Board of Directors

Officers
Carmen Amaral, President

Cynthia Cummings, Vice President

Jennifer Clarke, Clerk

David Millett, Treasurer

Directors
Shawndrae Barreto, Chair, Events Committee

Melissa Costa, Chair, Governance Committee

Meg Steinberg, Chair, Grants Committee

Bettina Borders, Founder & Co-Chair, Engagement Committee

Cecilia Brito, Member at Large

Melissa Costa, Member at Large

Yvonne Drayton, Member at Large

Colleen Millet, Volunteer Coordinator

Jacqueline Ramos, Member at Large

Neal Weiss, Member at Large

Marcy Wintrub, Member at Large

Staff

Christine Monska (She/Her), Executive Director

cmonska@womensfundsouthcoast.org
(508) 219-6102

Christine is the Executive Director of the Women’s Fund SouthCoast in New Bedford where she increases opportunities for women and girls to become economically independent, access education, and advocate for solutions to issues in their community. She brings fifteen years of senior leadership experience in government, higher education, and nonprofit sectors where she has focused on advancing inclusive leadership for women, particularly those with marginalized identities. In addition to working internationally on gender justice issues, Christine worked across Massachusetts on various initiatives for women, girls and gender expansive people. In 2020 she was appointed to the MA Commission on the Status of Women by the Caucus of Women Legislators. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Commission and Chair of the state-wide Girls Empowerment and Leadership Initiative.

Prior to joining the Women’s Fund SouthCoast, Christine designed and led the Young Women’s Initiative, a policy advocacy and leadership development program for young women in Springfield which was a local implementation of a national program stemming from the White House Council on Women and Girls. Christine was also the District Director for former Senator Ben Downing where she also sat on the regional commission on the status of women and served as a Board Member for Berkshire County Action Council and Shout Out Loud, a small nonprofit addressing human trafficking. Most recently, Christine was Youth Leadership Programs Manager for The Clubhouse Network, a collaboration with the MIT Media Lab located in Roxbury, MA. In this role, she oversaw operations and managed grants focused on leadership development and advocacy training in communities that lack representation. Before that, Christine was Continuing Education Advisor at Bard Microcollege, the nation’s first college for low-income women who experienced disrupted education and Program Officer for The Women’s Fund of Western MA.

Christine holds a B.A. in Government from Smith College, a M.S. in Global Affairs with a concentration in International Law and Human Rights from New York University, and holds Certificates in Financial Accounting, Economics for Managers and Business Statistics from Harvard Business School, a Paralegal Certificate from Boston University as well as a Certificate in Transformative Leadership in Disruptive Times from George Washington University where she sits on the Advisory Council. Most recently, Christine joined the Harvard Business Review’s Advisory Council.

Jaliyah Gonsalves (She/Her), Executive Assistant

jgonsalves@womensfundsouthcoast.org
(508) 219-6102

Jaliyah is a lifelong resident of New Bedford, having attended Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School, where her career major was Media Technology. She continued her education at Suffolk University, graduating Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Media & Film and a Concentration in Production in 2022. In her creative work, Jaliyah has always been passionate about stories that help raise the voices of underrepresented groups. In 2023, she was an associate producer on the documentary film Roxbury. The film was created by Suffolk University’s College of Arts & Sciences Media Studies Department in partnership with Suffolk University Law School’s Housing Discrimination Testing Program (HDTP), and focused on residents of Roxbury, MA who have struggled to beat discriminatory housing policies.

Jaliyah joined the Women’s Fund in the fall of 2024. In her role as Executive Assistant, she helps manage administrative needs, bookkeeping, communications and volunteer management.

Todd Foy (He/Him), Operations Manager

tfoy@womensfundsouthcoast.org
(508) 219-6102

Todd came to the Women’s Fund SouthCoast as a volunteer in 2023 and joined as a part-time staff member in May 2024, helping to coordinate both the Mother’s Day 5k Road Race and the 2024 Grant Awards Ceremony. In his new role as Operations Manager, Todd will help improve our robust grantmaking process, oversee day-to-day systems at the Women’s Fund SouthCoast, and help increase community-driven engagement as well as fundraising.

