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Our Mission |
Camp Starfish fosters the success and growth of children with emotional, learning and behavioral problems by providing individualized attention as part of structured, nurturing, and fun group programs. |
Welcome to Camp Starfish, a unique place where children find success, friendship, role-models and safety...sometimes for the first time. We invite you to browse our website and learn more about this truly amazing program, the children and families we serve, and how you can help Starfish continue to fulfill its incredibly important mission of changing lives. Scrolling down on this page will introduce you to our Board of Directors and our Year-Round Staff. To learn more about our philosophy, structure and program, click here. And, since a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say, you can see our most recent Summer Photos here. |
Our Board of Directors |
Ned is a co-founder of Citizen Schools, a national non-profit education organization that runs after-school and summer programs. Citizen Schools provides 9-14 year old children with access to apprenticeships where they can learn side-by-side with local artisans, trades people, and professionals. Ned holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Vermont, an MBA from Boston University with a concentration in Public and Non-Profit Management, and a masters degree in Education from Harvard University. Ned is treasurer of the Board of the Hispanic Office of Planning and Evaluation, an alumnus of the Lead Boston class of 1997, and a volunteer instructor with the American Red Cross. |
(click any name to read a biography sketch.) |
Starfish is very lucky to have such an involved, active, hard-working Board of Directors. Click any thumbnail to view pictures of our Board Members participating in an All-Camp Sing Along during "Bunk-A-Palooza", Summer 2006: |
Our Year-Round Staff |
(click any name to read a biography sketch.) |
Board of Directors - Biography Sketches |
Laura Gassner Otting is the founder and president of Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group, a firm that helps build the capacity of nonprofit organizations, associations, and institutions of higher education. Prior to forming the group, she served as the senior vice president of ExecSearches.com, the web's leading site for mid- to senior-level nonprofit job postings and search services. Laura has served as vice president at Isaacson, Miller, one of the largest search firms in New England, and one of the most highly respected non-profit executive search firms in the country. Previously, Laura served as a presidential appointee for the White House Office of National Service, a program officer for the Corporation for National Service and as a member of the Clinton/Gore Transition Team and 1992 Election Team. She holds a Masters in Political Management from the George Washington University and a Bachelors of Arts in Government from the University of Texas at Austin. |
Julie Johnson McVeigh is a portfolio manager at NorthStar Asset Management, Inc. in Boston. A leader in socially responsible investing (SRI), NorthStar actively engages companies to become better corporate citizens on a range of issues such as fair mortgage lending practices, reigning in CEO pay, and extending employment protections to gay and lesbian employees. Before becoming an investment professional, Julie worked as an environmental community organizer with the Public Interest Research Group and the Sierra Club. Julie graduated summa cum laude from Bowdoin College, and enjoys working with children and for children's causes through programs like Summerbridge, the Posse Foundation, and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC). Julie is a step-mom to two children, and lives with her husband, Patrick, in Waltham, MA. |
Maura Fitzgerald is President and CEO of Fitzgerald Communications. Maura founded FitzGerald Communications in 1994 to "turn corporate vision into market value." Given today's financial and market realities, Maura finds her founding principle more relevant than ever, but has augmented it with the agency's role as "Advocates for the New Economy," a far-sighted mission that is germane to clients' businesses in today's internet-centric world. As advocates for the New Economy, FitzGerald Communications partners with its small- and mid-cap client companies. Led by Maura and a team of senior-level industry veterans, clients receive focused strategic counsel coupled with tactical excellence implemented by a large corps of ambitious public relations and investor relations professionals. |
Dr. Candida Brush is a professor and Division Chair of Entrepreneurship at Babson College. She is also a director of the Council for Women's Entrepreneurship and Leadership, and a research director for the Entrepreneurial Management Institute. Dr. Brush received her DBA from Boston University, her MBA from Boston College, and a BA from the University of Colorado. Dr. Brush is the author of three books: Women Entrepreneurs: Their Ventures and the Venture Capital Industry, International Entrepreneurship: The Effect of Age on Motives for Internationalization, and The Woman Entrepreneur: Starting Financing and Managing a Successful New Business. Dr. Brush has also authored sixteen book chapters, and is the recipient of the Best Conceptual Paper Award for the 2002 SBIDA Conference, as well as the 2001 recipient of the Entrepreneurship Mentor Award given by the National Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division. |
