a B.A. with honors in the division of the humanities from Swarthmore College.
Kevin McGovern is the Managing Partner for Deloitte in New England, leading a team of 3,100 professionals serving all industries which exist in New England. With 38 years at Deloitte, Kevin primarily serves Financial Services clients helping them decide and implement their strategic choices as well as adapt to the ever-changing operating and technology landscape. As MP, Kevin sets the strategy for Deloitte’s Growth and Community Impact objectives, meeting regularly with leaders to determine how Deloitte can have the highest impact for New England. He creates an inclusive environment for each person to thrive. Kevin and his wife Tracy live in Boston and have 5 children and 1 granddaughter. He is a 20+ year PMC cycling veteran.
Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership; Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Professor of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Reede has a lifelong passion for mentoring and supporting diversity in the biosciences. She is responsible for the development and management of a comprehensive program that provides leadership, guidance, and support to promote the increased recruitment, retention, and advancement of underrepresented minority faculty.
While at HMS, Joan created more than 20 diversity and leadership-focused programs, including founding the HMS Minority Faculty Development Program and the Biomedical Science Careers Program. Before joining Harvard, she served as the medical director of a Boston community health center and worked as a pediatrician in community and academic health centers, juvenile prisons, and public schools. She has held many advisory roles, serving on the HHS Advisory Committee on Minority Health and the Secretary’s Advisory Committee to the Director of NIH. Dr. Reede is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Dr. Reede graduated from Brown University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She holds an MPH and an MS in Health Policy Management from Harvard T. H. Chan School, and an MBA from Boston University.
Brandon Terry, Ph.D., is the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University and the co-director of the Institute on Policing, Incarceration, and Public Safety at the Hutchins Center.
Brandon is a scholar in African American political thought, an editor and author. For his work, Brandon has received fellowships, awards, and recognition from the Edmund J. Safra Center for Ethics, the Center for History and Economics, the Ford Foundation, the Mellon-Mays Foundation, the American Political Science Association, the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, and Best American Essays.
Janet Tiampo is the 826 Boston Board President. Janet has been an 826 Boston tutor for the past 6+ years, and has volunteered in each of the Writers’ Rooms, and at the Writing Center after school. She served as Chair of the Campaign for Growth and of the Advancement Committee. Outside of 826 Boston, Janet loves to cook and read, tries to sew, and keeps her dog, Comet, from stealing sticks from other pups.
Andy Youniss is a Founder of Rocket Software, the former President and CEO, and currently serves as the Company’s Executive Chairman. Youniss is a pianist and guitarist who has performed on stage in Boston and Las Vegas, solo and with the Rocket Band, and has opened for Aerosmith, Elton John, Maroon 5, Gwen Stefani, Elvis Costello, and others. He is a trustee at Boston Medical Center, a board member of Lovin’ Spoonfuls and the Record Co., an advisor to Beats by Girlz, and a member of Berklee College’s Board of Trustees
Embrace Boston Leadership
Imari K. Paris Jeffries, Ph.D., is the President and CEO of Embrace Boston, where he is leading a citywide racial equity transformation through The Embrace monument, the Embrace Center, and ongoing community organizing efforts. Imari brings a wealth of experience from the nonprofit management, racial equity, community activism, education reform, and social justice sectors and has served in executive roles at Parenting Journey, Jumpstart, Boston Rising, and Friends of The Children. He currently serves as a Trustee of the UMass System, UMass Global, Mass Humanities, Boston Ballet, the Huntington Theatre and former Governor Baker’s Black Advisory Commission.
Most recently, he was the Executive Director of Parenting Journey with other leadership stints as Chief Executive Officer of the Italian Home for Children, Chief Operating Officer of Jumpstart, interim CEO of Boston Rising, and Executive Director of Friends of the Children-Boston. Imari has extensive professional experience in public, national, and nonprofit leadership and has supplemented his work with volunteer service on boards. These have included Jumpstart, the African American Federation of Greater Boston, Save the Harbor, Save the Bay, the Elizabeth Peabody House, the Massachusetts Mentoring Partnership, the Edward Brooke Charter School, The Providers Council, and Third Sector New England.
Imari was recently named one of Boston’s most Influential Bostonians by Boston Magazine and the Boston Business Journals Power 50. He is a four-time graduate of UMass Boston and received his Ph.D. through UMass Boston’s Higher Education Program in June 2023. An Army veteran, Imari served from 1991-1996. He currently lives in Hyde Park with his family.
Duncan Remage-Healey joined Embrace Boston in April 2021 as the Director of Advancement and External Affairs.
