Dear Friends,

Thank you for joining us today and to our generous donors for their support.

At Roca, we relentlessly disrupt violence by engaging young people, police, and systems to heal trauma, find hope, and create change. Our program serves those most at risk of violence and incarceration, helping them build better futures. We’ve seen a 30% reduction in recidivism in Massachusetts and 19% in Baltimore, driven by our breakthrough nonclinical behavioral health intervention, Rewire CBT.

Rewire CBT equips high risk young people with skills for long-term behavior change, reducing violence and incarceration. Last year, 92% of participants had no new incarcerations after two years. Our cost-effective approach saves money compared to traditional corrections, and our Baltimore After-Shooting Protocol has prevented shootings and saved millions.

Since our founding in 1988, Roca has grown to serve nearly 2,000 young people annually across multiple states, while training thousands of community violence intervention and criminal justice professionals. Despite recent federal funding cuts impacting our work, we remain committed to our mission. Sadly, we are fully aware there is more to come — more federal cuts, and a cascading impact on states and municipalities that will trigger additional reductions. Please know that we will, with your support, get through this — that is our commitment to young people.

Rewire CBT, developed with Massachusetts General Hospital, reimagines the delivery of behavioral health interventions. Roca has taken one of the most evidence-based, clinically validated tools — cognitive behavioral therapy — and reengineered it for real-world delivery by non-clinical staff to young people who can’t be served by traditional care as well as the police and criminal justice staff who shape their lives.

Today, you’ll hear more about Rewire CBT and its transformative impact. We are grateful to our staff, board, partners, investors, and all of you — working with these young people is a privilege we strive to uphold every day.

Molly Baldwin
Founder & CEO

Program

Opening Remarks
Jay Ash, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership

What’s New & What’s Next for Roca
Molly Baldwin, Founder & CEO of Roca

James E. Mahoney Award Presentation
Molly Baldwin

Presented to
Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, Sheriff of Middlesex County, MA

Rewire CBT: the Key to Change
Carl Miranda, Director of Roca Boston

Panel Discussion
Solomon Baymon, Director of Roca Western Massachusetts
Amoroso Cefalo, Special Sheriff, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office
Olga Romero, Re-Entry Coordinator, Roca Young Women’s Program
Sheldon Smith-Gray, Roca Baltimore Life Skills Instructor

Closing Remarks
Jay Ash

The Key to Change

BRAIN SCIENCE & REWIRE CBT

Master of Ceremonies

Jay Ash

President and CEO, Massachusetts Competitive Partnership

Jay Ash is the President and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, a non-partisan, non-profit organization comprised of 16 of the largest businesses in Massachusetts. His work there, to focus on policies and initiatives that make the Massachusetts economy stronger and more competitive, comes after serving as the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Housing and Economic Development in Governor Charlie Baker’s first cabinet. As secretary, Ash was responsible for directing and executing Governor Baker’s agenda on housing and community development, job creation, business development, consumer affairs, and business regulation. During that four-year tenure, Ash headed-up efforts to retain and attract businesses, promote the revitalization of communities, and support the prosperity of the state’s residents.

In addition to championing four major economic development bills into law, Ash was the Governor’s lead on the attraction of GE to Boston and the PawSox to Worcester; the implementation of more than 100 community revitalization initiatives, including the groundbreaking of the Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield and the Paramount Theater renovations in Springfield; the development of strategies that led to greater state support for workforce development; and a 96% decrease in the use of hotels & motels to shelter homeless families.

He previously served for 14 years as the City Manager in his native Chelsea, where he grew the city’s housing stock by over 10 percent, expanded its commercial base with two dozen major projects, led all Gateway Cities with a 15 percent increase in new employment, developed 10 new parks, secured five credit rating increases, and won two All-American City designations.

Jay also served in the past as Staff Director to the Massachusetts House Majority Leader, and his previous board engagements include Co-Founder and Vice-Chair of the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, past President of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and member of the public policy think tank MassINC.

Panel

Solomon Baymon

Director of Roca Western Massachusetts

As a native of Springfield, MA, Solomon relates to the struggles that young adults face growing up in urban areas. Prior to Roca, Solomon had over 15 years of experience in corrections field, working in multiple juvenile and adult state correctional institutions. Starting as a Corrections Officer, Solomon climbed the ranks and left as a Deputy Warden.