Dr. Holden is the founder of Holden Advisors, which is a management consulting firm that specializes in business-to-business sales, marketing and pricing for Fortune 500 companies in the financial and information services, technology and outsourcing, and professional services areas. He advises companies on the differences in the go-to-market strategies that drive value leadership and profitable growth. Dr. Holden is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University. Reed co-wrote the third edition of The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing 2nd and 3rd editions. Other works have appeared in Marketing Management, The Journal of Managerial Issues, The Journal of Professional Pricing Journal, SAMA's Velocity, AMA's Marketing Power Best Practices and Capco's Journal of Transformation Pricing Edition. He has two forthcoming books with Co-Author Mark Burton: The Coincidence of Value:Ten Lessons for Success in Profits and Growth and The Value DisciplineSM: Connecting Marketing and Sales for More Effective Pricing. |
Jackie Weinstein (Secretary) graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English. After receiving her JD from NYU Law School, she worked for ten years at Alkalay, Handler, Robbins & Herman specializing in litigation. In 1992 Jackie moved to Boston, and has since been working as an advocate for her son Matthew, who has been diagnosed with autism. Jackie is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Jewish Family and Children's Services, and she has been a member of their Disabilities Advisory Committee for nine years. Jackie and her husband, Alan, and their two children, Maddy and Matthew, live in Wellesley, Massachusetts. |
Matt Harris (Treasurer) is a co-founder and the chief executive officer of Village Ventures where he has created an operating company dedicated to managing locally focused, early-stage venture capital investment on a national scale. Mr. Harris began his career as a consultant at Bain & Co in 1994. At Bain Capital, Matt's most notable transactions included the $1.1 billion purchase and subsequent sale of a credit-reporting agency, and the $90 million purchase of a medical products distributor. |
Deb Berman (Co-Founder) incorporated Camp Starfish in 1998, recruited the founding Board of Directors, and established the organization's marketing, fundraising, and strategic plans. Deb is currently responsible for fundraising and strategic planning for Camp Starfish. Deb graduated from Colgate University with a dual concentration in Sociology and Education. She has experience working with emotionally disturbed children as a psycho-educational counselor at Judge Bakers Children's Center, and as a counselor and supervisor at Ramapo for Children in Rhinebeck, New York. Deb also learned about camping administration as the assistant director of Concord Academy Summer Camp in Concord, MA. In the autumn of 2000, Deb earned an MBA from the Boston University School of Management, where she concentrated in public and nonprofit management. Deb can be contacted at deb@campstarfish.org. |
Lisa Stephanian Burton received a BA cum laude from Smith College, and a JD degree with distinction from Emory University School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. In 1996, Lisa joined Hale & Dorr as a trial attorney. Lisa practices in state and federal courts, and before administrative agencies in the areas of wrongful termination, civil rights and employment discrimination. Lisa also advises clients on issues involving employee relations, workplace policies, employee discipline, and leave of absence issues. Lisa has admitted before the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She is the co-author of "The Final Rules Out on Family and Medical Leave Act," published in the Boston Business Journal, and author of "The 1984 Bankruptcy Amendments: What Congress Intended by Changing Section 1475 to Section 1412," which was published in Bankruptcy Journal. Lisa is a member of the Boston Women's Bar Association, and the Armenian Bar Association. |
Jill Gerson Mark earned a B.S. in Child and Family Studies from the Human Development School at Syracuse University. Jill then attended Lesley College, where she earned a dual masters degree in Early Childhood and Special Needs Education. Upon completion of her masters program, Jill joined the Manville School, where she was a classroom teacher for children struggling with emotional, behavioral, and learning challenges. After completing two years in the teaching function, Jill moved to the counseling aspect of the program where she worked for another two years. |
Year Round Staff - Biography Sketches |
