Who We Are

Carol grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan and earned her bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology from Michigan State University while working at Kellogg’s during the summer months. Carol then began an extensive career in sales and became the Regional Sales Director for Amersham Biosciences and General Electric in the 1990s until she retired in 2013. Carol actively volunteers at the Natick Service Council, Keep Natick Beautiful, and Acentria.

Carol is a regular volunteer at the Day Center, assisting both staff and families, and is also a member of one of the Family Promise Metrowest’s founding congregations, Christ Lutheran Church. For the past two years, Carol has worked with the Events Committee on our two major annual fundraising events. Carol joined the Board of Directors of FPM in April 2016.

Kelli is a seasoned organizational effectiveness consultant who brings skills and tools to C-level executives. Her work ranges from team dynamic diagnostics and work prioritization, to business process redesign, and strategy planning and change management. She works closely with leaders to support them at key decision milestones and helps thoroughly consider the talent, cultural, and change management implications of their organizational design, process, and systems choices. Additionally, Kelli has a niche approach for developing manager and leadership skills. She helps leaders in various points in their career including new managers, emerging leaders, and high potential team members who can benefit from coaching and cohort programs.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Finance/Investment/Economics from Babson College and a Master’s of Business Administration from Bentley University.  Kelli lives in Needham with her husband, Chris and three children, Jordyn, Lucas and Emersyn. Kelli initially served as a Day Center volunteer at Family Promise Metrowest for several years before joining the Board of Directors and Governance Committee in 2019.

Dan is a senior member of the Tax Practice of AAFCPAs (Westborough, Boston, Wellesley, MA), providing tax planning and compliance solutions for individuals, families, and privately held businesses. He advises clients on year-end and multi-year tax planning strategies and helps safeguard and maximize financial resources.

Dan joined the finance committee of Family Promise MetroWest in 2018, and now serves on the Board of Directors as treasurer responsible for budget oversight. He provides strategic direction and advice on financial aspects of new and existing programs and fundraising initiatives to help steer the organization toward a sustainable future.

“Family is something I’ve always cared deeply about,” said Dan. “My wife and I have a young daughter, and this makes me appreciate what I have… and makes me want to give back to families in need. I love how this organization goes beyond short-term housing to provide comprehensive support to get these families back on their feet.” Dan lives in Fitchburg, MA with his wife and daughter.

Heather grew up in Paramus, New Jersey and Loveladies, Long Beach Island, New Jersey. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Russell Sage College and a Master’s Degree in Student Personnel Administration from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. After receiving her degrees, Heather worked as an Assistant Director, Residential Life and then an Assistant Director of Summer and Conference Housing at Boston College for 10 years.

In 2012, Heather was elected to the Framingham School Committee and served for over five years, including as the Chair of the committee for her last 18 months. During this time, she established the School Building Committee for rebuilding Fuller Middle School and coordinated the search for the current Framingham Superintendent Robert Tremblay. She also served as the Cheer Coordinator for Framingham Youth Football and Cheer for three years. 

Heather resides in Framingham with her husband Christopher Connolly, Jr. and her three children. Chris owns Herb Connolly Auto Group with his three brothers.

Emmanuel is an accomplished, results-oriented product manager with a proven track record of gathering and understanding customer needs. His additional expertise lies in marketing strategy, business strategy, eCommerce, strategic partnerships, vendor management, and enterprise software. Emmanuel is currently a Senior Product Manager at Salesforce Commerce Cloud.

Emmanuel holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Drury University, and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management. His hobbies include traveling, cooking, basketball, gardening, meeting new people, and spending time with his wife and two daughters.

Emmanuel was introduced to FPM through his congregation and joined the FPM Board of Directors in February 2017.

Karen is a lifelong sustainability advocate. Growing up as the daughter of a forestry professor and an elementary school teacher, she was blessed to spend her summers living and traveling in beautiful places like Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and many other national treasures. She has since devoted her career to environmental protection and restoration efforts. After obtaining undergraduate and graduate degrees in Geography from Clark University and Virginia Tech, she spent her early career working as a project manager to protect and restore land and water resources through small grassroots nonprofit organizations in New Jersey and Massachusetts, including the Great Swamp Watershed Association, the Waltham Land Trust, and the Charles River Conservancy.

In 2010 she returned to school to obtain a Master of Public Policy from Tufts University. Upon completing her degree in 2013 she joined Ceres, a Boston-based nonprofit that focuses on national and internal sustainability issues including climate change, water management, and human rights in the workplace. At Ceres she has served on the Development team, identifying funding needs, articulating success stories, and developing compelling cases for funder support. In her current role as Director for Planning and Evaluation, she works with Program teams, Development, Communications, Finance, Human Resources, and organizational leadership to ensure that Ceres’ strategic and annual planning processes strengthen and scale its efforts to build a sustainable future for people and the planet. In this role she leads Ceres’ internal planning and evaluation efforts and has helped the organization double in size over the past seven years.

