About Us

Governor Charlie Baker speaks at our annual Youth Mentoring Day.
MMP Board Member Sonja Kelly with 2019 KELLY Award winner, Nia-Mya James.

Based in Boston, Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) is fueling the movement to expand empowering youth-adult relationships  across Massachusetts. MMP serves more than 370 mentoring and youth development programs statewide supporting more than 50,000 youth in mentoring relationships. We assess programmatic needs and organizational capacity, as well as provide customized strategies that empower youth, families and communities.

Our program network includes schools, religious organizations, community non-profits, and workplaces serving youth 5 to 18-years-old. These institutions utilize a variety of program structures including one-to-one mentoring, group mentoring and e-mentoring.

History and Accomplishments

Mass Mentoring Partnership was founded in 1992 by the then-president of Boston College, J. Donald Monan, S.J., and the CEO of New England Telephone, Paul O'Brien, as Greater Boston One-to-One, the first local extension of the national organization One-to-One. Since then, MMP has had a rich history of catalytic involvement in the start-up and sustainability of high-quality mentoring programs.

Awards

  • 2019 Springfield School Volunteer Forward Fifty Honoree Award 
  • 2014 winner, Excellence in Communications award, Massachusetts Nonprofit Network
  • 2013 co-winner, Boston Business Journal Corporate Citizenship Summit Partner of the Year, for partnership with Bank of America
  • 2013 Charity Navigator 4-Star charity rating, the highest rating, illustrating sound fiscal management
  • 2013 GuideStar Exchange Silver Participant, one of the highest levels of membership, demonstrating a commitment to transparency
  • 2012 featured initiative for the Boston Business Journal Leaders in Diversity Event
  • 2010 finalist for Mass Nonprofit Network’s Annual Excellence in Advocacy Award
  • 2009 MENTOR Manza Excellence in Leadership Award in recognition of the highest-performing state mentoring partnership in the country
  • Selected in each consecutive year since 2007 by the Celtics as the sole community partner for the Season Ticket Exchange, providing more than $850,000 in tickets to mentoring matches statewide
  • Recipient of Eastern Bank’s inaugural “Community Quarterbacks” for outstanding leadership and commitment to the community
  • Winner of the New England Publicity Club’s top Bell Ringer Award for the Red Sox Mentoring Challenge

Our Mission

Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) is committed to ensuring that every young person in the state has access to quality mentoring relationships, regardless of who they are or where they live. MMP is a statewide organization that partners with corporate, public, and philanthropic entities to drive critical resources to a network of more than 370 mentoring and youth-serving organizations, representing more than 50,000 young people.

Our Strategic Partners

Meet Our Team

Executive
Lily E. Mendez
Title: President and CEO
Phone: 617.695.1200
Email: lmendez@massmentors.org
Department: Executive

Lily Mendez joined Mass Mentoring Partnership as President & CEO in 2018. She brings more than 20 years of senior leadership experience, including in government, education, philanthropy and community services. She came to MMP from the American Red Cross of Massachusetts, where she served as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to her role at the Red Cross, she was the Executive Director of Alumni Relations at UMass Lowell. She also served in Governor Deval Patrick’s administration as a senior member of his staff and then as  Deputy Secretary of Transportation. From 2000 - 2007, she served as Program Director and then as Executive Director of the Access Strategies Fund, a family foundation that distributes annual grants to nonprofit organizations serving underserved communities across Massachusetts.

 

In her current role, Lily oversees MMP’s mission to ensure that all young people have access to empowering youth-adult relationships and that the mentoring movement is diverse and reflective of the communities being served across Massachusetts.

 

Lily holds a BS in Communications from Emerson College and an MPA from the McCormack Institute at UMass Boston.

 
Communications & External Affairs
Amelia Aubourg
Title: Director of Communications and External Affairs
Phone: 617.695.2478
Email: aaubourg@massmentors.org
Department: External Affairs

Amelia Aubourg joins Mass Mentoring Partnership as the Director of Communications and External Affairs. She brings over 15 years of experience in philanthropy, strategic communications and branding to this role. She has worked in leadership and management roles in higher education and in the non-profit sector at the American Red Cross and Action for Boston Community Development. Her work is focused on elevating and enhancing brands that matter and helping them raise their profile and impact in gifts of time, talent and treasure. 

Amelia is a published children’s author and has won awards for her volunteer leadership roles and contributions from Boston Latin School Association and Fenway Community Development Corporation. She served as the Vice President of the Alumni Board at her alma mater Regis College, where she earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees in communications.