For nearly two decades, Remage-Healey has held integral roles at nonprofits, concentrating on leadership, management, operations and fundraising in the arts, human services, education, biological research, and public interest sectors. He was most recently the Managing Director at Somerville-based Parenting Journey after working in leadership positions in both operations and advancement at the organization. Prior to that he held leadership positions at Boston Arts Academy and Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston.
Remage-Healey holds a bachelor’s degree in Government and International Relations and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Clark University. He and his wife Sarah live in Waltham with their three daughters.
Yully joins Embrace Boston to grow their Research and Policy practice and lead new strategic initiatives as Senior Vice President of Research and Policy, Senior Advisor. Yully brings over 20 years of experience in Boston in nonprofit leadership, organizational design, and educational equity.
As an independent consultant, Yully facilitated key growth projects, from new ventures and capital campaigns to strategic planning. Most recently, she served as Managing Director of Philanthropy at Boston Schools Fund, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Codman Academy, and Executive Director of Bridge Boston Charter School, where she led a $25M renovation of its first permanent school house in Roxbury. Previously, Yully was CPO/COO at The Steppingstone Foundation, and Assistant Dean of Admission at Hamilton College. Yully sits on the board of the Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE) and Bridge Boston Charter School.
Yully’s family immigrated to Brooklyn, NY where she owes her love of reading to the public school and library down the street. She earned her BA at Hamilton College, MBA at Babson, and Certificate in School Management and Leadership at Harvard. She resides with her family in Sharon MA.
Ana Maria possesses over 15 years of experience within the nonprofit sector. Her background includes managing development teams, designing and implementing fundraising strategies, while growing partnerships with US-based and international partners. Furthermore, Ana Maria brings expertise in crisis intervention and counseling services to victims of child abuse. Prior to joining Embrace Boston in June 2022, Ana Maria held various leadership positions with Laboratoria, Alboan, Jesuit Refugee Services, Summer Search, Safe Horizon’s Child Advocacy Centers, and more.
She earned a master’s degree at Boston College and her bachelor’s degree at Boston University. Ana Maria currently lives in Everett, MA with her black and brown Labradors.
Elizabeth is an Afro-Latina who comes to Embrace Boston with roots in arts and education. She holds a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and a MEd in Education Policy and Leadership from American University. While working as an artist educator, she collaborated with Boston school communities to develop programming that places arts and culture representative of students’ racial diversity at the center of education. She is dedicated to shifting cultural norms of oppression penetrating communities across generations. She finds joy in cooking and feeding as an act of love and serves her community locally as well as in her parents’ home island of Puerto Rico.
Nakeisha Johnson is the Development Vice President of Embrace Boston as an agent, ambassador and, where appropriate, a proxy for the President of Embrace Boston, Imari Paris Jeffries, PhD.
In partnership with the Embrace Boston Senior Management Team, Nakeisha cultivates, stewards, and engages communities, nonprofits and government officials to advance Embrace Boston’s effectiveness and impact. Nakeisha leads a wide range of substantive projects on behalf of the President and the Office of the President, Embrace Boston.
As the former Chief of Staff at The Lazu Group she handled the daily operations of the Founder and CEO, Malia Lazu, executing deliverables. Nakeisha assisted with management of the full internal team as well as in the overall external project management with clients.
Nakeisha grew up with the duality of the METCO program. While residing in Dorchester she attended elementary through high school in Brookline, Massachusetts, which allowed her to gain the understanding of bridging the complexities of two communities. Nakeisha learned invaluable life lessons at an early age. Brookline gave Nakeisha the space and confidence to safely use her voice very early and effectively in change work, it was encouraged in fact. It was inevitable that she would jump at the opportunity to work with an activist and executive doing the work of shifting narratives and providing access, equity and a voice to those that need it most first with The Lazu Group and now with Embrace Boston.
Prior to The Lazu Group, Nakeisha worked in the legal field for 10 years with a focus on estate planning, trust planning and tax law, and also worked in executive search at the global company, Spencer Stuart. Through utilizing strategic planning and project management tools she has worked, researched and helped place many of the country’s leading doctors as C-Suite Executives and Hospital Medical Chairs in successful job searches at Spencer Stuart.
Nakeisha completed two years of undergrad at Clark Atlanta University, a Historically Black University and holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Boston where she completed her undergraduate career, again providing a balance of experiences and lessons. In 2020 Nakeisha completed a certificate program in Leadership at Harvard University.