Having been involved with summer camps herself since age 4, Emily is passionate about the life-changing opportunities that camps can provide for children. She is someone who believes strongly in the power of a counselor's praise, the growth of character values and social maturity that comes from helping your bunkmates with cabin cleanup, and yes, the good old "magic" of sitting and singing around the campfire. Regarding the many and varied reasons that she believes so strongly in youth development through camp experiences and, more specifically, why she has such a passion for working with children who aren't traditionally successful in the "regular" camp environment, Emily says: "camp is a place where, regardless of what you may be able to accomplish at school, how you may or may not feel you fit in with a certain peer group, and regardless of what's going on in your home or neighborhood, at camp you are valued for exactly who you are and given both the space and the support to grow into the person you can become." Along with her degree in Health Psychology from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Emily's professional camp background includes developing and running year-round programs for Greater-Boston area youth, assistant-directing traditional day camp as well as residential camp programs for emotionally and behaviorally challenged kids in crisis, and helping families with financial need access camp opportunities at Crossroads for Kids in Duxbury, MA. Most recently before joining the Camp Starfish team, Emily was the Camp Director at Pretty Lake Vacation Camp, a free camp for financially, emotionally and behaviorally challenged youth in Kalamazoo, Michigan. As an active member in the American Camp Association, Emily sat on the Board of Directors of the ACA, Michigan section and was involved with several different committees' work there. Emily is a Lead Standards Visitor, conducting visits to other area camps on behalf of the national camp accreditation program, and since her return to New England, she has been invited to join the Program Committee, which works to coordinate the annual ACA New England Conference. Outside of camp life, Emily enjoys spending time with friends, playing competitive badminton, writing both fiction and non-fiction, scrapbooking (and all kinds of art) and listening to music. On her online radio station, you'll find Jimmy Buffett, Toby Keith, Billy Joel, lots of Broadway Showtunes, and pretty much anything from between the 60's and today. Emily has been with Camp Starfish since April of 2006 and looks forward to a great future here working with amazing campers, families, agencies, staff, donors and friends of Starfish! |
Michelle Cyr is the Associate Director at Camp Starfish. Michelle has been involved in the camping world for over a decade, enjoying a variety of opportunities at both residential and day camps throughout New England. She has worked as an Assistant Director, Camper Services Director, Behavioral Specialist, and in other roles at camps for children with cognitive, emotional, behavioral and financial needs. In addition to her camp experience, Michelle was the Parent Educator and Evening Supervisor at Margaret's House Shelter in Dorchester, MA. During her time at Margaret's House, Michelle helped to create programs for children and mothers living in the shelter, including a teen girls group to address the issues young women are facing today and an anger management program for children to help address their feelings and emotions. In addition to coordinating and supervising over 40 volunteers weekly to ensure that the children's programming at the shelter was well staffed and innovative, Michelle also co-founded a parenting group for the mothers which ensured that families were able to learn and prosper during their time at the shelter. Michelle joined Camp Starfish during the summer of 2006 and has already demonstrated her ability to use her experiences to enhance programming and services at Starfish. Michelle attended Northeastern University for her undergraduate degree in Human Services which she received with honors in 2001. Returning to school after several years in the work force, Michelle completed her Masters in Social Work degree from the University of Connecticut in May 2006 and is in the process of earning her license as a Clinical Social Worker. Originally from Connecticut, Michelle has called the Greater Boston area her home for over 10 years. Her hobbies include painting, reading, scrapbooking, and gardening. Her cat, Moose, enjoys traveling with her to camp in the summer to meet and greet the campers through the screen window in his bunk. |
Jill came to Camp Starfish in November 2006 after having worked for three years at The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, Massachusetts, where she provided quality control for student program changes, file management and direct care behavioral support to the student population. Prior to this, Jill has held positions at The Theater Offensive in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Boston University Department of Arts Administration and various volunteer positions with the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public School System special education programs. Jill holds an undergraduate degree in Photography from Parsons School of Design (2002) in New York, New York and a Masters of Science in Arts Administration from Boston University (2005.) She has spent most of her career working with arts and human services oriented non-profit organizations in both New York and Massachusetts, with particular interest and training in organizational management, development and strategic planning and is eager to apply that experience at Camp Starfish. Jill also hopes to combine her art skills and non-profit training to further Camp Starfish's mission. A native of Maryland, Jill currently lives on the South Shore of Massachusetts with her parrots, cat and husband. In her spare time, she enjoys following the Boston Bruins, going to the movies, scrapbooking and playing hockey. |
