PERSONAL STATEMENT:
In response to the assault and robbery of two of my friends and sexual assault in my Boston neighborhood in 2004, I decided to lead community efforts to increase connectedness and safety in my neighborhood. Two years later, Tom Sander (Executive Director of the Saguaro Seminar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University) credited me in a Boston Globe article titled, “Mighty Neighborly,” with figuring out how to keep neighbors together after the threat is gone.
For the fourteen years since, I have served as a trusted advisor and partner to leaders at over 140 government agencies ranging from the Department of Homeland Security to the Cumberland, New Hampshire Police Department. I support organizations seeking to partner with residents to increase safety, resilience, and citizen satisfaction.
My guiding belief is that the well-being of society depends on the diversity and strength of the bonds that we make with our neighbors and the cooperative relationships that we develop with those in government, community organizations, and local businesses. My experience “neighboring” has demonstrated that our neighborhoods are strongest and safest, and we are happiest when we are all connected, in communication, and in service to each other.
Media organizations such as National Public Radio, Businessweek, The Boston Globe, CBS, ABC, NBC, and The Hallmark Channel have featured my work. I have spoken and served as a panelist at gatherings with organizations such as the Ford Hall Forum, CEOs for Cities, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
My professional specialties include business development, partnership development and management, and serving as a thought leader and spokesperson.
The programmatic applications of my specialties include community and neighborhood policing, emergency preparedness and response, citizen activation, and participatory democracy.
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY:
I currently serve as the Central and Eastern Senior City Strategist for Nextdoor.com. As Nextdoor’s Central and Eastern government liaison, I develop and execute strategies to develop and manage partnerships with government executives at the state and local level. I also represent Nextdoor to Federal Agencies such as the White House and FEMA, and at high-profile events and conferences.
As Nextdoor’s Professional Neighbor, I serve as an internal advisor leveraging my public safety, neighboring, and citizen engagement experience to assist with product and policy development. Also, I give keynotes, publish playbooks, and leverage my relationships social influence to drive platform adoption and utilization.
From 2011 to April 2014, I stood up led GovDelivery’s Professional Services practice. At GovDelivey I dreamed up and launched Community.FEMA.gov with the FEMA.
In 2010, I served at the pleasure of Secretary Janet Napolitano as the first Community Engagement Strategist for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In 2009, I spent the year evangelized NeighborsforNeighbors.org, the first of its kind neighborhood social network (powered by Ning) I developed to support the organizing initiatives I lead with neighbors under the umbrella of the not-for-profit organization Neighbors For Neighbors, Inc. that I founded in 2004. My most notable project was Snowcrew.org.
In 2008, I directed Online Operations and Partnerships for the ServiceNation legislative campaign that tripled funding for Americorps with the passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.
From 2006 to 2008 I worked as a Program Coordinator for the Boston Police Department, I created new-programmatic organizing models that resulted in double-digit decreases in crime while simultaneously doubling program participation.
From 2002 to 2006 I’ve worked as a Senior Associate for a Marketing Automation consulting firm where I provided consulting and training services, and increased new and referral business four-fold.
From 1999 to 2002 I had my own consulting company (and was a waiter at night). The project I am most proud from this time was reducing the time it took for GreatNorthernBarns.com to market its barns from 3 months to 3 days.
VOLUNTEER:
In addition In the past, I have served as a:
- Boston World Partnership Connector
- Guide on Creators.Ning.com
- Founding member of Ning Network Creators Council
- Boston OneIn3 Council Mentor
PROJECTS:
- 2008: Founder and organizer of The Nametag Project which in 2007 resulted in 19,000 people wearing a nametag for a day to promote neighborliness.
- 2009: Co-founder and organizer of The Mug Project (winner of Mayor Menino’s 2009 Green Residential Waste Reduction Champion Award.
EDUCATION:
- 2010: Boston University School of Management, Institute for Nonprofit Management and Leadership
- 1998: Saint Michael’s College, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
- 1994: Kimbal Union Academy
AWARDS:
- 2010: – Community Service Award, Boston Police Commissioners Edward. M. Davis
- 2009 – Green Residential Waste Reduction Champion Award (MugProject.com), Mayor Thomas M. Menino
- 2007 – Certificate of Appreciation, Boston Police Commissioners Edward. M. Davis
- 2007 – Anchor Award, Friends of the Charlestown MA, Navy Yard