In his current role as Director of Roca Western Mass, Solomon oversees the Springfield and Holyoke sites, including Transitional Employment and Workforce Development, Pre-Vocational and Education Programs, and Emerging Adult Court of Hope (EACH) Program.

Solomon is a seasoned leader and award-winning philanthropist. He is guided by his personal mission to educate, create and advocate on behalf of our young people, so they can attain greater success and prosperity in life.

Amoroso Cefalo

Special Sheriff, Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office

Special Sheriff Amoroso Cefalo has served as a leader within the Middlesex Sheriff’s Officer for nearly two decades. He has been a trusted advisor under two sheriff’s administrations, rising in the ranks of the MSO from working in the Fiscal Department through senior roles in both Human Resources and Legal. He served as the MSO’s first Chief Administrative Officer and was appointed Special Sheriff in 2022.

In close coordination with Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian, Special Sheriff Cefalo oversees a full-service law enforcement agency with nearly 700 employees and an annual budget over $75 million. The Special Sheriff manages a wide portfolio of responsibilities ranging from facility operations, internal investigations, legal, fiscal, and human resources. His efforts to improve employee wellness and engagement have been recognized by internal and external stakeholders of the MSO as a signature accomplishment during his time as the second in command.

Special Sheriff Cefalo also served as a Selectman for the town of Wakefield from 2002 to 2005, and maintains his community involvement through organizations across the Commonwealth. He is a recipient of the Guglielmo Marconi Distinguished Service Award presented by the Italian American Police Officers Association.

Special Sheriff Cefalo graduated cum laude from Colgate University and magna cum laude from the New England School of Law where he earned his juris doctorate. He has been a member of the Massachusetts Bar since 2009.

Olga Romero

Youth Work Supervisor, Roca Young Women’s Program

Olga Romero is the Youth Work Supervisor for Young Women’s Program. Previously, she was Roca’s first Re-Entry Coordinator for young women and mothers who are incarcerated. Olga grew up at Roca, and she is a former youth participant herself. She is all too familiar with the challenges young women face growing up in Chelsea. In 2018, Olga joined the Roca staff, following in the footsteps of her mother who has been a Roca Youth Worker for 20 years.

Sheldon Smith-Gray

Roca Baltimore Life Skills Instructor

As a Life Skills Instructor, Sheldon “Snacks” Smith-Gray spends his days teaching the highest-risk young men essential skills to live out of harm’s way. He understands what they’re going through, because not long ago he was one of them. In 2022 Sheldon became one of the first young men to graduate from Roca Baltimore. He felt called to return to Roca to pay it forward.

Last year, Sheldon was the victim of a shooting, and his cousin, also a Roca graduate, passed away. The skills he learned at Roca helped him work through that trauma and grief.

Sheldon was profiled on CBS Sunday Morning: watch here.

Moderator

Carl Miranda

Director of Roca Boston

As a Salvadoran immigrant who came of age in 1980’s South Central Los Angeles, Carl brings a lived understanding of the challenges that shape the lives of young people in urban America — poverty, trauma, and often, deep mistrust between communities and law enforcement.

Now with over 15 years of nonprofit experience, Carl has worked at the intersection of public systems, law enforcement, and street-level change, partnering with state agencies like DYS, DMH, and DCF across Massachusetts and Connecticut. Before joining Roca, he served as the Western Regional Program Director & Contract Manager for Adolescent Re-entry Services at the Center for Human Development, where he oversaw care and coordination for more than 200 young people returning to their communities from lock-up.

Carl’s work is rooted in the belief that transformation is possible — when young people are met with relationships, structure, and the right tools to rewire their responses to harm, hurt, and hardship.

