April Spataro |

April Spataro is the Director of Programming, where she leads with a deep commitment to healing, accountability, and transformation. With over 11 years of experience at Roca, April began her career as a Youth Worker, later supervising teams and delivering and organizing impactful programming rooted in trauma-informed care and cognitive-behavioral theory.

Her work is defined by relentless outreach, strong community partnerships, and a belief in the power of consistent, transformational relationships to drive change. April has built a reputation for meeting people where they are—literally and figuratively—and for creating spaces where individuals feel seen, heard, and empowered.

Harrison Tsopelas |

Harrison joined Roca in December 2025, bringing more than 15 years of experience spanning nonprofit fundraising, strategic initiatives, economic development, and public service. Across his career, he has been committed to expanding opportunity for young people and communities too often left at the margins. At Roca, he leads grant strategy and corporate giving efforts to strengthen and expand support for Roca’s work with young people and communities impacted by violence.

Prior to joining Roca, Harrison spent more than a decade at YouthBuild Global, where he advanced from Special Projects Manager to Associate Director of Fundraising and Strategic Projects. He led business development and strategic initiatives supporting YouthBuild’s international network and managed fundraising efforts to sustain and expand the organization’s global reach.

Earlier in his career, Harrison spent nearly five years with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and Manager of Business Development for the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment. In these roles, he coordinated international trade missions, led a U.S. Small Business Administration grant program supporting Massachusetts small businesses’ export initiatives, and worked on a range of economic development and public-sector initiatives. He began his public service career as Scheduling Coordinator in the Office of the Governor.

Harrison holds a BA from Trinity College, where he double-majored in Political Science (International Relations) and International Studies (Asian Studies).

Alisha Gopaul |

Driven by a passion to improve the lives of highest-risk young people, Alisha is a dedicated advocate for the power of data to drive positive change. She oversees the complete data lifecycle, from strategic planning and collection to analysis, reporting, and compliance, ensuring data is used effectively and responsibly. By developing user-friendly tools that translate data into clear, actionable insights, she enables staff to make data-informed decisions that drive meaningful impact. Alisha is also committed to continuously improving services and operations through rigorous monitoring of Roca’s performance-based system, ensuring that the organization is constantly evolving to better serve their participants.

Alisha holds a Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Human Security from the University of Baltimore, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Christian Calvo |

As Roca’s Director of Employment, Christian Calvo brings over 30 years of diverse experiences in sales, business development, and management. His career spans local city government, non-profits, telecommunications, data analytics, finance, property services, and founding and growing his own successful business, Suffolk Building Services.

Christian’s connection to Roca is unique — a lifelong resident of Chelsea, MA, Christian was one of Roca’s very first youth participants in 1988. He understands the challenges and opportunities Roca’s young people face because he’s been there, and he’s experienced the transformative power of Roca’s program. Christian’s passion for service drove him to return to Roca first as a member of the Board of Directors, and later as an employment partner, hiring Roca’s young people through the Bridge to Success program.

Christian was named Chelsea Human Services Worker of the Year in 1995 by the Chelsea Human Services Collaborative, and was Chelsea’s 2005 Resident of the Year. He served as Board President of The Neighborhood Developers from 2004–2007 and as a member of Rotary International – Chelsea from 2001–2009.

Steph Irwin |

Since joining Roca in 2021, Steph Irwin has led client and training logistics, project management, contracting, billing, reporting, internal coordination, and capacity planning for the Roca Impact Institute. Prior to joining Roca, Steph served in the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement supporting data-driven performance management, operations, technical assistance for CBO partners, and staff support for Safe Streets, the city’s flagship community-based violence intervention program. Steph brings a background in public health and program evaluation from previous work at the Baltimore City Health Department and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public health from Johns Hopkins University.

Tyrone Kent |

Tyrone Kent joined Roca in January 2023, bringing an ideal range of skills honed over many years working with young adults at Job Corp. Over his career, Tyrone has held various positions of Social Development Director, Safety & Security Manager, Center Standards Incentive Officer, Life Coach, Assistant Director and Program Director. Matching Roca’s protocol priorities, Ty strongly believes in ensuring safety first and building transformational relationships second.

Ty’s specialized skills are centered on personal awareness and development. In addition to his extensive work experience, he has professional certifications in Behavioral Management Techniques, Crisis Intervention, and Managing Aggressive Behavior (MAB). All contributed to Ty’s development of effective incentive-based behavior programs as part of Job Corp’s progressive discipline model, highly relevant to Roca’s work.

A native Baltimorean, Ty brings a wealth of lived experiences, commitment and dedication to making a difference in the city he loves. Educated in the Baltimore City public school system, Ty knows firsthand the value of a good education. What Ty loves most about his work is being a part of the entire journey with the young men Roca serves. “To see our participants in the beginning and then going through the journey of learning how to show up differently gives me great satisfaction!” He has an unwavering belief that all people given the opportunity, attention and support can overcome anything.

Ty is an exceptional man who has not allowed his environment to define him. A dedicated husband and father, Ty enjoys listening to jazz, binge watching movies, playing basketball and, as a new hobby, riding his 3-wheeler. He lives by the quote “If not me then who, if not now then when?”

Jessica Krause |

Anne McGing Healy |

As Roca’s Chief Financial Officer, Anne leads the finance team to best support Roca programs. Anne has 30 years of finance experience at non-profits including Match Education, Rosie’s Place, Melville Charitable Trust and Boston University (BU). Anne brings experience early in her career as an auditor at Deloitte & Touche and as a caseworker for high-risk young people in the Jesuit Volunteer Corp. Anne graduated from the University of Scranton, BU’s Public & Non-Profit MBA program, and holds CPA and CFP licenses.

Chianta Mack |

Chianta Mack has spent her life dedicated to harm reduction, conflict resolution, engagement, counseling, and outreach. Chianta rejoined Roca in 2020 and is now the Director of Life Skills and Coaching, where she oversees training of all staff and assists in the creation, development and implementation of training schedules and coaching. She is also responsible for reviewing, revising, and delivering new training and material, while also being responsible for the ongoing development and documentation of Roca’s CBT practice throughout all its programming. Chianta was also responsible for developing and implementing curricula regarding harm reduction and substance use disorder.

Chianta most recently served as a Public Health Advocate for the Boston Public Health Commission. There she used street engagement skills to develop daily strategies to engage with hard-to-reach clients utilizing a harm reduction approach. She provided overdose prevention education using street outreach, case management, advocacy, referral and support services to Boston residents, local businesses, and treatment programs. Chianta’s extensive experience also includes previous Youth Work at Roca on the for high-risk Young Men, and targeted programming for high-risk young parents with Circle of Care. She provided family support and training for North Suffolk Mental Health’s CBHI program, and provided caseload management, community outreach and sexual health trainings for the Dimock Head Start/Early Head Start Center. Chianta is a graduate of Bunker Hill Community College and Springfield College.