Staff
Chris Smith
President & Executive Director
Chris was appointed Executive Director of Boston After School & Beyond in the fall of 2008. He has over a decade of experience leading policy, measurement, and programmatic initiatives. Before joining Boston Beyond, Chris worked at the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC) for ten years, first as Director of Employer Partnerships then as Chief of Staff. While at the PIC, he worked with local business leaders to create Classroom at the Workplace, a learning model that combines intensive academic acceleration and paid employment for teenagers who have failed the high-stakes MCAS exams. Since its inception, the program has helped well over 1,000 students earn a high school diploma. Chris also played a lead role in coordinating Boston's first-ever study of college graduation rates of Boston Public Schools students and in developing legislation to decrease the dropout rate in Massachusetts. Before joining the PIC, Chris worked at the US Department of Education in Washington, DC, on the Secretary of Education’s family and community involvement in education initiative. A native of Worcester, MA, Chris earned an MBA at Babson College in Wellesley, MA, and a BA in American Studies from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.
Louise Harland
Partnership Director
As Partnership Director at Boston After School and Beyond, Louise oversees initiatives that explore system-level innovations in the creation of partnerships between schools and community organizations. These include the Boston Summer Learning Project and projects to measure the impact of partnerships on student success in Turnaround Schools. Louise also contributes to the development of the ACT framework (Achieving, Connecting & Thriving) as a means to promote collaboration between schools and partners around skill development.
Louise began her career in the private sector, working for 10 years in management consulting and corporate strategy in London, UK, before turning her focus to youth development and education. She earned a Master’s degree in Risk and Prevention, focusing on the promotion of skill development and social emotional learning amongst high need student populations. During her Master’s studies Louise worked at Middle School Academy, an alternative middle school program in the Boston Public Schools.
Louise has a bachelor’s degree in English and French from Oxford University and a Master’s in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Phil Jackson
Director of Teen Initiatives
Dr. Philip Jackson joined Boston After School & Beyond as Director of Teen Initiatives in October 2011. In this role, he builds on the success of the Teen Initiative, extending its reach to develop systemic approaches to school and community partnerships that serve teenagers. He oversees efforts to coordinate relationships between the Boston Public Schools new "Ed Options" office and community partners. Dr. Jackson brings a wealth of experience and a strong track record of accomplishments to this role. A licensed and nationally certified educational psychologist, his entire career has focused on the education and safety of urban youth. From 2002 to 2011, he served as the Director of Alternative Education for Boston Public Schools. Along with Boston's alternative education network, Dr. Jackson played a key role in improving BPS graduation rates, establishing systemic reforms around truancy and dropout prevention, and increasing the capacity of the alternative education network to provide educational options for all students. Previously, he was the architect and director of the BPS Counseling and Intervention Center. He received his Bachelor of Sciences in Business Administration and a Masters in Science, Counseling Psychology from Boston College. He furthered his studies and received a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in School Psychology from the University of Massachusetts in Boston. Dr. Jackson received his Doctorate in Education Administration from Boston University.
Dawn Chávez
Boston Youth Environmental Network, Director
Dawn co-coordinates the Boston Youth Environmental Network, a citywide network connecting individuals and organizations to resources to improve the quality and quantity of environmental education and employment opportunities for young people in Boston. Before joining the Boston Beyond team, Dawn worked as Education Director for the Urban Ecology Institute and directed a residential environmental education center in the Berkshires for students from New York City. Prior to moving to Boston, she worked for eight years leading inner city students from New York (her hometown) in environmental learning experiences. Dawn holds a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University, a M.A. in Environmental Studies from Montclair University, and is pursuing a PhD from Antioch University New England.
Helen Christou
Boston Youth Environmental Network, Assistant Director
Helen Christou works as Assistant Network Coordinator for the Boston Youth Environmental Network to encourage the sharing of resources and development of connections among members in support of environmental youth employment in Boston. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Arts with an Art Therapy concentration in 1999 from Emmanuel College. In Lancaster, MA Helen was employed by Dr. Franklin Perkins School in a dual position of activity coordinator, directing the recreation department of an adult day health program, and as an activity assistant, implementing a variety of recreational programs for 7-21 year olds in a residential treatment center. Helen joined the YMCA of Greater Boston, first as Teen Outreach Director and then as Senior Program Officer. With the help of partnerships she more than doubled the program hours serving youth, more than tripled the staff and launched over seventy new initiatives. In 2003 she was awarded the YMCA of Greater Boston's Mehaffee Award for innovative and strong programming. As Senior Program Officer she helped secure and managed a grant that aimed to replicate best practices, outdoor recreation, environmental education and environmental youth employment programs from her home branch into other YMCA urban branches.
