Staff
Donna DiFillippo, Executive Director
Donna has been advocating for young children and their families for her entire career: first as a teacher, then as an administrator, and finally at Dartmouth College where her responsibilities as Coordinator of the Child Care Project included training and technical support of area early childhood professionals from the states of New Hampshire and Vermont. During her tenure at Dartmouth, she worked as a consultant to the Vermont Council on the Humanities where she developed curriculum for a new initiative called “Never Too Early,” an early literacy program designed to engage early care providers as literacy ambassadors to the parents of children in their care. The goal was to get books into the hands of families, while encouraging the parents to share them with their children on a daily basis. This work, combined with her experience in child development and early education, has prepared her for the challenges faced at RAR MA. Donna earned her BS from Boston University and her MA from Dartmouth College, with specific focus on child development, early childhood education, and cultural studies.
Gretchen Kinder, Director of Strategic Growth and Development
Gretchen Kinder is a 15 year veteran of the Boston-area non-profit and municipal sectors. She joins Raising a Reader MA after more than five years working for the Somerville Public Schools where she oversaw strategic planning, public information, and grants for the this small, urban school district. Gretchen found her professional calling in the fields of education and youth development, after stints working in homeless advocacy organizations, community health improvement, health professional education reform, and philanthropic advocacy. Her work with Raising a Reader MA gives her plenty of opportunities to channel her love for the book Frederick by Leo Lionni. She works hard to gather resources to sustain the organization and its mission, while also making a priority of sharing the inspiring work being done every day by program staff and partners with children and families.
Sara Pollock DeMedeiros, Director of Program and Evaluation
Sara joined the Raising a Reader team in January 2009. Her earliest memories are of story-time with her family, and she has worked her entire career to bring similar positive interactions with reading to urban youth. After graduating from Cornell University with a BA in Anthropology and a concentration in Women’s Studies, Sara worked as a Teach for America corps member, teaching English and Geography to English Language Learners in Washington, DC. Most recently, Sara worked for Tenacity, a youth development organization bringing literacy and tennis out-of-school time opportunities to Boston middle school students. She holds her Masters in Education with a focus on Risk and Prevention from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Christine Ward, Operations Manager
christine@raisingareaderma.org
An avid reader and proponent of early literacy, Christine joined Raising A Reader MA as Operations Manager in January 2010. A few of her favorite children’s books include Wild About Books and The Story of Ferdiand. Her passion for reading is supported by her volunteer work, including co-chairing the library committee for several years at a nursery school- increasing funds raised year over year. Other charitable work includes serving on Hill House Council (a community organization), as a parent-teacher coordinator, and supporting numerous community events and fundraisers. With a background in marketing and working for entrepreneurial companies, she brings for-profit experience and insight to the non-profit world. Most recently, Christine worked as a Vice President for Progress Partners, a boutique investment bank. With an MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, and a concentration in marketing, Christine is excited to share her enthusiasm and entrepreneurial ideas with Raising A Reader MA.
Heloísa Micheletti Alvarez, Regional Program Manager – Greater Boston
Heloísa is a big fan of the Brazilian book Flicts, which tells the story of an unusual color in search of its own place in the universe. She brings to Raising A Reader 10 years of experience as a clinical and community psychologist in both Health and Education institutions in Brazil, a strong background on Early Childhood Development and Child Psychology, and the personal commitment to foster better opportunities for underprivileged children.
Heloísa recently received a Masters in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and she also has Psychologist and Bachelor in Psychology degrees from PUC-RJ, a Specialization degree in Children and Adolescent Mental Health from the IPUB/UFRJ, and a Specialization degree in Psychoanalytical Theory from PUC-SP.
Lauren Butler, Regional Program Manager – Greater Boston
Lauren joins Raising A Reader with 11 years of experience in the non-profit world and extensive travel in South and Central America. She began her career in Washington, D.C. first at Ayuda, Inc., an organization whose mission is to help the immigrant community, and then as a social work assistant at Children’s National Medical Center. Next, Lauren fulfilled a long-time goal of traveling in Latin America. She improved her Spanish while living in Guatemala and Nicaragua and studied Portuguese while volunteering as an English teacher in Salvador, Brazil. After returning to Massachusetts to acquire a TEFOL certificate, Lauren taught English in Mexico and returned to live in Brazil where she continued to teach. In 2007, Lauren joined GEAR UP, a federal college-access program at UMass Lowell. Education has played an important role throughout Lauren’s life and one of her favorite childhood memories is reading the Frances series of stories by Russell Hoban.
