Board & Staff

President: John McDonough, Professor, Harvard School of Public Health
Secretary/Clerk: Catalina Montes, Retired Principal, Gardner Pilot Academy
Treasurer: Robert A. Angell III, President, Angell Ventures
Member: David S. Robinson, President, D.S. Robinson & Associates
Member: Debra Socia, President and CEO, The Enterprise Center

AIP’s founder and executive director, Bob has decades of experience in children’s mental health, with particular attention to troubled and delinquent youth. In the 1970s he founded and directed a private school and treatment center for emotionally disturbed and delinquent adolescents in Vermont and has worked as a consultant to private therapeutic day schools and hospitals. He has been on the faculty of Dartmouth College and Harvard Medical School.  Bob is editor of books on adolescent acculturation and identity development, including ones on African American, Latino, Asian American, Muslim, Mixed Race, and Native American adolescents. He began his career in education teaching high school English and special education. He has given many presentations, both locally and nationally, to promote more effective approaches to providing mental health services in schools.  He is a founding Governing Board member of the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School and a founding Steering Committee member of the Boston Full-service Schools Roundtable.

Lisa Baron is a Licensed Psychologist in Massachusetts and a Certified Health Services Provider.  She has 30 years of clinical, supervisory, and training experience in schools, outpatient and inpatient settings, and over 15 years of program administration experience in community mental health and non-profit organizations.  For the past 11 years, she has been the Director of Connecting With Care, a school/community partnership to place mental health clinicians full-time in the Boston Public Schools.  The program trains school-based clinicians in evidence-based treatments for trauma, including trauma-related anxiety. Lisa is the Project Director of AIP’s Center for Trauma Care in Schools, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in collaboration with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) to build a comprehensive, school-based system of care for children and youth who have been exposed to trauma.

Kevin has worked with AIP for 12 years.  He holds an MBA from Babson College and a BS-Finance from Stonehill College.  He has extensive experience with nonprofit organizations, and he previously worked as a Controller for construction companies.  Kevin’s position with AIP includes all facets of accounting, auditing, and grant management.

Sarah Clark is a passionate public health professional with a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Florida State University. With extensive experience as a research project coordinator in school mental health, she has contributed to both statewide and nationwide initiatives aimed at improving mental health resources and outcomes for school personnel, students, and families. Sarah is dedicated to educating communities about the vital importance of mental health well-being, advocating for a public health approach to mental health issues. Her commitment to fostering awareness and support for mental health reflects a deep belief that it is a fundamental aspect of public health.

Cindi Flores is a first generation Latinx American daughter of immigrants who journeyed to the U.S. from El Salvador and Honduras. As the Family Navigator for AIP’s SAMHSA/NCTSN supplement grant to provide mental health and support services to Unaccompanied Children (UCs), Cindi provides Extended Post Release Services, including culturally humble case management support to UCs and their sponsor families. Cindi is a licensed clinical social worker who has 5 years’ experience providing case management and/or mental health treatment in community health and mental health organizations, schools and hospital settings. She is deeply familiar with the acculturation stress and trauma that immigrant families experience, including support for food and housing insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cindi is a member of the Steering Committee of a local immigrant response network that works to
provide information, address immigration challenges, and build unity and community for newcomers who often feel like there is none.

Cindi is a 2010 graduate of Chelsea High School. She received her BS from Suffolk University in 2014, and her MSW from Salem State University in 2020.

Sherrie-Ann is a licensed clinical social worker and earned her MSW from Simmons College. She is the supervisor of the Multisystemic Therapy team [MST] and was one of the first clinicians hired in 2007 for DCF-MST Team. Sherrie-Ann has worked both as a clinician and supervisor in supporting families through goal oriented treatment to address youth anti-social and PSB behaviors.

Nechama Katz has over three decades of experience in writing, planning, and organizational development within the nonprofit and public sectors.  She specializes in program development and funds development—particularly grant writing—with a focus on increasing opportunities and social justice for low-income children and families. She has served as AIP’s grant writer since 2002. She also is a co-founder and the original Planning Coordinator for Connecting With Care, AIP’s school-based mental health partnership. Since 1994 she has been active in developing school-community partnerships, including generating millions of dollars in grant funding for children’s mental health services, out-of-school-time programming, academic supports, youth development, early childhood, and related efforts for a variety of schools and nonprofit community organizations.  Katz holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University and a Bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University.

James is a graduate of Boston University's MS-MBA program, concentrating in Public and Nonprofit Management. Before coming to AIP, James worked in a number of different mental health direct support positions in addition to his work in psychology research. He helps manage special initiatives and collaborations for AIP, as well as AIP's data collection and analysis efforts for program and policy improvement. James is also responsible for the upkeep of AIP's technology infrastructure, and the implementation of new technology projects to benefit staff and students alike.

Sarah is a licensed clinical social worker (LICSW) who is passionate about working with children and adolescents stricken by the challenges of everyday life and mental illness. Sarah has extensive experience working with children and their families surrounded by trauma, particularly within the school settings. For 7 years, she spent time working as an adjustment counselor at a Therapeutic Day School, aiming to support the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of the students while also serving as a support to the staff working within this challenging environment. Working at the therapeutic day school enhanced her passion for ensuring the education system is equipped with the proper supports for the mental health needs of children, their families, and school personnel. Sarah excitedly jumped at the opportunity to join AIP for their SELECT Schools grant to continue her desire in training and advocating for a more trauma informed environment within schools that emphasize the importance of SEL curriculum and clinical supports at all levels of the education system. Sarah is happy to be using her clinical skills of working with children with trauma and combined therapeutic techniques to help serve as the SELECT Schools project on-site coordinator as we promote innovation at an Elementary School level.

Alisa has been a dedicated member of the AIP team for more than a decade, first working as a counselor for AIP's school based Inclusion Day Program, and now as a key member of our Multisystemic Therapy team.

Paul received an MSW from Simmons College and has over 30 years of experience working with at-risk children and families in the Boston area.  For many years, he directed home-based therapy teams that worked with families involved with DCF and DMH.  Paul joined AIP in 1998 and for 18 years was the Director of the Inclusion Day Program at Washington Irving Middle School, a therapeutic day program that helped support Boston Public Schools students with serious emotional and behavioral challenges.  Currently, Paul is a Program Director at AIP’s SAMHSA-funded Center for Trauma Care in Schools, coordinating training in evidence-based practices to treat symptoms of traumatic stress in schools.

Meg holds an MSW from Boston College and has over 25 years of experience working with at-risk children, youth, and families in Boston. She has extensive experience working with troubled adolescents in the school setting. She has a background in providing mental health supports within full-service schools, through her previous positions as school-based clinician and supervisor in a number of full-service Boston Public Schools. Meg was the Community Learning Center Coordinator for AIP at the Irving School, responsible for overseeing all out-of-school time programming, and managing AIP’s social work intern program. Currently, she provides coordination of the Trauma-focused Intern Training Program, a workforce development initiative that is designed to provide specialized training and consultation to MSW and LMHC interns in providing trauma treatment services to students in school settings.