Key Staff Bios
Kimberly Smith-Cofield is the Executive Director of the Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS). Ms. Smith-Cofield's career in human services spanned twenty-eight years before her arrival at CAAS,
addressing the needs of organizations serving communities, children, families, adolescent boys and girls, and people with mental illness and developmental disorders. She has directed other agencies in the Greater Boston area including Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses, 2000-2003, and Casa Myrna Vasquez, 1994-96. She served as Vice President
and Chief Operating Officer at the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, 1998 to 2000, and Associated Day Care Services of Metropolitan Boston, 1996-1997. Ms. Smith-Cofield received her B.A. in Sociology from Vassar College in 1981 and a Master’s degree in Education from Cambridge College in 1992. She participated in the Executive Transitions
Program at Third Sector New England, receiving Interim Executive Director Certification in 2007. In May 2011, she was honored with a Community Leadership Award by Elizabeth Peabody House.
Donna Cabral, Director of the CAAS Head Start Program, joined Head Start as a parent in 1978. In staff
positions, she served as a Family Advocate and as the Family Advocate/ Parent Involvement Supervisor before becoming Program
Director in 1986. Ms. Cabral has been recognized by the Cambridge and Somerville Program for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Rehabilitation (CASPAR) for her work on alcohol and drug abuse for children and families in Somerville. She initiated the
New England Fatherhood Conference in 1999 (now in its 13th year) and has presented training sessions and workshops on
fatherhood at this conference and at other community organizations. Under her administration, CAAS Head Start received an
excellence award from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in 2001 and an award for the fatherhood program in
2002. ACF conducted an in-depth review of CAAS Head Start in 2009, and the program was recognized for its 100% compliance
in meeting all Head Start Performance Standards. Ms. Cabral holds an Associate's Degree in Human Development from Wheelock
College.
Dennis Fischman, Director of Planning, is the Co-Chair of the Somerville Nonprofit Development Network. From 1998 to 2003, he consulted to community-based organizations including The Haitian Coalition, the Welcome Project, the Mystic Learning Center, Elizabeth Peabody House, and nonprofits including Eagle Eye Institute and the National
Association for the Mentally Ill of Massachusetts. A graduate of Yale, Mr. Fischman received his B.A. in Political Science in 1980, and he earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1988. He taught at the college level for ten years, at Rosemont College, Boston University, and New England College, before entering
the development field. From 2001 to 2005, he served on the Board of the Organizers' Collaborative, which helps nonprofit organizations use information technology to pursue their missions more successfully.
Melissa McWhinney, Director of Advocacy and Community Services, is the former Director of the Mayor's Office of Human Services for the City of Somerville (2001-2003), where she moved after serving Director of Somerville's Human Right Commission. Before that, she was Director of Legal Intake for ten years at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts. Ms. McWhinney
earned a B.A. degree at Temple University in 1982 and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1990. She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar. She serves as the Community Member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Social, Psychological and Educational Research at Tufts University. Ms. McWhinney received the 2010 Martin Luther King Award
from the Somerville Human Rights Commission, with citations from Massachusetts House of Representatives and Massachusetts Senate, as well as the 2008 Friend of Adult Literacy Award from Somerville Center for Adult Learning Education.
Jeffrey Karon, Director of Finance and Administration, joined the CAAS management team in 2009. He is responsible for grant management, budgeting, payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and general agency accounting. He interacts regularly with program and administrative staff to ensure that purchasing, property control, and personnel
actions adhere to funding source guidelines. Before coming to CAAS, Mr. Karon served as Controller for the New England School of Acupuncture and various for-profit companies over the last twenty-four years. He graduated Northeastern University in 1983 with a B.S. in Accounting.
Administrative staff
Katherine Martinez, Executive Assistant
Christine Mattson, Database Specialist
Renrick Savage, Bookkeeper
Lane Seiger, Accounting Clerk
Adrienne Vigilante, Assistant to the Head Start Director
Advocacy & Community Services
Glennys Acosta, Housing & Benefits Advocate
Daniel Dessin, Housing & Benefits Advocate
Marcelo Zicker, Housing & Benefits Advocate
Head Start Program: Children's Services
Roberta McCluskey, Disabilities & Mental Health Supervisor Email
Juan Portes, Building Specialist
Maureen Villa, Integrated Child Development Supervisor Email
Lori Harrington, Child Development/Disabilities Specialist Email
Eidy Williams, Child Development/Disabilities Specialist- Email
Paul Zimmerman, Building Supervisor Email
Head Start Program: Family Services
Sandra Ford, Director of Family Services Email
Meghan Cary, Family Advocate
Carla Elder, Family Advocate
Marie Evans, Health Services Supervisor- Email
Jean Faulkner, Family Advocate
Isabel Haraguchi, Family Advocate
Donna Henry, Family Advocate
Christopher Hosman, Enrollment Specialist Email
Matthew Kardonsky, Health Services Specialist Email
Fabia Oliveira, Family Advocate
Alba Perez, Family Advocate Supervisor Email
Ginger Sanders, Parent/Resource Supervisor Email
Jasen Souza, Family Advocate
and over 45 Head Start Teachers and other staff.