James  E.  Mahoney Award

In Memory of James  E.  Mahoney
1952-2020 

James (Jim) E. Mahoney, former Global Corporate Strategy and Public Policy Executive, was a trusted advisor, colleague, and friend at Bank of America for 25 years. Jim was skilled at turning policy ideas into business results, and his impact within the company was felt in fundamental ways, including its commitment to sustainable finance. He worked passionately to help advance second chances for the formerly incarcerated and believed strongly in Roca’s mission to disrupt incarceration, poverty and racism. He engaged with Roca in numerous ways as he continued to advocate for systemic change and believed in the power of cross-sector partnerships to achieve progress.  

Jim was a board member of the National Urban League, served on the Board of Directors of the New England Council, was a member of the management committee for Stanford University’s Global Climate & Energy Project, and served on the board of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets. He was a devoted husband to his wife Margaret “Peggy” McLoughlin and loving father to Caitria, Jake, and Gracia. 

Roca’s James E. Mahoney Award recognizes an individual or organization who has demonstrated innovative leadership, humility, and commitment to systemic change on behalf of young people, and is an engaged partner in Roca’s systemic reform efforts.

2025 James E. Mahoney Award Recipient

Peter Koutoujian

Sheriff of Middlesex County, MA

As a prosecutor, legislator, professor, and law enforcement leader, Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian has worked on the leading issues in public safety and public health throughout his career. His work has earned him local and national recognition, including being named the national Sheriff of the Year for 2023 by the Major County Sheriffs of America.

As sheriff, his use of specialty units has reimagined the correctional landscape. By targeting treatment towards unique populations such as young adults and military veterans, these programs have directly and substantially reduced recidivism in their participants. These results have been published in academic journals, featured by national news outlets, and labeled as best practices by multiple presidential administrations.

More importantly, Sheriff Koutoujian’s commitment to data-driven research has made these programs and their results replicable across the country. In light of his commitment to the profession, Sheriff Koutoujian was elected by his statewide and national peers to serve as both the President of Major County Sheriffs of America and the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association.

Sheriff Koutoujian holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, a law degree from the New England School of Law, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bridgewater State University. He maintains his academic involvement by continuing to teach criminal justice and leadership courses at several New England area institutions.

20 Years of Books

Each year at Roca’s Annual Breakfast, we share one book-of-the-year which has inspired us in our mission. For this 20th anniversary event, we are revisiting some of our favorites from the past 20 years. Complementary copies are available outside the ballroom.

2023

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

By Charlie Mackesy

Charlie Mackesy offers inspiration and hope in uncertain times in this beautiful book based on his famous quartet of characters. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse explores their unlikely friendship and the poignant, universal lessons they learn together.

2020

Freedom: Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

By Amnesty International

12 bestselling authors bring together a thought-provoking collection of short stories, each inspired by one of thirty human rights adopted by the United Nations and promoted by Amnesty International. Freedom is a mix of thoughtful, serious, funny, and thrilling stories that harness the power of literature to celebrate — and affirm — our shared humanity.

2019

The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border

By Francisco Cantú

Raised him in the scrublands of the Southwest by the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, Cantú joins the Border Patrol and learns to track other humans under blistering sun and through frigid nights. He hauls in the dead and delivers to detention those he finds alive. Plagued by nightmares, he abandons the Patrol for civilian life. But when an immigrant friend travels to Mexico to visit his dying mother and does not return, Cantú discovers that the border has migrated with him, and now he must know the full extent of the violence it wreaks, on both sides of the line.

2018

Between the World and Me

By Ta-Nehisi Coates

Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race”, a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of Black women and men. What is it like to inhabit a Black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’ attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son.

2017

Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America

By Jill Leovy

Here is the kaleidoscopic story of the quintessential, but mostly ignored, American murder — a “ghettoside” killing, one young black man slaying another — and a brilliant and driven cadre of detectives whose creed is to pursue justice for forgotten victims at all costs. Ghettoside is a fast-paced narrative of a devastating crime, an intimate portrait of detectives and a community bonded in tragedy, and a surprising new lens into the great subject of why murder happens in our cities — and how the epidemic of killings might yet be stopped.

2010

The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions

By Sister Helen Prejean

This brave and fiercely argued book tests the moral edge of the debate on capital punishment: What if we’re executing innocent men? As she recounts two men’s cases and takes us through their terrible last moments, Sister Helen Prejean brilliantly dismantles the legal and religious arguments that have been used to justify the death penalty.