L’Arche Boston North Board of Directors

L’Arche Boston North is a 501c3 nonprofit organizations and is governed by a Board of Directors.  The Board oversees legal and financial management of the organization.   We are always seeking community members from a variety of professions who are interested in sharing their time, talent and experience.   Please contact Jennifer Matthews, Executive Director of L’Arche Boston North if you are interested in becoming part of our board: office@larchebostonnorth.org

Our current Board of Directors consists of local community/business leaders. The Board is looking to increase funding, recruit volunteers, and improve the quality of life for all L’Arche Boston North residents.

L’Arche Boston North’s Current Board Of Directors:

  • Bill Keating, Chairman of the Board of Directors

Bill joined the L’Arche Board in April of 2018 and hopes to add to its strategic and financial oversight. He is the Chief Financial Officer for the Nexxus Group located in Beverly, MA. He served in the same capacity for Micropore, Inc. of Elkton, MD. He was previously a member of the finance faculty at Bentley University; served in a number of roles at Polaroid Corporation where he helped carve out Polaroid’s R&D Group to form ZINK management. Bill holds a BS in Finance and a PhD in Economics from Arizona State University and a CPA (MA). He enjoys golf and reading and is actively involved in the Special Needs Community. He and his wife Christy have three adult daughters ( Sarah, Emily and Julia).

  • Christine Harrington, Vice President

Just after college graduation unsure of a career path, I was hired to be part of a pilot project in New Hampshire. As a resident adviser, it was my great good fortune to assist folks leaving Laconia State School and Training Center to embrace life in their home communities. That experience profoundly influenced me personally and professionally and shaped the rest of my life. The people I met there, including my dear friend and teacher, Shelley Bell, have sustained and motivated me for many years. For more than three decades I was employed as a human service worker by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Over the years serving on several nonprofit boards, earning a Master’s degree, being a volunteer guardian for two folks needing someone in their corner, and family life have kept me busy. As a board member I look forward to my time with L’Arche being both fruitful and as opportunity to be part of people creating and living meaningful rich lives.

  • Joselyne Nkogo, Secretary

Dr. Joselyne Chenane Nkogo, a native of Kenya, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Dr. Nkogo earned her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska, Omaha in 2018. Additionally, she holds a Master’s degree in criminal justice from the State University of New York, college at Buffalo and a Bachelor’s degree in Education (with a specialization in English and Literature) from Egerton University in Kenya. Her research interests include immigration, police-citizen relations, police legitimacy, consequences of contact with the criminal justice system, race and justice, and neighborhood contexts and crime. Dr. Nkogo enjoys talking to people about finding and nurturing their God given purposes, reading, meeting new people/cultures, and mentoring women and young people.

Joselyne joined the L’Arche Board in 2020.

  • Lynette McCrae, Treasurer

Lynette joined the L’Arche Board in May 2018 after learning about L’Arche and its mission. Lynette has a son with a disability and has spent many years advocating for him and planning for his future. She is honored to bring this experience and knowledge with her to the board. Lynette is a first-generation college graduate who obtained her Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in Business Administration. After working for a couple of years she realized that she was not done with her educational goals. She went back to school and obtained her Master’s degree in Management. She is still not sure that she has completed her educational goals but further studies will be something for the future as her main desire for the present is to spend as much time with her husband and three sons as possible. She currently works as an admissions counselor at Cambridge College and also serves as on the Board of the Lawrence Family Development Charter School. 

  • Melissa Seavey, Director

Melissa joined the L’Arche Board in Summer 2021. Melissa has been a friend of community for many years, getting to know us through our involvement in various capacities throughout the local community. Melissa has worked at The Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce for several years. She was the catalyst for our Longest Table partnership with The Haverhill Chamber and has co-chaired the Longest Table Planning Committee for two years. Melissa is excited to serve as an ambassador for L’Arche and to help cultivate relationships within her vast Haverhill network that will further our mission and impact in the greater community! after learning about L’Arche and its mission.

  • Denis Boucher, Director

Denis joined the L’Arche Board in October 2021, having gotten to know the community through the Haverhill Farmer’s Market and the Homemade Hummus Culinary Program. Denis is the Program Manager for Culinary Arts and Hospitality at Northern Essex Community College. He has over 40 years of experience in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management and 10 years of progressive experience in Hospitality/Culinary Education.

  • Michael Joy, Director

Michael Joy joined the L’Arche Board in January 2022. He has served on the Longest Table Planning Committee and has been a friend of community. Michael has been a realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty in Haverhill for nine years. He is also a bartender at Olivia’s in Haverhill, a Licensed Guidance Counselor, and has worked for Opportunity Works as a Job Developer to help adults with disabilities find work opportunities and training. Michael and his wife Jackie have two children, Mikey and Laura, and share their home with a puggle.

  • Grace Agolia, Director

Grace joined the L’Arche Boston North Board in Fall 2022. She is a PhD-STL student in Systematic Theology at Boston College. She first encountered L’Arche in college at the University of Notre Dame, when she spent a summer as a volunteer at the Greater Washington, D.C. community. She was introduced to the Boston North community during her master’s at BC, and then before her doctoral work, she spent a year as an assistant in the Daybreak community in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Her L’Arche experiences and friendships have been deeply formative for her studies and spiritual life.