Leadership
Valerie Godhwani, Board of Directors, Co- President, Co-Chair of the Marketing & Communications Committee
Valerie is an independent consultant with extensive marketing and brand experience. After leading products on brands such as Kraft, DiGiorno and Cracker Barrel, Valerie left the private sector and focused her skills and energy toward the nonprofit world. She mainly provided pro bono management consulting services both privately and through Community Consulting Teams of Boston. Valerie has her Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Illinois and her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. Valerie lives with her spouse, father, three kids, and rescue pup in Brookline, MA.
Jennifer Morrison, Board of Directors, Co- President
Jennifer is a life-long educator, believing that knowledge is power. Her professional
life centered on helping teachers develop their practice throughout their careers. Starting as a classroom teacher, she moved on to Wheelock College as director of the Curriculum Resource Center. For the next 15 years, she worked on school reform in the Boston Public Schools. During this time, she served on the board of the Brookline Education Foundation. Jennifer loves teaching adults and has also worked as a consultant with the Teaching and Learning Alliance and with BPS fellows in the Passion to Teach Project. Through TPC she became interested in the foster care system and volunteers as a CASA worker and Special Education Surrogate Parent. She has served on the TPC board since 2020 as co-chair of the Education Committee. She lives in Boston with her husband and in her free time can be found in a local ceramics studio or running after her three grandchildren.
Lindsey Donovan, Board of Directors, Treasurer and Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee
Lindsey is a portfolio manager and fixed income analyst at Cambridge Trust Company. She helps individuals, businesses, and nonprofits invest their assets and plan for the future. Lindsey has a bachelors degree in economics and French from the College of the Holy Cross and a MBA from Babson College. She enjoys rowing at the Hingham Maritime Center. Lindsey loves spending time on the Cape during the summer, and in her spare time loves to read, bake, and travel as much as possible.
Clare Rager, Board of Directors, Clerk, Chair of the Governance Committee
Clare is the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer of Intuitive Health, LLC, which partners with health systems nationwide to establish combined emergency room/urgent care locations that provide a full spectrum of medical care while keeping costs down for patients. Prior to joining Intuitive Health, Clare was a senior associate at Foley & Lardner, LLP. Clare also maintains a thriving pro bono practice providing legal advice to 501(c)(3) nonprofit entities on issues of entity formation, federal and state tax compliance, corporate governance, and contractual negotiations. In her spare time, she enjoys quilting, reading dystopian science fiction novels, and chasing her kids around playgrounds regardless of the weather. Clare earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. Clare lives in Cambridge with her husband Kyle, son Jack, and daughter Matilda.
Yasmine Anderson, Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the Development Committee
Yasmine is the CEO of Black Women in Charge Inc. (BWC) and a Population Health professional at Boston Medical Center. She is also an alumnus of the Vital Village Networks Fellowship. Through her leadership at BWC, Yasmine democratizes autonomy over one’s wellness and education from a human rights perspective, focusing on public health, federal lobbying, legislation, and international relations. She holds a BA in Biology from Xavier University of Louisiana and is deeply committed to developing innovative, solution-driven strategies that create sustainable pathways for minority thought leaders to uplift their communities. Yasmine currently resides in Boston and travels with her friends in her spare time.
Rosemary Driscoll, Board of Directors, Grantee Engagement Coordinator
Rosemary ‘s early graduate work in education and psychology was the launch pad of a successful career as a qualitative market research consultant. Over the 30 plus years in practice, Rosemary moderated hundreds of focus groups and conducted countless in-depth interviews for clients in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Gradually slowing down her consultancy, volunteer opportunities captured her attention and excitement. Rosemary is currently Treasurer and Past President of The Natick Education Foundation and Co-Curator and organizer of TEDxNatick. Since joining TPC in 2018, Rosemary has been a Grant Team Deputy and is currently Co-Coordinator for Grantee Engagement, working with TPC Liaisons to partner with our grantees each year. Rosemary lives in Sherborn with her husband, spending lots of time forest-bathing with Hopper, their chocolate lab mix.
