About Us

I recently retired from Smith College, where for more than forty years I strived to help students feel that learning was not just an obligation, but a great joy. I see this program as a continuation of that effort. My wife, Doris, and I were inspired to start the Young Scholars Program after learning of a similar program started by a friend of ours in Florida over fifteen years ago. That program has had remarkable success keeping at-risk children on track toward college. I feel fortunate to be working to replicate that success in Western Massachusetts.

I am honored to be a part of the Young Scholars Program.  My husband and I were very excited when our daughter, Rayna, received the MLK Scholars scholarship.  One of the things that receiving this scholarship has taught her is that good things come from hard work and determination.  When I was enrolled in elementary school, I spoke only Spanish and struggled due to the language barrier.  However, once I learned to speak English, I fell in love with school and truly enjoyed learning.  Ever since then, education has always been important to me.  As a mother, I have shared my life experiences with my daughter, and always encourage her to value and respect her community, and to play an important role in it.  My goal is to share with other parents in the program the experiences that my daughter and I have encountered as she successfully transitioned into middle and high school.  I look forward to contributing to the success of the Young Scholars Program.

I’m a professor of developmental psychology at UMass, studying ways to support academic success in young children. I have been privileged to have so many opportunities and advantages, and I’d like to help give more children opportunities to succeed.

I am a retired teacher and psychologist, raised with the message that education is a necessity for success in life. I believe that all children should have access to quality education, and that society cannot afford to lose talented people just because they lack the financial resources to reach their potential. Therefore, I am thinking globally and acting locally.

I’ve had a long-held belief in education. In high school, I headed up an inner-city tutoring program for elementary students in Rochester NY, and at Wellesley College I was involved in an educational program for Framingham women’s prison. I served as a Unitarian Universalist minister in churches for 10 years and on a variety of boards of directors, including The Connecticut River Conservancy and The Broad Brook Coalition in Northampton, Massachusetts. I serve as a Young Scholar Partner in addition to my role on the board.

My professional journey as an occupational therapist and my personal journey as a human being for over fifty years have taught me that being educated is absolutely paramount to the health, well-being, and optimal fulfillment of every individual and our society-at-large. In the words of former UN Secretary-General Kafi Annan, “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” I believe every one of us is a lifelong educator and student, regardless of our roles in life. I value fostering various educational opportunities for all and am proud to help Young Scholars create needed opportunities for youth; what a great investment in our collective futures!

I was fortunate to grow up in Atlanta GA in a family that valued education and was able to support me through College and Graduate School. I taught religion at Berry College for a number of years before seeking ordination as an Episcopal Priest. I now serve two Churches in the Greater Springfield area. I am thrilled to be part of the Young Scholars program!

As a daughter of immigrants, I have always been grateful for the opportunities I had to get a college education and then to use that experience to pursue my career goals.  My professional life was primarily devoted to government programs to protect and improve the environment.  I am delighted to be part of the Young Scholars program that can help others get the best education for which they qualify.  Hopefully the students we assist will be able, in turn, to offer their help to those coming along after them.

As the founding executive director of Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School of Excellence in Springfield, it has been my privilege to work with the Young Scholars Fund since its creation. In my retirement, I have the opportunity and pleasure to be a board member of the Young Scholars Fund. Also, I am a Scholar Partner to two Scholars and thoroughly enjoy those relationships. Prior to my service at MLK Charter School, I was a lawyer in Springfield for 29 years.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” (Nelson Mandela). I am an educational leader, advocate, and first-generation college graduate. I am also a mother of four beautiful honor roll students who continually motivate me to advocate for equal access to quality education for all students. As an educated woman of color, I understand what it takes to give ALL of our children the opportunity to grow, develop, and achieve academic success. In order to educate all children, all educational stakeholders (business and community leaders, educators, parents, etc.) must work together, be accountable for their role, and consider our students first. A child’s education is impacted by what happens both inside and outside of the classroom. This is why mentors and caring adults often make the difference in a child’s academic success or failures. Organizations like Young Scholars Fund are necessary to help youth obtain the academic success they deserve.

I grew up in Dallas and graduated as a psychology major from Trinity College in far away Washington, D.C. My first job as a research assistant, testing in deaf and hearing children’s learning spawned an interest in statistics, an interest that lay fallow as my husband, Peter, and I began a family. I nurtured our first three children in the uncountable ways stay-at-home mothers did in the 60s and 70s. I returned to statistics, as a teaching assistant in Smith College’s department of psychology the same year our fourth child was born. I was intellectually reborn several years later during the first lecture of introduction to geology. My fascination with geology grew on field trips to Montana, Death Valley, Hawaii and a non-touristy island in the Bahamas where I was not only student but also counselor to students much younger than me. Those years transformed my belief in the importance of education into a passion for learning. That insight motivates my involvement in the Scholars program; more than endorsing the value of continuing education, we hope to nurture a life long passion for learning in children.