Anne Comber
Title:
Phone: 617.695.2479
Email: acomber@massmentors.org
Department: External Affairs

Anne Comber joined MMP in July 2019, bringing a wealth of experience in creating and implementing effective and strategic communications plans for non-profit organizations. In her current job, Anne manages traditional and social media and collaborates on marketing materials that increase public awareness of MMP’s mission and engages its stakeholders. Anne’s previous job was Associate Director of Friends of the Blue Hills. Anne has a BA degree in Public Policy from Duke University and a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Jackson Slaughter
Title: Americorps Ambassador of Mentoring Communications and Network Outreach Associate
Phone: 617.695.2442
Email: jslaughter@massmentors.org
Department: External Affairs

Jackson Slaughter joined Mass Mentoring Partnership in August as the Americorps Ambassador of Mentoring Communications and Network Outreach Associate. A 2019 graduate of BC, he double-majored in Finance and Political Science. He will work to engage partners in the network with match activities, create content for MMP’s social media platforms and build capacity through overseeing the MENTOR Connector.  He hopes to be able to explore the non-profit sector and define his passion before heading off to law school in 2020 where he hopes to pursue civil rights law. He enjoys writing and have been involved throughout both high school and college in newspaper as a reporter and in administrative capacities.   

Development
Meredith van der Walde
Title: Resource Development Fund Coordinator
Phone: 617.695.2440
Email: mvanderwalde@massmentors.org
Department: Development

Meredith van der Walde joined Mass Mentoring Partnership in May 2019 as the Resource Development Fund Coordinator. In her current role, Meredith helps facilitate and coordinate MMP’s fundraising efforts; she orchestrates special events, builds relationships with corporate sponsors and committee members, and helps manage grant deliverables and scholarship applications. Prior to joining MMP, Meredith worked in Alumni Affairs & Development at Harvard University and helped cultivate the Harvard Parent community through fundraising and engagement efforts. Meredith grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Brandeis University with a BA in Sociology and Psychology.

Government Affairs and Public Policy
Chelsea Aquino
Title: Senior Manager of Government Relations & Public Policy
Phone: 617-695-2476
Email: caquino@massmentors.org
Department: Government Affairs and Public Policy

Chelsea Aquino joined Mass Mentoring Partnership in May of 2016. As the Senior Manager of Government Relations and Public Policy, she develops and manages MMP’s policy efforts and advocacy campaigns, maintains relationships with state and local agencies, and constructs approaches for driving public financial resources to the field. Prior to her work at MMP, Chelsea served as the Associate Director for the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus and was the former Finance Director for Boston City Councilor At-Large Ayanna Pressley’s ticket-topping 2011 and 2013 re-elections. A Cum Laude graduate of UMass Amherst with a BA in Political Science, Chelsea also received a Graduate Certificate from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy program at UMass Boston. Chelsea is also involved with Big Sister’s Big for a Day program and the New Frontier Network at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. 

Operations
Greg Smith
Title: Director of Operations
Phone: 617.695.2441
Email: gsmith@massmentors.org
Department: Operations

Greg joined MMP in 2015. As the Director of Operations, he provides oversight of financial processing and reporting and leads MMP's administrative functions including human resources, IT and office management.  Prior to joining MMP, he was a program manager at a cross-cultural consulting firm.  Originally from Delaware, Greg attended high school in Switzerland and received his BA in Economics from The University of Vermont.

Olivia Taylor
Title: Administrative Assistant
Phone: 617.695.2477
Email: otaylor@massmentors.org
Department: Operations

Olivia Taylor joined Mass Mentoring Partnership in November 2019 as the Administrative Assistant. Prior to coming to Mass Mentoring Partnership, she held the position of Social Innovation Lead with retailer Warby Parker. Olivia enjoys giving back and was a mentor and executive board member in Strong Women Strong Girls at the college chapter level while at UMASS Boston. She also worked as the fundraising manager for Ruff Tales Rescue, where she currently crafts monthly newsletters as a volunteer. She holds a Communication and Public Policy degree from UMASS Boston, and earned a Grant Writing Certificate from the UMASS Boston CAPS program. Olivia is a native of Franklin, MA and a Young Philanthropist Fellow with The Philanthropy Connection, acting as a grantee liaison.

Program Services
Beth Fraster
Title: Vice President & Chief Program Officer
Phone: 617.695.2431
Email: bfraster@massmentors.org
Department: Program Services
Beth joined MMP in 2014, and has more than 25 years of experience leading, evaluating, and managing youth development programs. Beth has provided training and technical assistance to behavioral health programs throughout Massachusetts and across the country while also providing consultant services to federal agencies. Beth leads the Program Services team to promote the most effective and high-quality standards in all aspects of mentoring, and the development of sound and sustainable organizations. She earned a B.S. in psychology from the University of Massachusetts and an MSW from Boston University.
Janeen Smith
Title: Senior Manager of Program Services
Phone: 617.695.2436
Email: jsmith@massmentors.org
Department: Program Services

Janeen Smith joined MMP in March 2015 as a manager of training and technical assistance. In her role, she builds the capacity of youth mentoring and other youth-serving programs across the state.  She gained experience in youth development and program management during her time as an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow and most recently worked in adult programming at YWCA Boston.  A New Jersey native, Janeen earned her BA from Smith College and an MBA in Nonprofit Management from the Heller School at Brandeis University.