David McAuley
Partnership Projects Manager
David McAuley joined Boston After School & Beyond in April 2011. He began as Summer Learning Project Coordinator, and is now the Partnership Projects Manager. David completed his undergraduate studies at Stonehill College, and obtained his Master's degree at Brandeis University.
Maura Boyce
Data Strategy Manager
Maura joined Boston After School and Beyond as Data Strategy Manager in December 2011. Maura oversees BASB’s efforts to provide comprehensive information on the Out of School Time field in the city of Boston, and to encourage stakeholders to leverage data to drive program access, quality and alignment with school goals, including management of BostonNavigator. Maura has worked extensively on local Washington DC policy on a variety of social urban issues in addition to nonprofit governance and philanthropic consulting work. Her work included efforts to reform the DC Child Support agency, advocating for more local fiscal control, developing citywide workforce development strategies, and working on environmental policy. Maura's work in the philanthropic sector includes work at GMA Foundations, where she managed portfolios for several foundation as well as conducted sector research on impact analysis. Recently, she authored a strategic policy agenda to guide the Washington Area Women’s Foundation efforts to strengthen educational and career pathways for low-income young girls in the District of Columbia. In addition, she has conducted research on nonprofit governance, organizational capacity, the economic impact of the nonprofit sector in the US, and on Board of Director effectiveness. Maura received a Master of Public Policy Degree from University of California Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy and an undergraduate degree in Psychology and The Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality from Harvard University.
Jason Webster
Field Coordinator
Jason Webster came to Boston After School & Beyond in June 2010. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Jason has had the opportunity to work with a variety of organizations focused on the academic and social enrichment of young people. In 2008, he joined Common Cents, a nonprofit organization in New York City, and helped coordinate the Penny Harvest, an educational philanthropy program that gives students the chance to become active entrepreneurs in their community. During the summer of 2009, Jason worked with a middle school softball team from East Harlem as part of Harlem RBI’s Teambuilder program. He helped create and implement a unique academic program for the team and coordinated community service opportunities for participants. Before connecting with Boston After School & Beyond, Jason spent time working with the Boston Private Industry Council and organized a research project concerning the energy conservation efforts of the city of Boston while focusing on the ways in which those efforts could support the Boston Public School system.
Isabella Biedenharn
Executive Assistant / Communications Coordinator
Isabella Biedenharn is Boston After School & Beyond’s Executive Assistant and Communications Coordinator. She began as an intern in 2010, and joined the staff full-time in June 2011. Isabella graduated from Boston College in 2011 with her B.A. in English and Communication. In addition to administrative duties, she also works on developing Boston Beyond's online presence. At BC, she was on the Council for Loyola Volunteers, a group that tutors and mentors youth in Brighton. She also worked at Ellis Memorial’s after-school program for Boston youth through the Bank of America Mentor Program from 2008-2009.
Emily Shaer
Education Program Coordinator
Emily Shaer joined Boston Beyond in November 2011 as the Education Program Coordinator for the Boston Youth Environmental Network (BYEN). In this role, Emily coordinates and manages BYEN's Everyday Explorers AmeriCorps team as they implement hands-on science curriculum in after-school programs. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Vermont, and obtained her Master of Public Administration, with a Concentration in Nonprofit Management, at Suffolk University. Emily's past work experience includes the Moakley Center for Public Management at Suffolk University, The Earthwatch Institute in Boston, and the Longmont Humane Society in Longmont, Colorado. She has also volunteered at DolphinCare-Africa in Mozambique, and at The Emma Animal Rescue Society and Wild Coast Horse Trails, both in South Africa.
Amy Finn-Welch
Administrative Intern
Amy Finn-Welch joins Boston After School & Beyond as a Fall Intern. Amy is currently a junior at Boston College, pursuing a B.A. in English with a minor in History. At Boston After School & Beyond, her job is to support the BASB staff and their various initiatives, along with an assortment of administrative duties. Amy’s interest in education-based nonprofit work was fostered over in past 4 years working in the Early Learning Center of the Lynch/Van Otterloo YMCA in her hometown of Marblehead, Ma. She also spent the past school year volunteering for BC’s Jumpstart chapter (an AmeriCorps network member). These positive experiences prompted her to join the BASB team in order to learn more about the inner workings of a nonprofit organization.
