My first job in the field was a result of me volunteering with the Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP) in Cambridge.  Through that volunteering opportunity I was hired by a wonderful woman who became my mentor and opened my eyes to a whole new world. I received training in the human service field which exposed me to a number of areas such as youth work, community organizing, social justice work, group facilitation and diversity and inclusion training.

I studied liberal arts at Boston State University and Human Service Management at Harvard. I began to apply this training to challenge the young people I worked with to be the best they could be and to obtain a deeper more technical understanding of my field of interest.  While at DHSP I developed a College Tour, City Wide Youth Council and pushed the city to use the youth centers for more than just recreation. 

For the next 25 years I used my learned skill as Director of Programs at Harvard University’s, Phillips Brooks House Association.  As Director of Programs, I supervised and advised, 140 undergrads who directed 70 human service programs across Cambridge and Boston.  I find working in the human service field, doing social justice work and providing diversity and inclusion training as hard work but extremely rewarding.  

I also have a love for the performing arts and in the midst of everything else life brought me, as an accomplished dancer, I trained at The Dance Complex, Cambridge, and the Danny Sloan Dance Academy where I studied jazz, modern, ballet, and African dance. I also studied theater arts at Leslie University.

As Artistic Manger/Theatre Director and acting coach for The Center for Teen Empowerment, I managed performing arts programs and events including youth peace conferences held annually at the Paramount Theatre in DownTown Boston, focusing on how social injustice, systemic racism and racial inequality impacts communities of color. I also worked with the Mayor of Boston and a large number of community-based organizations to develop a strategy and summer campaign to bring an end to the violence among our young people in our communities.

One of the things I am very proud to have crossed off of my bucket list is directing a film  entitled Senseless Smoke which aired at two AMC theatres in Boston.  The film explores a myriad of issues specific to violence in Boston centered around education, trauma and mental health. Senseless Smoke calls us to examine ourselves, and our community with the understanding that we have the power to promote peace and decrease the violence perpetuated in our neighborhoods.