Embrace Boston Team
Jenny is a sociologist interested in how our lives shape and are shaped by the social spaces that we all share. Her research uses both quantitative and qualitative data to consider how opportunity and wellbeing could be more equitably distributed, with a special focus on the impact of racialization and racism. In addition to spending a decade as an evaluator of education and youth development policy, Jenny has taught in the sociology departments at UMass Boston, at Clark University, and at Brandeis University, where she earned a dual doctorate in sociology and social policy. Additionally, she holds a MA in social policy from Brandeis, an EdM from Harvard University, and a BA in African/African American Studies from Carleton College. Still a Chicagoan, if only in heart, she likes to spend time running to explore new neighborhoods and natural landscapes in the Boston area.
Vahsaun Givans brings a wealth of experience and a profound commitment to social equity to his new role as Director of Advancement and External Affairs at Embrace Boston. With a distinguished career spanning over a decade, Vahsaun has consistently demonstrated his expertise in strategic leadership, community engagement, and philanthropic development.
Vahsaun’s professional journey is marked by significant accomplishments in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining Embrace Boston, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at a local nonprofit organization, where he successfully spearheaded major fundraising campaigns and forged impactful partnerships. His strategic vision and innovative approach resulted in substantial growth in donor engagement and financial support.
A native of Cambridge, Vahsaun is deeply connected to the community he now serves. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sport Management with a minor in Communications from Colby-Sawyer College and a Master’s degree in Education from Boston College. His academic background, combined with his practical experience, equips him with a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing diverse urban communities.
At Embrace Boston, Vahsaun is poised to lead initiatives that enhance the organization’s visibility and influence. His role involves cultivating relationships with key stakeholders, expanding the organization’s outreach efforts, and securing essential resources to further its mission of fostering inclusion, equity, and social justice in the Greater Boston area.
Vahsaun’s dedication to community service extends beyond his professional endeavors. He is an active volunteer and mentor, passionately advocating for youth development and educational access.
As Vahsaun Givans embarks on this new chapter with Embrace Boston, he remains driven by a singular goal: to create a more equitable and inclusive society where every individual has the opportunity to thrive.
Newly serving as the inaugural Director of Activation & Community Engagement for Embrace Boston, Jessica Estelle Huggins is a Boston native and an acclaimed Filmmaker. Various films that she has produced have been accepted into dozens of film festivals around the country and have received awards. Titles include Emmy-nominated short documentary film, The Mural Master (featuring the work and life of Rob ‘ProBlak’ Gibbs), Memoirs of A Black Girl, Black Women Shine (podcast), Chi~Voices: A Poetic Film Series, Perfect Day and more. Huggins has served as a production, distribution and social impact strategist for many media organizations including Brave New Films, ITVS, Documentary Educational Resources, The Redford Center, Picture Motion and Another Age Productions. In 2019, Huggins was granted the inaugural New England Film Star Award. In 2023, she garnered the Emerging Business Leader of Color nomination from The Charles River Chamber of Commerce for her producing work in collaboration with Another Age Productions. She is also on the board of the Secret Society of Black Creatives, an organization that focuses on workforce development and the career advancement of black and brown filmmakers in New England.
Gregory Ball joined Embrace Boston in November 2020 and now serves as Director of Digital Strategy and Production.
Gregory Ball is a highly experienced cultural curator, journalist, and content creator, with a career spanning over two decades. He has contributed to a variety of publications, including the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, Dig Boston, XXL, and the Bay State Banner, as well as various international editions of the Metro Newspaper. He is also the co-founder and editor of KBX Media, a leading digital editorial platform and media content creation agency based in Boston.
In November 2020, Gregory joined Embrace Boston as the Director of Digital Strategy and Production, where he oversees the planning and execution of digital media projects, utilizing his extensive background in media production and content creation.
In addition to his work at Embrace Boston, Gregory has also served on the Board of Directors for Boston Art & Music Soul (BAMS) Fest, a nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking down racial and social barriers to arts, music, and culture across Greater Boston. He is also a member of the Board Of Directors Mass Media Fund which focuses on supporting independent journalism.
Gregory’s outstanding contributions to the music journalism industry have earned him five nominations for Music Journalist Of The Year at the Boston Music Awards. Prior to joining Embrace Boston, he worked as the first Reevx Labs Director at Berkshire Bank, where he played a key role in opening community co-working spaces for entrepreneurs. He later served as Marketing Content Manager, leveraging his expertise in digital media to advance the bank’s marketing initiatives.
For the past 5 years of her professional career, Lynsey has held a few positions as an Executive Assistant and Manager spanning from New York City to Boston, with her most recent role being the Executive Assistant to the CEO of a biotechnology company in Norwood, MA.
Within the last couple of years, she’s pivoted into the field of Event/Project Management, working with different organizations in the city, and currently holding a position at SILK R&B; an organization that aims to create/hold space for Black and Brown individuals in the city of Boston to enjoy themselves and create community, as their Special Projects Manager.
