Lauren Sanchez Gilbert, Ed.D  | 

Lauren Sanchez Gilbert, Ed.D. is Chief Executive Officer at BellXcel, a leading national non-profit in youth development with nearly 30 years’ experience innovating proven educational solutions. BellXcel partners with youth organizations and schools to license its evidence-based comprehensive solution for K-8 afterschool and summer programming.

Lauren joined BellXcel in 2011 and served in several leadership roles prior to being named CEO in 2017, including Vice President of Program Impact, President and Chief Strategy Officer.

Lauren is leading the organization in an ambitious strategic transformation focused on changing the way its partners empower educators, build sustainable high-quality practices and outcomes, and reach exponentially more children and their families. Most significantly, Lauren is overseeing the creation of bold, innovative solutions that will further revolutionize the youth development sector as first to market, all-in-one SaaS products for youth leaders and school administrators to scale and power their programs anytime, anywhere.

Lauren’s ongoing commitment to bring the power of practitioner work and deep research together to build field capacity fueled the launch the Sperling Center for Research and Innovation, an independent BellXcel affiliate designed to bridge the research to practice to policy gap in the education field.

Lauren began her career as a special education teacher in her native New Mexico and later served as an Assistant Superintendent in Massachusetts. She holds a Bachelor Degree from the University of New Mexico in Special Education and earned a Doctorate in Education from Boston College.

Lauren has attended the highly-selective nonprofit leadership program at Harvard University, and was named a Results for America Nonprofit Fellow in 2016. She serves as a member of The Bridgespan Group’s Knowledge Advisory Board, a diverse group of recognized leaders committed to accelerating impact in the social sector and deepening the relevance and influence of insights and tools.

Lauren also serves as a board member for Roca, a community-based organization determined to be a relentless force in disrupting incarceration, poverty and racism by engaging young adults, police and systems at the center of urban violence to address trauma, find hope and drive change.

Lauren is the proud mother of an active and beautiful teenaged daughter.

Jay Ash  | 

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.

Chief Michael Davis  | 

Michael Davis began his public service in 1992 and as a police officer with the City of Minneapolis.  During his career with the Minneapolis Police Department, Mike served as a sergeant, lieutenant and sector commander. In 2008, he became the Chief of Police for the City of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota’s 6^th largest and second most diverse municipality.  During his six-year tenure as Chief, Mike led the City of Brooklyn Park to the lowest levels of crime in 22 years.

Mike currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Public Safety for Northeastern University, a global research institution based in Boston, with an enrollment of over 35,000 students and campuses throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.  Reporting to Mike in this role is the Northeastern University Police Department, Office of Emergency Management and the International Safety Office.

Mike was the recipient of the 2012 Gary P. Hayes Award from the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).  This award is given annually to a leader in policing, in recognition of their outstanding initiative in improving the quality of police service.  Mike was also one of a few select police chiefs throughout the nation to be invited as a member of the 2011-2014 Harvard Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety a project of the National Institute of Justice.  Mike has served as a national police practice consultant since 2012 and is the Founder of MBD Innovations (a police leadership consulting consortium).

Mike is a two-time graduate of Concordia University in St. Paul Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in organizational management.

Christine Kendall  | 

Christine Kendall is the Founding Partner of SmarterGive where she provides strategic advice on high-impact philanthropy to individuals, families and businesses. At SmarterGive, she helps donors to be more effective grantmakers and ultimately to drive greater impact on the lives of others. She has spent her career at the crossroads of the private and social sectors developing expertise in both fields.

Christine spent much of her career in strategy consulting, at both LEK and FSG, where she gained an analytic, and strategic skill set. While at FSG, a consulting firm focused exclusively on the social sector, she gained a deep knowledge and understanding of this sector. She has worked with many donors including foundations such as the Hilton Foundation, the Barr Foundation, and the Knight Foundation as well as corporate donors such as The Shell Foundation, The McKesson Foundation, and Eli Lilly. She has not only worked with funders but has experience working with many non-profits, large collaboratives, and government organizations.

In addition to her domestic work, Christine has extensive global experience having worked on projects across the world including in Africa, Asia, and South America. She has also worked for Dana-Farber Cancer Center, and several research think-tanks in Boston and Washington DC. She has also taught public health at an elementary school in Achaise, Ghana.

Christine has a master’s in healthcare management from the Harvard School of Public Health and a B.A. with honors in economics and history from Colby College.

Stewart Chapin  | 

Stew Chapin is trustee of the Bennett Family Foundation, with a focus on organizations that help teens and young adults get reconnected to a supportive community. He spent his professional career in senior marketing, business development and product management roles for technology companies that included large corporations such as Microsoft and AT&T Wireless. He served as manager, investor and board member to start-ups in software, streaming media and aviation services.

Prior to joining the Board, Stew led teams from CCT Boston that consulted with Roca on a pro-bono basis to address some of the challenges facing this growing organization. He serves on the Board of CCT Boston and the Advisory Board of Youth Harbors. Stew received his BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School of Business.

Molly Baldwin  | 

Molly Baldwin is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Roca. A graduate of UMass Amherst, Molly began her professional life as a youth worker and community organizer, and soon founded Roca in 1988 for a small group of high-risk young people.

For 35 years, she has been a tireless advocate, mentor, and community convener, reaching out to the young people at the center of violence in Massachusetts’ most troubled urban communities, and bringing together the major institutions, agencies, and corporations affecting their lives. With the help of engaged institutions and Roca’s committed staff, Molly’s efforts at Roca have helped over 25,000 young people make positive and profound changes in their lives.

Today, Roca relentlessly reaches out to over 1,300 young adults each year across 25 communities in Massachusetts, Hartford, CT and in Baltimore, MD. Meanwhile the Roca Impact Institute, Roca’s intensive coaching arm, equips community-based violence intervention (CVI) programs, juvenile and young adult justice agencies, and law enforcement with tools and strategies to address trauma, reduce violence and improve outcomes for young people.

Under Molly’s leadership, Roca’s Intervention Model has become one of the most effective interventions for young adults at critical risk in the nation. Molly holds a master’s degree in Education from Lesley University and honorary Ph.D. degrees from Salem State University and Lesley University. She was a 2020 recipient of the prestigious Heinz Award in the Human Condition category.