Prior to his time at the Women’s Fund SouthCoast, Todd spent much of his career in direct service work with individuals struggling with addiction as well as treatment and prevention of HIV. Todd has held several roles in state and local government as well as various non-profits, where he managed diverse teams and grant funding portfolios totaling more than $2 million. A native of Western Massachusetts who lived in Boston for the last 11 years, Todd moved to New Bedford in July 2023 and is enjoying the new community he is discovering. In his spare time, Todd enjoys the roofdeck at Cisco New Bedford and running around Fort Taber with his rescue pup, Copper.

Sam Scovill (They/Them), Program Officer

sscovill@womensfundsouthcoast.org
(508) 219-6102

Sam Scovill is a recent graduate of the School of Sociology at University of Arizona where they earned their PhD and conducted research on young people’s political engagement. They earned their Bachelor’s degree in sociology and government from Smith College in 2015. Prior to coming to the Women’s Fund SouthCoast, Sam was also a Researcher at Rutgers University’s Education & Employment Research Center where they supported and managed a number of research projects on student decision-making, noncredit education, and the role of community colleges in regional economic development. They have been a volunteer on the WFSC grant writing and research committee since January 2024 where they have developed a passion for the mission and the work being done at the Women’s Fund. In their spare time, they enjoy gardening, cooking and baking, and going for walks around Buttonwood Park. They are a proud New Bedford resident and look forward to engaging with communities across the SouthCoast in their work at the Women’s Fund.

Lynn Murray(She/Her), Young Women’s Initiative Strategic Advisor

Lynn Murray has over 20 years of experience advancing social justice, equity, and inclusion across women’s organizations, nonprofits, and community initiatives. Her work focuses on empowering marginalized communities, particularly women and youth, and addressing systemic disparities in various sectors. Lynn’s commitment to justice began in women-centered spaces like the Cambridge Women’s Center, Women of Action, and the Boston Women’s Fund, where she supported grassroots advocacy led by women and gender-expansive people. Her work with the Black Women’s
Health Study at Boston University focused on addressing health disparities among Black women, while her involvement with Reflect and Strengthen empowered young, working-class women to engage in social justice organizing.

Expanding her work to other sectors, Lynn has played a pivotal role in youth empowerment through her leadership at The Clubhouse Network, where she led youth-led, adult-supported community organizing initiatives. She guided the organization in operationalizing its commitment to racial justice, equity, and inclusion, ensuring that youth voices are at the forefront of change. Additionally, Lynn’s role as a board member, and community organizer with the Dorchester Community Food Coop has strengthened her commitment to food justice, promoting equitable access to healthy, affordable food in underserved communities.

In her current role as Director of Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion, and Equity at The Trustees of Reservations, Lynn works to ensure that historically excluded communities can access public natural spaces, with a focus on closing the “nature gap” and fostering belonging in outdoor environments. She joined the Women’s Fund as a strategic advisor to the Young Women’s Initiative where she provides technical assistance to our community partner leading the Young Women’s Advisory Council and provides guidance to the organization as we design and launch this new initiative.

Lynn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Women and Gender Studies and has completed several leadership programs centered on racial equity and nonprofit management. She lives in Dorchester, MA, and remains deeply involved in the community.

Maelle Laurent (She/Her), Social Innovation Fellow

intern@womensfundsouthcoast.org

(508) 219-6102

Maelle Laurent is a UMass Dartmouth student, Class of 2025, majoring in Health & Society with a focus on Pre-Health. She is participating in the College of Social Innovation’s Semester of Impact program where she works with the Women’s Fund South Coast as a fellow contributing to initiatives that support women and girls in the community. Her work includes organizing historical records, updating the fund’s history webpage, and developing a presentation about the Fund’s social impact for the organization’s annual meeting in December 2024.