Solomon Baymon  | 

Solomon Baymon is the Director for Roca Western Mass. As a native of Springfield, Massachusetts he relates to the kind of struggles that young adults face daily while growing up in Urban Areas. Prior to Roca, Solomon had over 15 years of extensive experience in the Criminal Justice System. Specifically in the Corrections field working in multiple Juvenile and Adult State Correctional Institutions. Starting as a Corrections Officer, climbing the ranks and lastly leaving as a Deputy Warden. Currently as the Director of 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 works with Community, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Partners, including the Springfield and Holyoke Police Departments, City Administrations, Courts, Probation Services, Hampden County DA’s Office, and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, to promote Roca and gain support for the mission. Solomon is a seasoned leader and award-winning Philanthropist. He is guided by his personal mission to educate, create and advocate for the sake of our Young People in attaining greater success and prosperity in life.

Carson Berglund  | 

Carson Berglund has worked in grant development in Greater Boston for nearly 25 years, helping to drive revenue generation for such organizations as Jobs for the Future, JVS Boston, Cambridge College and Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute. A longtime fan of Roca, he is excited to have an opportunity to play a role in continuing to expand its reach and impact.

Carson holds a BA in Government with a minor in English Literature from the University of Texas, Austin, and did graduate studies in Political Theory at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

Sylvia Ruiz  | 

Sylvia Ruiz joined Roca in 2014 is currently the Director of Human Resources & Talent Management. Sylvia is originally from Puerto Rico but relocated to the Boston area 40 years ago. Sylvia has over 26 years of Human Resources expertise in total rewards, talent management and compliance. She has previously worked at MSPCC and the Harvard/Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.  Sylvia is bilingual in English and Spanish, owns two cats and enjoys listening to music and reading books in her free time.

Francesca Zakharia  | 

Carolyn O’Keefe  | 

Carolyn brings strong experience in development, communications, community service and a longstanding passion for the city of Baltimore.  Prior Roca, Carolyn served as Director of Corporate Partnerships for the Maryland Marketing Partnership at the Maryland Department of Commerce.

Her career began in community marketing for the Bank of Boston, then in New York as national public relations director for consumer goods clients. Returning to her hometown, Carolyn served as vice president for GKV Advertising/PR; assistant to Commissioner Frazier for the Baltimore Police Department, supporting community outreach and 33 PAL centers; and vice president for PinnacleCare. Philanthropic work has included board and direct service for Big Brother/Big Sister, Maryland Art Place, Johns Hopkins Evergreen Museum & Library, the “I love city life” campaign and the Maryland Judicial Nominating Committee.

Carolyn received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and is a proud graduate of Western High School, Baltimore.

James Timpson  | 

For over 20 years, JT has developed extensive expertise and leadership in violence intervention initiatives. JT previously helped drive the successful expansion of Roca Baltimore as a founding Director and has now joined the Roca Impact Institute as Managing Director of Community Violence Initiatives. He serves as a subject matter expert on building community partnerships, safety and risk mitigation, understanding brain science, trauma, and behavior change interventions. In his role, JT oversees and scales the Roca Impact Institute’s training and coaching initiatives with Community Violence Intervention programs across the country, cultivates strategic partnerships, and fosters national visibility for Rewire CBT as an individual behavior and systems change strategy. 

JT’s passion and expertise extend well beyond his work at Roca. He currently serves as a committee member for the Baltimore Mayor’s Cabinet for Boys and Young Men of Color. JT also serves as an advisor on both the Johns Hopkins Innovation Fund, and the Accountability Board Selection Committee for Johns Hopkins University. He is a two-time panelist on gun violence for the Amnesty International Annual General Meeting, and in 2021 he was awarded Hometown Hero for Gun Violence by Amnesty International. 

Carl Miranda  | 

Carl Miranda is the Director of Roca, Boston. As a Salvadoran immigrant who spent his formative years in South Central Los Angeles in the 1980’s, and as a professional who has worked for many years in urban environments in front-line and management capacities, he understands the kind of struggles that young adults face in urban environments with poverty, trauma, and challenging relationships with law enforcements.

Carl brings 10 years of nonprofit experience working with state agencies such as DYS, DMH, and DCF in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Before joining Roca, Carl was the Center for Human Development’s Western Regional Program Director & Contract Manager for Adolescent Re-entry Services where he oversaw the administration of community and clinical services for 200+ youth re-entering western Massachusetts from lock-up facilities.

Carl holds a BA from UC Berkley in Ethnic Studies and Rhetoric, a Masters in American Studies from NYU, Masters in African American Studies from Yale, and is ABD at Yale University. His graduate research focuses on Juvenile Justice Reform and the school to prison pipeline.

Allie Livezey Maynard  | 

Allie Livezey Maynard is Roca’s Vice President of Communications and Grant Development. Allie joined Roca in 2013 with a background in nonprofit fundraising, event management, and strategic planning for youth-focused organizations. Allie leads Roca’s institutional fundraising and provides strategic assistance with outcomes-based contracting, evaluation and reporting, strategic planning, program development, and external affairs. Allie holds an M.B.A. from Simmons College and a B.A. from Boston College. She has also studied social justice, international human rights law, and economic development in Central America and Ireland.

Anisha Chablani-Medley  | 

Anisha Chablani started her career at Roca as a youth worker in 2000 and began running Roca’s programming in 2002. Previously, as Roca’s Chief Programming Officer, Anisha oversaw Roca’s staff training functions and was responsible for creating and implementing Roca’s performance-based management system. In 2021, Anisha joined the Roca Impact Institute as Senior Advisor of Program Design, Training & Equity. In her current role, Anisha leads the planning, development, and implementation of Rewire, Roca’s CBT curriculum which she authored in partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital, across our client portfolio. She also manages the Roca Impact Institute’s facilitator team. 

Anisha has over 15 years of direct service experience, working with high-risk young adults, and over 8 years of program and organizational management experience. She holds a B.A. from Boston College, and a master’s degree in Education from Lesley University. 

Lili Elkins  | 

Lili Elkins has served as Roca’s Chief Development and Strategy Officer since 2011 and, prior to that, served as a consultant to Roca for five years. Lili provides assistance with resource development; strategic planning and financial forecasting; program design, development, operations and replication; program evaluation, including work with third party evaluators; and operation of special projects.

In addition to her work at Roca, Lili is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Executive Program for a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, where she teaches Financial Management in Government and Nonprofits and in Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health where she teaches Public Health Finance.

Lili has over 20 years of fundraising, program design and program management experience working with non-profits. A member of the New Jersey Bar, she has her J.D. from Rutgers University, an M.A. in public policy and administration from Columbia University, and a B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University.