Karen has been involved with Family Promise since 2003 when she was a member of Church of the Redeemer in Morristown, NJ. Upon moving to Natick in 2005, she joined the UU Wellesley Church and through that congregation again became involved in Family Promise as a way to introduce her two young sons to volunteer service. With her sons she has volunteered for overnight hosting, meal preparation, and room set-up. More recently she joined the Moving On Committee and the Advocacy Advisory Group. She is thrilled to now be serving on the Board and offering her time and energy to strategic organizational development as well.

Harriett has been a resident of Dover for 45 years. Her involvement in town affairs includes serving on the Warrant Committee and Dover Playground Committee, and chairing the annual March of Dimes Art and Craft Show. She has served on the board and been president of The Noanett Garden Club, a Zone 1 club in The Garden Club of America. Furthering her interest in horticulture, she served as an Overseer at The Massachusetts Horticultural Society and was instrumental in starting The Garden To Table Program, a teaching garden that provides fresh produce to local food pantries. She also served as a board member of The Walker Home and School where she was a member of the Capital Campaign Committee and chair of their annual Pro Am Tennis fund raiser. 

As a volunteer at Family Promise Metrowest, she has been involved with the Keep the Promise fall event for several years, and now serves on the fundraising committee of the Board of Directors.

Jeffrey Kinney joined Ascentria Care Alliance in July 2019 as chief of staff and external relations. In his role as chief of staff to Ascentria’s president and CEO Angela Bovill, Jeff helps manage strategic planning and board development, and serves as a CEO proxy on key relationships, external events, and special projects. Jeff also leads the external relations function, guiding organizational and messaging strategies in marketing, public relations, advancement and advocacy.
 
With a 30+ year career in banking, Jeff most recently served as regional vice president at Wells Fargo Bank in Boston, where he managed the Mid-Corporate banking team for New England.
 
Jeff also served as chair of Ascentria’s governing board during a time of great transition, including a change in identity from Lutheran Social Services of New England to its new name, Ascentria Care Alliance. He was both board chair and a leading volunteer, promoting adoption services, Services for New Americans, and legal services for the victims of human trafficking. And as a prominent banker he actively encouraged corporate executives to work with Ascentria’s programs in the communities their businesses served. After his term as board chair, Jeff continued as a board member. 
 
Jeff has an MBA in Finance from DePaul University, and a BA in Economics and Political Science from Wittenberg University.

Dayanna is a native of Venezuela and immigrated to the United States as a child. Experiencing many of the barriers faced by immigrant and low-income communities seeded a deep commitment to advocating for the most vulnerable members of our communities. This commitment has led to a career as a legal-aid immigration attorney, representing indigent and low-income immigrants and refugees. She is Director of the Immigration Legal Assistance Program at Ascentria Care Alliance, one of the largest human service organizations in New England. She was introduced to FPM by her congregation, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Natick, and joined the board in 2020. Dayanna is the mother of two young children, and lives with her family in Hopkinton, MA.

Jason is a native of Jackson, Mississippi, and an ordained Minister in The American Baptist Churches. He is currently serving as Pastor of The First Baptist Church in Framingham, and has served as Pastor of churches in Mississippi, Texas, Virginia, and Massachusetts. Jason graduated from Mississippi College, and later Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Virginia with a Master of Divinity degree. After moving to Massachusetts, Jason furthered his education in American Sign Language at The Learning Center for the Deaf in Framingham. Jason is married to Markella, and together they have three children, Annabelle, Daniel, and Jubilee. Jason is active as a leader in The American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts, and is involved in ecumenical ministries in eastern Massachusetts.

Jason has been involved with Family Promise Metrowest since The First Baptist Church joined as a host congregation in April 2008. He joined the FPM Board in 2016.

Tom is an experienced private equity professional with more than 18 years of in-depth principal investment experience in the energy infrastructure sector. For the past 13 years he has worked at ArcLight Capital Partners in Boston. His work involves sourcing, underwriting, financing, managing, optimizing, and monetizing investments. Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Boston College, a law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and an LL.M. in Taxation and MBA in Finance from New York University. He lives in Dover with his wife Nicole and three children. Tom initially served as a volunteer at Family Promise Metrowest for several years before joining the Board of Directors in 2020.

Maureen has twenty-five years of experience in teaching and practicing human resource management. Maureen was a Director of HR for several large employers in the UK and won a National Training Award and was runner-up for a UK Business Award in 2006. Maureen worked for three years as a lecturer at the University of Sussex and Guildhall University, London. She designed and taught modules for the master’s degree in Human Resource Management and Strategic Business Planning. Maureen has a bachelor’s in English and History and a master’s in Managing Organizations, as well as professional diplomas. In 2006, she volunteered and then became a member of the Red Cross Board of Directors in Philadelphia. In 2012, Maureen won the Jane Bisbee Award for the board member who had made the most impact in their first three years.

Maureen has volunteered on the Family Promise Metrowest Events Committee since 2013. She joined the Board of Directors in 2015.