As a new member of the Embrace Boston team, Lynsey looks forward to developing ways in which her generation can get more involved and interested in preserving and celebrating Black history in Boston, through Arts & Culture.
Ester Farah is the Senior Program Manager for the Everyone250. She has a background in project management, volunteer coordination, and fundraising operations. Before joining Embrace Boston, Ester served as the Senior Development Operations Administrator at Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston, where she managed donor CRM systems, coordinated fundraising data, and maintained donor relations. She also played a key role in volunteer program management and cross-team facilitation as the Development and Volunteer
Coordinator.
Ester holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations from Bridgewater State University. Born and raised in Boston, MA, to Somali
immigrants who arrived in the mid-1990s, her upbringing is rooted in cultural heritage and resilience. As one of seven siblings, Ester thrives in collaborative environments and values the strength of diverse voices.
Kesha DelSignore joined Embrace Boston in November of 2023 as our Senior Business & Operations Manager.
For over 15 years, leading up to her joining the Embrace Boston team, DelSignore held increasingly important roles in retail sales operations within both the Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch brands, eventually leading to top retail store manager positions across the New England region.
Most recently, she took her team-building and extensive retail management skills to Puma, USA headquarters in Somerville, MA, where she coordinated the operations in their flagship retail location within corporate sales operations, national marketing brand collaborations, and diversity & inclusion initiatives.
DelSignore is a long-time resident of Salem, NH where she lives with her young son.
Erika Chen joined Embrace Boston in October 2024 as the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO Dr. Imari Paris Jeffries, bringing extensive experiences in applying transdisciplinary and creative approaches to social justice, equity, and empowering underserved communities.
Prior to joining Embrace, Erika served as the Reentry Services Coordinator at the Boston Community Justice Support Center, directly serving formerly incarcerated individuals and building partnerships with community partners to further advocate for and navigate barriers for individuals coming home. There, she created Boston’s first monthly reentry resource newsletter, Boston Reentry Bulletin, which she continues in partnership with The Educational Justice Institute @ MIT.
Erika holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Film and Media Studies from Tufts University. She also contributed to various political campaigns, including work for Pete Buttigieg and Michelle Wu, and has worked on social media, documentaries, podcasts, and more aimed at promoting and telling undertold stories of people of color and racial injustices. As a co-founder of Reclaim Coalition, she led a storytelling campaign advocating for the inclusion and empowerment of marginalized students of color in her hometown in Ohio. She has also published research on public health, highlighting race, music, gun violence, and environmental impact. In 2020, she researched and drafted public safety policies for Michelle Wu’s office, addressing policing, public symbols, and surveillance.
Melissa Clavijo is a journalist and digital strategist passionate about using storytelling as a tool for equity, culture, and social change. At Embrace Boston, she brings her experience in audience engagement, multimedia content creation, and community-centered campaigns to uplift narratives that challenge injustice and offer solutions to current social issues.
Before joining Embrace Boston, Melissa led social media strategy for The Emancipator, a reimagined antiracist publication from Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research. Under her leadership, The Emancipator was nominated for two Webby Awards in Social Media Excellence, recognizing its innovative approach to digital storytelling and civic engagement.
Melissa earned her master’s degree in Media Innovation from Northeastern University, where she deepened her commitment to media that informs, empowers, and connects. Outside of work, she’s a music lover, a rug artist, and a believer in the power of culture to inspire change.
Khari Thompson brings a unique scientific and journalism background to Embrace Boston. A former biological science researcher, Khari has long studied how history and evolution shapes our world and everything living in it. Khari came to Boston in 2018 as a journalist and has since focused on finding the humanity in every story—from the New England Patriots beat to the lingering impact of COVID on Boston’s communities of color. He’s also done freelance reporting illuminating underrepresented stories, such as the history of Black American aviators. Khari now comes to Embrace Boston to aid both the organization’s research and multimedia departments to engage audiences with novel, thought-provoking content that brings people closer together.
Melanie Sola is the Development Associate at Embrace Boston, where she is dedicated to advancing the organization’s fundraising efforts. A Boston native and Valedictorian of Boston Public Schools, Melanie recently graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in Business Administration, concentrating in Brand Management. During her time at Northeastern, she gained valuable experience working on Wall Street with Scotiabank in New York City, where she contributed to their Regulatory Business Initiatives team as well as their Human Resources department. Melanie is also an active member of nonprofits in the Boston area, including Bottom Line and The Valedictorian Project, where she serves as a peer mentor, focusing on giving back to the youth within Boston.