 

Melany Mendoza
Title: Manager of Targeted Communities, Western MA
Phone: 413-262-1227
Email: mmendoza@massmentors.org
Department: Program Services

Melany joined Mass Mentoring Partnership in April 2016 as a Manager of Targeted Communities with a focus on Western Massachusetts. Melany has 15 years of experience leading and supporting after school programs.  Melany has also provided training and support to youth development programs in Western Mass. In her role, her main focus is building relationships and mobilizing resources that raise the profile of empowering youth-adult relationships across Massachusetts.  A native of Puerto Rico,  Melany graduated with a BA from the University of Puerto Rico and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovative Practices from Bay Path University.

Cameron Fear
Title: Manager of Training and Technical Assistance
Phone: 617.695.2439
Email: cfear@massmentors.org
Department: Program Services

Cameron Fear joined MMP in August 2017 as a Manager of Training and Technical Assistance. In his role, he builds the capacity of youth mentoring and other youth-serving programs across the state. Since the time he was a youth in Colorado, Cam has been passionate about growing youth voice in his communities. For the past two years, he has worked to empower young people across the Commonwealth. Cam has a bachelor's degree in Sociology from Smith College.

Melyna Santos
Title: Americorps Ambassdor of Mentoring QBM Associate
Phone: 617.695.2438
Email: msantos@massmentors.org
Department: Program Services

Melyna Santos joined our Program Services team as the Americorps Ambassador of Mentoring QBM Associate in July 2019.  She will be helping to oversee our Quality Based Mentoring partners and build awareness and capacity throughout the year. She joins us having worked at Boston University for their Social Work School Mentor Lab where she worked on a ten-week project engaging mentoring programs on their perceptions on QMS, a new evaluation system. She is a graduate of BU holding an undergraduate degree in neuroscience.

Miguel Torres
Title: Manager of Community Engagement
Phone: 617.695.2471
Email: mtorres@massmentors.org
Department: Program Services

Miguel joined Mass Mentors Partnership in December 2019 as Manager of Community Engagement, with a focus on Boston, My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, and its targeted communities.  Miguel joins us following his work as a program coordinator for the City of Somerville.  In his role, his main focus is building relationships and mobilizing resources that raise the profile of empowering youth-adult relationships across Massachusetts, along with working in conjunction with M.B.K. stakeholders.  Miguel is a graduate of Boston University with a B.A. in Science.

Board Members

Chair: George Neble, Retired from EY
Vice-Chair: Mark Eldridge, ALKU
Treasurer: Joshua B. Franklin, Crystal Financial LLC
Clerk: Ann Burke, Economic Development Council of Western MA
 
Co-founder & Lifetime Ex-Officio: Paul C. O’Brien, The O’Brien Group (co-founder)
 
Directors:
Colin Burch, Boston Red Sox
Tom Caron, New England Sports Network
Jacqui Conrad, Cambridge College
Paul Cronin, Santander
John Griffin, State Street Corporation
Sonja Kelly, The Kelly Family Foundation
Deb Lawrence, Bank of America
John Mahoney, Staples (retired)
Steve Powell
Phillip Roshak, Ernst & Young
Yves Salomon-Fernandez, Ph.D., Greenfield Community College
Nicole Sobel, Martignetti Companies
Brian Sullivan, Commonwealth Financial Network
Warren Zola, Boston College Chief Executives Club
 
Past Chairs:
Jim Connolly, National Bank Holdings Corp
Edmund F. Kelly, Liberty Mutual Group
Regina M. Pisa, Goodwin Procter
 
Co-Founder:
Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J., Boston College

Program Leadership Council

Pamela-Headshot_thumb.png

Chair: Pamela Civins, Boston Partners in Education 

Deborah Ansourlian, Girls Inc. -- Lynn
Denise Cogman, Springfield School Volunteers
Tracey Crago, Falmouth Volunteers in Public Schools
Wendy Foster, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay 
Dani Letourneau-Therrien, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County
Harvey Lowell, Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters
Rebecca Mooney, Melrose Alliance Against Violence
Deb Re, Big Sister Association of Greater Boston
Vicente Sanabria, LUK Mentoring
Regina Snowden, Partners for Youth with Disabilities
Elizabeth Sweeney, Family Services of Merrimack Valley
Colby Swettberg, Silver Lining Mentoring

Jobs at MMP

Title Posted Date
AmeriCorps Ambassadors of Mentoring Program Manager Friday, October 11, 2019
Director of Development Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Community Engagement Associate (AmeriCorps) Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Jobs in the Mentoring Field

Job Title Organization Name Posted Date
Coordinator Family Services of Merrimack Valley Friday, October 18, 2019
Access, Success & Career Counselors Bottom Line Friday, March 16, 2018