September 28, 2022 Longtime Team Members Promoted Four of our dedicated team members — Marie Smith, Jesse Doran, Shané Lewis, and Mary Kate Sullivan — were recently promoted to new positions within the organization. The team at Friends-Boston is made up of a dedicated group of people who are always working to be there for our Achievers No Matter What. Four of those team members — Marie Smith, Jesse Doran, Shané Lewis, and Mary Kate Sullivan — were recently promoted to new positions within the organization. These new positions and our investment in our people will be essential to delivering on our Growth Plan. They took some time to reflect on their new roles and time at Friends-Boston. Marie Smith (at Friends-Boston since May 2014) Senior Director of Programs What are you most excited about in your new role? The ability to work more closely with families and build an even more intentional partnership with caregivers to push toward our mission, and provide easy access to much-deserved and necessary support and resources. What keeps you at Friends? Achievers and their families keep me here. I am grateful for their partnership in pushing our mission forward and I feel committed to continuing our partnership to achieve all the goals they have set for themselves and their families. What attracted you to work at Friends? Friends-Boston's values are values I carry in my personal life, so to be able to use my personal values to guide my professional work is a gift. Jesse Doran (at Friends-Boston since November 2014) Director of Program and Evaluation What are you most excited about in your new role? To be able to use my experience as a direct-service worker to represent the Achiever voice in the next couple of chapters in the story of Friends-Boston. What keeps you at Friends? The people — all roads lead to the Achievers, and being to be in service to such deserving youth while having the opportunity to collaborate and grow with my colleagues is my favorite part. The community we’ve been able to build with Achievers, families, and Friends-Boston staff is what keeps me around. What attracted you to work at Friends? The mission — everyone deserves many people in their life who can help guide them and shape them into the best versions of themselves. To be able to offer it to those who can benefit most from it was truly unique and inspiring opportunity. Shané Lewis (at Friends-Boston since January 2015) Assistant Director of Program - Adolescent What are you most excited about in your new role? Being able to create programing on a larger scale that will help with the success of our Adolescent Youth, while also seeing how I can creatively move our team and our Achievers forward. What keeps you at Friends? It’s one of the reasons I was attracted to being here in the beginning — the commitment of the organization to our Achievers. It’s also working with Achievers from all over the city, watching them learn, grow and become who they want to be has been really cool. What attracted you to work at Friends? What attracted me to friends many years ago when I was looking for an internship site was how involved a "Friend" was in a youth’s life, as well as getting a chance to serve a community where I was raised and grew up. Mary Kate Sullivan (at Friends-Boston since November 2015) Assistant Director of Program - Elementary What are you most excited about in your new role? Being a part of the growth of the Elementary team and continuing to support our onboarding efforts as we take on more Achievers, while also expanding our Mighty Readers program this year. What keeps you at Friends? The relationships I have with the Achievers and families. It is also exciting to be a part of an organization that continues to grow and expand over time. As a staff member, I have been able to grow professionally and personally through my work over the last seven years, which I am grateful for. What attracted you to work at Friends? I have always worked with youth in some capacity since I have been in high school, but the mission and the longevity of the relationships attracted me to work at Friends. To be able to be a part of the Achiever's lives for years and to be able to see the growth over time is unlike any other organization I have been a part of.