Who We Are

Find out more about careers at Be the Change, Inc.

Our Board
 

Staff Biographies

 

June Carlsen is the Operations Manager of Be the Change, Inc and is responsible for Finance, IT, HR and Admin for the Organization and is based in Boston.  June comes to Be the Change with more than 30 years of experience in Finance and Accounting  within various for profit and not for profit organizations.  June has a BS in Accounting from Northeastern University and an MBA from University of  Massachusetts, Dartmouth.  She lives in Foxboro, MA with her daughter where they spend their spare time pursuing her daughter’s passion for competitive cheerleading.

Chris Cashman joined the Be The Change team after spending more than a decade in Washington, D.C. performing a variety of political, public affairs, and media relation roles. Most recently he served as political and communications strategist for members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Chris helped lead the communications department at the National Governors Association and spent several years providing communications and marketing advice to a number of bipartisan, non-profit organizations, including the Diesel Technology Forum, the National Commission on Energy Policy (now the Bipartisan Policy Council), and many others. Chris is a graduate of Drew University with B.A.’s in political science and psychology. He lives in New York City with his fiancé and Maine Coon cat, Henry.
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Sarah Beaulieu is the Senior Advisor to the Opportunity Nation campaign at Be The Change.  Sarah has extensive experience in fundraising, program development, and volunteer management. Most recently, she was the Deputy Chief Operating Officer at the University of Massachusetts Foundation working on operations, accounting, and finance. Previously, she held senior fundraising positions at Boston College and Brown University. Sarah has a B.A. from Brown University and an M.B.A. from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, with additional course work completed at Boston University Graduate School of Social Work.  Sarah is a member of the Reimagining Service Council and serves on boards of the Brown University Association of Class Leaders and the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. She lives with her husband, son, and dog in Roslindale, MA.   Follow Sarah Beaulieu on Twitter.
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Lizzie Burns is a Senior Associate for Opportunity Nation.  Prior to joining Be the Change, Lizzie worked as the Deputy Finance Assistant on Alan Khazei’s Senate campaign, supporting events and fundraising efforts.  She also served as an intern for the American Civil Liberties Union where she assisted the advocacy department in mobilizing its grassroots operations.  Lizzie graduated with an honors degree in Political Science and a concentration in Legal Studies from Williams College.  While there, she pursued her passions for improving communities and served for two years as the President of the Williams Lehman Council of Community Engagement – the umbrella board that manages all of the community service groups at the college.  She was also the captain of the women's lacrosse team.  Lizzie grew up in Delaware and currently lives in Massachusetts.
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Mark Edwards is the Executive Director of Opportunity Nation, a campaign of Be the Change, Inc. Prior to joining Be the Change, Mark was the managing partner of Edwards & Company, Inc., a marketing and communications company focused on elevating educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations. He serves on the board of directors of Health Leads, Phillips Exeter Academy, Berklee College of Music/City Music, and Horizons for Homeless Children, where he served as board chair for five years. Mark is a graduate of Harvard College and lives in Massachusetts with his wife and three children.  Follow Mark Edwards on Twitter.
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Cara Willis is the Outreach and Events Manager for the Opportunity Nation campaign. Previously, Cara served as Special Assistant to Alan Khazei, Founder of Be the Change, and directed scheduling and advance for the launch events of Alan's 2011-2012 campaign for US Senate. Cara's prior work experience includes serving as the Scheduling Coordinator for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Originally from Massachusetts, Cara attended Boston University where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Political Science and History. In her free time, Cara is actively involved with the New England dance community as a performer, choreographer, and teacher.
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Board Member Biographies

Alan Khazei has pioneered ways to empower citizens to make a difference. In 1987, as a young graduate from Harvard Law School, he co-founded a nonprofit organization called City Year with his friend, Michael Brown. City Year unites young adults ages 17-24 from all backgrounds for an intensive year of full-time community service mentoring, tutoring, and educating children. It served as the model and inspiration for President Clinton’s AmeriCorps program and now operates in 20 U.S. cities and Johannesburg and London. Read More.

Kristen Atwood

Founding Staff Member, City Year, Inc.

Kristen Atwood was a founding staff member of City Year, Inc. She played an instrumental role in the development of the organization.  She recruited the corps for the City Year’s summer pilot program in 1988; she also influenced the culture of City Year profoundly by using her fluency in American Sign Language to devise tools and other cultural elements that are still in use today. She continues to serve as a resource on City Year’s strategy for international growth and expansion and has been a champion of City Year South Africa.  Kristen is the proud mother of five children and is actively involved in the Nobles School, where two of her children are currently students.

