Year Up National OFFICE
Year Up's national team provides critical support to ensure students receive the highest quality program services during their Year Up journey. Working across all sites, these headquarters staff build the strong infrastructure and efficient systems necessary to truly close the Opportunity Divide.

The recipient of the 2003 Social Entrepreneurship Award by the Manhattan Institute and the 2005 Freedom House Archie R. Williams, Jr. Technology Award, Gerald has been featured in many publications, including The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, BusinessWeek, Fortune Small Business, and The Christian Science Monitor. He currently serves as a Trustee of Cambridge College and Bowdoin College and is on the Board of Advisors for the Harvard Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Club and New Sector Alliance.

Gerald earned a B.A. in Economics, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, from Bowdoin College and an M.B.A., with honors, from Harvard Business School. He began his career on Wall Street as an officer of the Chemical Banking Corporation and then moved on to become the head of marketing at Transnational Financial Services in London. Gerald co-founded Conduit Communications in 1993 and fostered its growth to $20M in annual revenues and more than 130 employees in London, Amsterdam, New York and Boston. From 1993 to 1998, Conduit ranked as one of England's fastest growing companies. Following the sale of Conduit to i-Cube in 1999, Gerald turned his full attention to opportunities for others.

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Conni Blanchard
Finance Coordinator
BIO COMING SOON!

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Shawn Jacqueline Bohen
National Director for Strategic Growth and Impact
Shawn has spent the last 14 years working at Harvard University in a series of leadership roles facilitating interdisciplinary and cross-functional collaboration. Partnering with academic colleagues, Shawn led the strategic evolution of four university-wide start-ups, including the Harvard Initiative for Global Health, the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at the Kennedy School, the Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative, and Harvard Medical School's Division on Addictions. Shawn is recognized for her ability to turn great ideas into creatively led, diversely-staffed, viable entities, and has had responsibility for administration, governance, fundraising, communications, constituency engagement, curricular planning, research production, and partnerships with practice communities, donors and collaborators. She most recently served as Assistant Provost co-creating and co-leading the first institution-wide Office for Faculty Development and Diversity committed to transforming Harvard's approach to finding, developing and promoting diverse, world-class faculty. Prior to Harvard Shawn worked as an actress and as a political grassroots organizer. Shawn holds an M.B.A. from Babson Graduate School of Management and a B.A. in Theatre Arts and English from the University of Minnesota.

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Michael brownstein
National Director of Academics and Program
Michael comes to Year Up with extensive experience working collaboratively with innovative educators and forward-thinking community leaders to create self-sustaining educational programs designed to improve inner-city students' transition from high school to post-secondary education and successful careers. Among these programs, he co-founded a "last chance" urban public high school for at-risk students, facilitated cross-disciplinary and multi-site initiatives in eleven urban school districts along the Eastern seaboard that led to improved student outcomes, and co-created three public-private partnerships that supported K-12 literacy. Two of these partnership models were replicated in cities across the country, and the third was recognized by the United States Department of Labor as an exemplary summer youth development program. Michael earned a B.A. in English from Kenyon College, an M.B.A. from Syracuse University, and an Ed.M. from Teachers College, Columbia University.

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Kira Intrator
National Project Manager and Executive Assistant to the CEO
BIO COMING SOON!

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Shumi Jahan
Data Coordinator
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CARLOS MAESTRE
Finance Manager
Carlos joins Year Up with seven years of experience in the Finance & Accounting field, most recently with Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, a nonprofit human rights organization. Prior to that, Carlos was an Accountant at the YWCA in Cambridge. Carlos also executed portfolio trades as a Reconciliation Specialist at Putnam Investments. Carlos grew up in the Dorchester area and has studied Accounting at Bunker Hill Community College.

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Diane Malcolmnson
National Director of Development
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Paula Mason
National Office Coordinator
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TAMIKA MASON
Manager of Organizational Development
Tamika brings a wealth of managerial experience and diversity to Year-up. Raised in a military family, Tamika, has lived in multiple cities in the United States and throughout Europe and Asia. Most recently, Tamika lived in Virginia where she was a Financial Center Manager for Wachovia. Additionally, Tamika served as Operations Manager for Providence Ministries International, Inc where she developed the operational protocol and financial procedures. Prior to working with Wachovia and Providence, Tamika served as co-founder and President of one of the largest student led organizations at the University of Virginia. (“Impact”) Tamika is motivated by her deep devotion of seeing people, nonprofits, and mission driven organizations reach their full potential. Tamika holds a BS in Systems Engineering and a minor in Management Information Systems from the University of Virginia.

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SUE MEEHAN
National Director of Finance and Operations
Sue comes to Year Up with extensive operational and organizational development experience. As Chief Operating Officer of Share Group, Inc, Sue helped build the premier telefundraising firm for progressive Non Profits, growing the company from start-up to 500 employees and $20 million in sales in 10 years. Before joining Share, Sue was a budget director for the Dukakis-Bentsen Presidential Campaign, a campaign manager for a Massachusetts State Representative race, and an organizer for the Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts. Sue started her career as an Admissions and Financial Aid Officer for Harvard College. She holds a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from Colby College.

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CollEen o'connell
Associate Director of Finance
Colleen comes to Year Up with over 12 years of experience in audit and non-profit financial management.  She has worked with a variety of non-profit organizations, most recently at Capital City Community Centers in Rhode Island.  Colleen holds a BS in Accounting from St. Joseph’s University and a MBA in Management from Bryant University.

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DOREEN PULLER
Technical Support Specialist
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Charkie Quarcoo
Development Coordinator
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Aaron Schutzengel
Database Project Coordinator
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Susan Hiller Troen
Director of Data Systems and Operations
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Jamara Mychelle Wakefield
Executive Assistant to National Director of Strategic Growth and Impact
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Heather Wininger
Manager of People Development
Heather comes to Year Up with a broad range of human resources and social sector experience.  A former consultant at Monitor Group, she helped develop talent management systems and structures in both for-profit and and not-for-profit environments.  Additionally, she led numerous engagements and served as Client Development chair for Inpire, a volunteer-based educational consulting firm.  She is excited to be a team member of an organization that believes the way to reach your mission is to invest heavily in your people.  Heather has a BA from Dartmouth College in English and economics.

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