Cesarina Gonzalez, Regional Program Manager – Lowell
From an early age in the Dominican Republic, Cesarina was instilled with a love for reading and learning. Even though it was not the cultural norm, her family read stories to her and taught her to read from school text books before she even started first grade. She has always felt a strong commitment to early childhood education and the importance that it plays in future success. Cesarina believes parents have the power to instill the love of reading and learning in their children. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree from Wheelock College on Human Development with a concentration on Elementary Education. Her previous job was as an early childhood teacher for six years, including the opportunity to direct a Family Child Care Agency for the past three years. She is excited to have joined Raising A Reader and knows that reading with your children can help improve the quality of life for the entire family.
Lori Jorge, Regional Program Manager – Lawrence
Lori Jorge came to Raising A Reader Massachusetts after working in the human services field for the past 25 years in the Lawrence area, including 15 years with the Department of Social Services. Lori has a strong background in working with family child care providers, including her work as a Family Child Care Licensor, where she monitored a caseload of 300 providers and as the Director of Clarendon Family Child Care. In both roles, she provided ongoing training and professional development opportunities to family child care providers. Most recently, Lori directed the Even Start Family Literacy program at the Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, where she transformed the program from being on probation with low attendance to successfully graduating students in just one year. Lori recently completed her portfolio for submission to Lesley College and is now a Bachelor’s degree candidate in Counseling Psychology.
Catherine Silva, Regional Program Manager – Brockton
catherine@raisingareaderma.org
Most people have been fortunate enough, whether they read frequently as a child or not, to at least have been exposed to books. The first time Catherine Silva even saw a book was when she first moved to the United States from Senegal at the age of six. As she struggled to learn English, she quickly realized that reading would be instrumental to her English learning and her intellectual development. By becoming a life-long lover of reading at an early age, she was able to overcome language barriers and quickly excel academically. She has since been a staunch supporter of inculcating such a love in children at an early age through consistently reading to them stories that capture their imagination. She credits much of her professional achievements to her independence, ability to acquire knowledge through social interaction, and through textual media. Catherine has worked as a youth educator in the Brockton Public School System since 2003 and taught Introduction to Wellness in 2009. She has volunteered at Hope Worldwide, Head Start, and Kids Kingdom serving pre-K. Catherine joined Raising A Reader Ma in July 2010. She holds a B.S. in Business Management from Bridgewater State College.
Lorianne Saniuk, Development Associate
Lorianne is a recent graduate of Suffolk University receiving her Master’s of Public Administration and Master’s of Political Science. She has most recently been working as a nanny and is incredibly excited to join the staff of Raising A Reader MA. Having a love for children and knowledge of the importance of encouraging literacy at a young age, she has been devoted throughout her education and work focused on helping children in need. As the Development Associate, Lorianne’s responsibilities include working with the organization’s major contributors and events, analyzing data, and searching for potential new sources of funding. Her past internships have focused on the nonprofit sector and given her great insight as to the critical importance that nonprofits can play. Her favorite children’s book is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault and Lois Ehlert. This book is not only a fun read, but it encourages learning the alphabet while accompanied by a catchy song.
Colin Murphy, Program Associate
Martine Thomas Fox, Site Manager – Greater Boston 2
Antonieta Gimeno, Site Manager – Greater Boston 2
antonieta@raisingareaderma.org
Morgan Kapinos, Site Manager – Greater Boston 1
Damaris Lamontagne, Site Manager – Lawrence
Susannah Kate Matthews, Site Manager – Greater Boston 2
Jacqueline Pires, Site Manager – Brockton
jacqueline@raisingareaderma.org
Gretchen Kinder, Director of Strategic Growth and Development
Gretchen Kinder is a 15 year veteran of the Boston-area non-profit and municipal sectors. She joins Raising a Reader MA af
Gretchen Kinder, Director of Strategic Growth and Development
gretchen@raisingareaderma.org
Gretchen Kinder is a 15 year veteran of the Boston-area non-profit and municipal sectors. She joins Raising a Reader MA after more than five years working for the Somerville Public Schools where she oversaw strategic planning, public information, and grants for the this small, urban school district. Gretchen found her professional calling in the fields of education and youth development, after stints working in homeless advocacy organizations, community health improvement, health professional education reform, and philanthropic advocacy. Her work with Raising a Reader MA gives her plenty of opportunities to channel her love for the book “Frederick” by Leo Lioni. She works hard to gather resources to sustain the organization and its mission, while also making a priority of sharing the inspiring work being done every day by program staff and partners with children and families.
ter more than five years working for the Somerville Public Schools where she oversaw strategic planning, public information, and grants for the this small, urban school district. Gretchen found her professional calling in the fields of education and youth development, after stints working in homeless advocacy organizations, community health improvement, health professional education reform, and philanthropic advocacy. Her work with Raising a Reader MA gives her plenty of opportunities to channel her love for the book “Frederick” by Leo Lioni. She works hard to gather resources to sustain the organization and its mission, while also making a priority of sharing the inspiring work being done every day by program staff and partners with children and families.