Josh Bekenstein

Managing Director, Bain Capital

Josh Bekenstein is the Managing Director at Bain Capital.  Mr. Bekenstein joined Bain Capital at its inception in 1984. He has been a Managing Director since 1986. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Josh spent several years at Bain & Company where he was involved with companies in a variety of industries. Mr. Bekenstein received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Yale University.

Read More About Josh Bekenstein.

Dan Carroll

Dan is a retired partner of TPG Capital, where he was responsible for the firm's investment activities in Japan and Australia and its global Cleantech practice. He joined TPG in 1995 and was a founder of the firm's Asian operations (formerly Newbridge Capital) where as Managing Partner he was responsible for raising and investing five investment funds with over $7 billion in committed capital, as well as building the firm¹s Asia-based investment teams. Prior to 1995, he spent nine years with Hambrecht & Quist Group, where he was involved in the development of the firm¹s private equity investment operations in Asia. Dan holds a BA in Economics magna cum laude from Harvard University and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Dan and his wife Stasia Obremskey live in San Francisco and have three children: Will (16) Peter (12) and Grace (10).

Sandra M. Edgerley

Sandy Edgerley graduated from Harvard University with an AB in Biology in 1984, cum laude general studies. She graduated with distinction with an MBA in 1989, also from Harvard. Ms. Edgerley worked at Bain & Company, a management consulting company, for ten years (1984-87, 1989-96) as an Associate Consultant, Consultant and Manager on the consulting staff, then as Director of Recruiting and Training. She left Bain & Company to raise her children and pursue philanthropic efforts that help children in the Boston community. Ms. Edgerley is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, which annually serves 14,000 youth in the inner city of Boston and Chelsea. Ms. Edgerley is also involved with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay as a Board member and has been a Co-Chair of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society since 1998. Ms. Edgerley also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Horizons for Homeless Children. She is a trustee of the Meadowbrook School in Weston, where she formerly co-chaired the school expansion effort. Additionally she serves on the Executive Committee of the Harvard College Fund as Co-Chair of Reunion Giving, as well as on the Board of Dean's Advisors of Harvard Business School. Ms. Edgerley is also a trustee for the Noble and Greenough School, where she is the Co-Chair of the Long Range Planning Committee. In addition, she is an Overseer of the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston. She has been married to Paul B. Edgerley, managing director of Bain Capital, for 20 years. They have four children: Brian, Matthew, Hayley, and Michael. The Edgerleys live in Brookline, MA. 

Hubie Jones

Social Entrepreneur in Residence, City Year, Inc.

Hubie Jones is the Social Entrepreneur in Residence at City Year, Inc.  Born in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City, Hubie came to Boston in 1955 after graduating from the City College of New York.  After receiving a master's in social work from Boston University, Hubie moved through a series of positions in Boston social work agencies. Starting at Boston Children's Services in 1957, he left for Judge Baker Guidance Center in 1961, and in 1965, he became the director of the Roxbury Multiservice Center, where he remained until 1971. Under Hubie, RMC became a national model for neighborhood-based social services for low-income city residents. Hubie spent the 1971-1972 year as the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Community Fellow at MIT, and from 1972 until 1977 he was an associate professor in the department of urban studies and planning at MIT. He then became the first African American appointed to a deanship at Boston University, serving as the dean of the School of Social Work from 1977 to 1993. Between 1995 and 2002, Hubie served as special assistant to the chancellor for urban affairs at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. In 2002, he founded the Boston Children's Chorus, consisting of eighty young people from diverse ethnic and socio-economical backgrounds. Hubie has been honored numerous times for his dedication to children's advocacy, and friends and colleagues have established The Hubie Fund, to benefit ongoing social concerns in Boston.

Jonathan Lavine

Managing Director, Bain Capital

Jonathan Lavine serves as the Chief Investment Officer of Sankaty Advisors, the fixed income and credit affiliate of Bain Capital, which he started in 1997. Today, Sankaty is one of the nation’s leading managers of leveraged loans and bonds, credit derivatives, mezzanine and distressed debt, with 70 investment professionals in offices in Boston, London and Chicago and approximately $25 billion in committed assets under management.  Before the formation of Sankaty, Jonathan worked in Bain Capital’s private equity business. Prior to joining Bain Capital, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Company. He began his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert in the Mergers & Acquisitions Department.