Jacqui Fishman, Board of Directors
Jacqui is the owner of Start A Buzz! Marketing, a creative consulting firm specializing in small start-ups and not-for-profits in education and children’s media. She is a storyteller and an Emmy-nominated children’s media creator. As the Founder of This Girl Can! Change the World, a mission-driven brand designed to support all girls to believe in their own power to realize their dreams, she recently launched This Girl Can! Vote to promote civic engagement. Jacqui is the Director of Marketing and Communications for Partakers, a nonprofit building and supporting powerful Mentor relationships for incarcerated students and returning citizens. Formerly Jacqui served as the Creative Director /Director of Marketing for Housman Institute, building their brand and mission to place emotional, cognitive, and social early learning at the heart of the early learning experience. Her specialties and passions include- literacy and book access, arts education, early childhood education, girls’ empowerment, climate literacy, intergenerational engagement, civics education, and educational equity. A graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard Graduate School of Education, she can be found in her gardens, roaming a bookstore or museum, curled up with a book or a classic movie, and knitting.
Meghan Higgins, Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the Grants Committee
Meghan Higgins is the Director of Grants and Evaluation at Madison Park Development Corporation (MPDC), one of the nation’s first nonprofit affordable housing developers. She holds a joint Master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning/Child Studies & Human Development from Tufts University. Prior to joining MPDC, Meghan was an Associate Consultant with Emerging Executive and the Development Officer at Our Restorative Justice, a nonprofit using restorative practices to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. As a graduate student, Meghan also completed a fellowship at YouthBuild USA, focused on state and federal policy strategy around youth unemployment and criminal justice. Meghan is also a member of Dana Cancer Institute’s Community Benefits and Determination of Need Advisory Committee.
An avid reader and musician, and a Pittsburgh area native, Meghan currently lives in Dorchester with her wife and endearingly feisty cat.
Sarah Kalish, Board of Directors
Leslie Levenson, Board of Directors, Chair of the Membership Committee
Leslie spent the first half of her career as an Occupational Therapist in the field of mental health. Earning her master’s from Tufts University, she managed inpatient programs and led vocational training at New York Hospital, Silver Hill Hospital, and Massachusetts Mental Health Center. In 2002, she founded Community Giving Tree, a non-profit organization serving children with low income, and Twice Loved Toys, a social enterprise supporting the organization. After 15 years as Executive Director, she stepped down when she and her husband moved to Brookline. Leslie is a founding board member of Asembo Skills for Hope in Kenya, volunteers at the Brookline Food Pantry, and is a strategic planning consultant for Community InRoads in Lawrence. She is currently working at Circle of Hope as a grant writer. She enjoys traveling with her family and relaxing in Maine.
Samantha Lovewell, Board of Directors
Samantha Lovewell is a lifelong Massachusetts resident and a true New Englander at heart. Her journey in community development began early, working on her hometown’s local farm and managing programs within the Parks and Recreation department. Whether volunteering or singing the National Anthem at events, she has always found fulfillment in fostering relationships. Samantha’s career path evolved as she became a music and theater educator, and later pursued a Master’s in Arts Administration and Fundraising Management from Boston University which launched her into the nonprofit sector. After years of navigating outdated technology solutions and the “do more with less” mentality, Samantha recognized an opportunity to help bring modernized systems within the public sector. Currently, Samantha serves as the Manager of the Customer Success National Team at OpenGov, a leading provider of cloud-based software for government, helping municipalities power more effective and accountable government. You’ll often find Samantha hiking or skiing, trying a new recipe, or enjoying quality time with family and friends through shared meals, live performances, or outdoor adventures. After a brief hiatus from volunteering, she has been honored to make an impact at TPC through the fellowship program and is proud to now contribute as a Board Member.
Kelsea Médard, Board of Directors
Kelsea is an attorney and strategic consultant. She is the founder of Grow By Three, a consulting firm that seeks to promote social justice through professional and organizational development. Before founding Grow By Three, Kelsea worked as a commercial litigation associate in the Boston office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, and in the admissions office of Boston University School of Law. Throughout her career, she has also held roles at government agencies, small to midsize law firms, and within in-house legal departments. Her professional experiences activated her desire to increase access to insight in ways that maximize success and ultimately improve lives. Kelsea is certified in Diversity & Inclusion through Cornell University and is focused on promoting equity within all areas of society. Kelsea is a New York native but moved to Massachusetts to attend Boston University School of Law. Prior to law school, she attended Syracuse University where she studied advertising at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Jessica Morris, Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the Marketing & Communications Committee
Jessica Morris is a seasoned product marketing professional with over twenty years of experience in project management, technical sales, and marketing. She specializes in helping companies articulate their brand stories and develop solutions that address customer needs. Jessica’s career has taken her across diverse industries, including the United States Navy, commercial real estate, and IoT and clean-tech startups, where she has made a lasting impact through innovative strategies and results-driven initiatives. Beyond her professional career, Jessica is deeply committed to giving back to her community. She has contributed her expertise to Boston nonprofits through pro bono consulting with Community Consulting Teams (CCT), helping mission-driven organizations achieve their goals. Jessica holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management. Outside of her professional and volunteer endeavors, Jessica is an avid adventurer who enjoys hiking, backpacking, and traveling. She lives in Roslindale with her husband and their four beloved rescue pets: two cats and two dogs.