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Rick Hobish co-founded Camp Starfish, and served as the organization's first Board President. Rick is currently the executive director of the Pro Bono Partnership. A graduate of NYU Law School, Rick has several years experience in private practice and over ten years experience in public interest practice, including extensive experience representing children who were the subjects of neglect and abuse hearings. Rick has served as the deputy director of Lawyers Alliance for New York, and is currently a faculty member at the NYU Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising. Rick frequently lectures on corporate tax and employment legal issues for nonprofit executives, and runs training sessions for practicing attorneys. Rick is a member of the Board of Directors of several non-profit organizations, including the Child Care Council of Westchester, the Bridge Fund of New York, and Westchester Residential Opportunities. |
Carolyn is the President of Holden Advisors. With a proven record in strategic planning, business development and growth, Carolyn concentrates on sales, marketing and operations aimed at increasing a company's footprint and service revenues for Holden Advisors. Carolyn draws on 20 years of sales and marketing management experience. She freelanced as a marketing consultant which included Executive Director for the Strategic Sourcing Advisory Council. As Vice President of Marketing for the venture-backed high technology start-up InteQ, Carolyn orchestrated key services marketing programs and developed strategic partnerships to increase sales. Holden previously worked at INS/Lucent Technologies where she was responsible for the company's for $50M in professional services sales and P&L management for the Northwest operations. Prior to Lucent, she served as Vice President of client marketing at a $4 billion technology management services organization Inacom Corporation. Carolyn earned a bachelor's degree in business management at Wayne State University and has completed executive-level course work at Columbia University, Wharton Business School, and University of Chicago. Carolyn is a member of the Common Wealth Institute in Boston and a Board Member for Camp Starfish. |
Karen Solomon comes to Starfish from the tiny state of Rhode Island where she has lived for thirty years - currently residing in a very cozy cottage by the ocean. A transplant from New York State, Karen received her B.A. from William Smith College and subsequent M.B.A, from Cornell University in 1977. Having spent the past twenty years honing her skills in the development field, Karen has held chief development posts for both start-up and well established non-profits, including Community Prep School, The Rhode Island Philharmonic, The Dunn Institute and The CVS Highlander Charter School. She has extensive experience working with disadvantaged youth; including inner-city school children, and children with learning disabilities. She maintains contact with many of her constituents, relishing the updates on their successful lives. Karen's career experience is as varied as it is extensive. Before finally deciding upon development as her ultimate career, she held positions as Bank Manager, Assistant Buyer at Filenes, Art Consultant, Decorator for Jordan Marsh, and ran her own successful Interior Design business - while raising her two terrific children, Ben and Torie. Karen has little spare time, balancing her current Starfish position with an active development consulting practice. However she always finds time for, and is consistently energized by, family, friends, Yoga, and long walks on the beach. |
Joining Camp Starfish a few months ago was a bit like a homecoming for Anne, as her several decades in the non-profit arena include some years spent with kids and camping-an experience which she thinks back upon with great joy. Anne says, "What better purpose to pursue than to try to help youngsters get a foothold in life and a brighter outlook for the future! And that's clearly where Camp Starfish excels with an amazing, talented and committed staff and abundant enthusiasm. No wonder our campers want to keep coming back, again, and again and again..." Anne has made a few stops along the way to Camp Starfish. She was born and brought up in Denmark, and has traveled and worked in different parts of the world, including many European countries, the Far and Middle East and India. She loves to explore unfamiliar cultures, learn new languages, sample strange foods and make friends from everywhere - and she looks forward to meeting lots and lots of Starfishers! |