An active participant in charitable organizations, Jonathan is a member of the Boards of Columbia College, Children’s Hospital Trust, City Year, Horizons for Homeless Children, and Stand for Children. Jonathan also serves as a Director of the Boston Celtics. In 2004, Jonathan was honored as one of the Boston Business Journal’s 40 outstanding Bostonians under the age of 40.  Jonathan received an M.B.A., with Distinction, from Harvard Business School, and a B.A., Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Columbia College. While at Columbia, he received the David Truman Award for outstanding contribution to the academic affairs of the college.

Read More About Jonathan Lavine.

Bill McClements

Senior Vice President for Corporate Operations at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals.

Bill came to Merrimack Pharmaceuticals with over 22 years of executive leadership experience at global strategy consulting firm Monitor Group, where he held positions as global head of human resources and chief operating officer. During his time at Monitor, McClements served on the board of directors, was the first non-founder to serve on the global executive committee and also served as CEO for various business units. McClements also participated in and led several innovative organizational initiatives at Monitor and played a critical leadership role in the overall economic management and coordination of the firm during periods of rapid growth and global expansion.

While he was Monitor’s chief operating officer and talent management officer, McClements managed the organizational strategy of the firm and led the development of an integrated HR function. In this role, he oversaw global recruitment, development and training of talent, performance management, compensation and benefits – all with the goal of building a world-class talent base and fostering a strong, learning-oriented culture. McClements also implemented a go-to-market organization model, and redesigned a new partnership structure and new performance evaluation and compensation processes.

McClements holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is a philanthropic role model through his leadership roles at several non-profit organizations, including Monitor Institute, New Profit, Inc., City Year, Inc., ACCESS and most recently as executive director for Be the Change, Inc.

Michelle Nunn

Co-Founder and CEO, Points Of Light & Hands On Network

Michelle Nunn is the CEO of Point of Light & Hands On Network. Prior to co-founding Hands On Network, Michelle was the founding director of Hands On Atlanta, a non-profit organization that helps individuals, families, corporate and community groups find flexible volunteer opportunities at over 400 service organizations and schools. Hands On Atlanta volunteers, now 37,000 strong, are at work every day of the year building community and meeting critical needs in schools, parks, senior homes, food banks, pet shelters, low-income neighborhoods and more. From her initial leadership as Hands On Atlanta’s first staff person, Michelle has played a central role in the growth of a national movement that became Hands On Network with a membership of 73 affiliate organizations across the country and around the globe – all based on the same “Hands On” model of service that started with three founding affiliates in Atlanta, New York, and Washington, D.C

Michelle currently serves on the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. She has received a variety of awards and was recently named by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential Georgians." Michelle resides in Atlanta with her husband, Ron Martin, her son, Vinson and her daughter, Elizabeth.

Michelle graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Virginia in 1989. She has studied at Oxford University and in India. She was a Kellogg National Fellow and has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has also received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Oglethorpe University. 

Jon Schnur

Co-Founder & Chairman of the Board, New Leaders for New Schools

Jon Schnur is Chairman of the Board and the former CEO of New Leaders for New Schools, a national non-profit organization with one mission: driving high levels of learning and achievement for every student by attracting and preparing outstanding leaders and supporting the performance of the urban public schools they lead at scale. From 2000, when he co-founded New Leaders for New Schools, to 2010, Jon led the development of the organization’s strategy, management team and board, core values, performance metrics, partnerships, and fundraising. In September 2009, New Leaders for New Schools became the first and only non-profit-led partnership with a public school system to win Harvard University’s Innovations in American Government Award from the ASH Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation. New Leaders recruits and trains approximately 10 percent of the new principals needed for high-poverty, low-income schools in the United States.

From September 2008 to June 2009, Jon took leave from New Leaders for New Schools, serving as an advisor to Barack Obama's Presidential campaign, a member of the Presidential Transition Team, and a Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Before co-founding New Leaders for New Schools, Jon served as Special Assistant to Secretary of Education Richard Riley, President Clinton's White House Associate Director for Educational Policy, and Senior Advisor on Education to Vice President Gore. He has developed national education policies from preschool to higher education – with special focus on teacher and educator quality, reforming urban school systems, charter schools, after-school programs, and early learning and preschools. Jon graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Politics with honors, took coursework at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard Business School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government and graduated from a Wisconsin public high school.

Jon lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife Elisa and their three children: Matthew, Elizabeth and Philip.