Sarah Rahman, Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the Education Committee
Sarah has been a member of TPC since 2017. Her professional background is in public policy and urban and regional planning, and she has worked on economic development issues at the federal, state, and local levels. She has her Bachelor of Science degree from Brown University and her Master’s degrees in Public Policy and Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University. Most recently, she was the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Previously, she was a Senior Policy Analyst at The Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. She currently serves as Vice-Chair for the City of Newton Economic Development Commission. She had also been a Trustee for Wellan Montessori School. Sarah enjoys reading, travel, volunteering at her children’s schools, and learning about and supporting nonprofits that give back to her different communities.
Annemieke (Mieke) Rice, Board of Directors, Grantee Engagement Coordinator
Mieke is an educational technology professional who has spent her career helping higher education institutions elevate their use of data to advance student success. She worked at colleges in the Boston area before joining an early-stage edtech start up where she eventually became the chief customer success officer. As part of that work, she’s travelled to and consulted with hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States and Canada and remains passionate about the opportunities we have to improve equitable outcomes for all college students. She received her Masters in applied educational psychology from Northeastern University and a Bachelor of Science from Lehigh University in journalism and behavioral neuroscience. Mieke and her husband Ryan recently relocated to the Boston area after stints in Buffalo, New York and Fort Wayne, Indiana. They live in Reading with their brand-new baby girl, Inneke. In her free time Mieke loves hiking with their adopted dog Bubba, an Australian Shepherd.
Liz Sanchez, Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the DEI Committee
Liz is a health policy professional who currently serves as the Senior Director for Policy & Health Access at the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. Her responsibilities and experience include developing, advocating for, and implementing policies and strategies that increase access to care, promote health equity, and address the social drivers of health (such as food access, housing, transportation, climate justice). Liz joined TPC in 2016, has participated in grant teams since 2017, was a grantee liaison for the Daily Table in 2018, and since March 2022, has been Co-Chair of the DEI Committee. She received her BA in Sociology from the University of Arizona and MPH in Urban Health from Northeastern University. Liz lives in Hopkinton with her family.
May Vaughn, Board of Directors
May Vaughn is a compassionate leader in the nonprofit sector who has been devoted to serving her community for her entire career. As the Executive Director of Girls Leap in Boston, she is committed to creating a brighter future for young people. May‘s background, as the daughter of Honduran immigrants and a bilingual speaker of both English and Spanish, gives her a unique perspective and valuable insights into the community’s needs. With over 25 years of experience working with youth, May has held key leadership roles in Greater Boston and positively impacted countless lives. Her academic achievements include a Bachelor’s degree from UMASS Boston and a Master’s degree from Cambridge College.
Penny Weeks, Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the DEI Committee
Penny Weeks (she/her) is a Certified Financial Planner and has spent her career in financial services working with individuals and organizations focused on effectively leveraging their resources to meet their strategic objectives; she is currently a nonprofit lender with Silicon Valley Bank. She joined TPC in 2014 and has been a grant team member and team captain for a number of years, grantee liaison and a member of the DEI and Education Committees. Her volunteer board leadership experience includes a range of organizations with annual revenue from startup to $20MM, focused primarily in the education and social services sectors and committed to empowering members of under-resourced communities. She is a Lead Boston alumna, completed the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management Program jointly sponsored by HBS and The Kennedy School and in 2019 received a Certificate in Nonprofit Board Consulting from Board Source. Currently, she is Governance Committee Chair, member of the DBIE Committee and Minds Matter Boston’s Board (a current TPC grantee), and Finance Committee Co-chair and a member of the Board of Empower Success Corps. Now a Boston resident, she is originally from New York City and is an avid international traveler, having most recently been to South Africa with her daughter.