Dr. Alia Crocker is an Associate Professor of Strategy in the management division at Babson College. She has been a longtime “Friend of Alray,” giving counsel to our organization on strategies for growth. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Management from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In addition, she has an MA degree from Boston University and a BS degree from Bentley University. Alia leads our strategic planning process and is co-chair of the Administration Committee.

Heidi Guarino has spent her entire professional career in public education, first as an education reporter for local and national media outlets, and later as a senior leader in the development and communication of education policy in MA. She is the founder and principal of EdLab Strategies, where she works with clients in the K12 education sector to tell the stories of what works, ask the right questions to understand what doesn’t, and push for policies, investments and action to establish the meaningful, lasting improvements in our schools that all children deserve. Heidi earned her Bachelor’s degree from Emerson College and lives with her family in Salem, MA.

Teresa Pina is an Alray Scholar graduate. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UMass Boston. She is a licensed Registered Nurse with an Associate’s degree in Nursing from Bunker Hill Community College. She has worked a non-clinical position in the Emergency Department at Mass General Hospital and is currently a nurse at Tufts Medical Center and Mass General Brigham. Teresa is the Vice Chair of the Applications Committee.

Neil Swidey founded the Alray Scholars Program with the help of friends and a shared determination to give promising students a second chance at college. He is a professor of the practice and director of the journalism program at Brandeis University and editor-at-large of the Boston Globe Magazine. He is also the bestselling author of Trapped Under the Sea and The Assist and a coauthor of Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy. His writing has been featured in The Best American Science Writing, The Best American Crime Writing, and The Best American Political Writing. (He has trouble sticking with a beat.) A graduate of Tufts University, Neil is President of our organization.

A native of Belize and a first-generation college graduate, Hermese has firsthand experience with the game changing power of education and the need for education equity. As Executive Director of Summer Search Boston, Hermese has supported staff and hundreds of young people expand what they believe is possible for themselves, their families, and their communities. During the warmer months, Hermese enjoys daily 5Ks while listening to Beyoncé and Whitney Houston’s Greatest Hits! She also loves to travel and has traveled to 6 continents. 1 more to go!

Annalee Mendez is a graduate of Salem State University and a former Boston Public School student. With a career background in higher education, she is passionate about supporting students in their academic journey and community engagement. She is currently the Senior Coordinator for the Community Affairs team at Vertex Pharmaceuticals where she is responsible for all external sponsorships and the new executive co-chair for their VIBE ERN. Outside of work, Annalee enjoys reading and traveling. She is also an advocate for volunteering and is currently a volunteer mentor for Boston Partners in Education. Annalee is our Net Impact Board Fellow for 2023-24.

Lisa, an Alray founding board member, is a trauma specialist and Boston-based writer who has worked internationally, including in Ireland, Israel and Palestine. She is a special clinical consultant to the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, a Boston nonprofit serving survivors of victims of homicide. Following the Boston Marathon Bombing, she worked with the Israel Trauma Coalition to provide services to survivors and bystanders.

Lisa spent her formative young adult years living at Kibbutz Ketura, a farm collective on Israel’s southern tip, and she earned her undergraduate degree in Hebrew Literature from the Tel-Aviv Teacher’s Seminary.

In 1996, she founded the Arts Incentives Program, a Greater Boston nonprofit was recognized by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for its success in reducing disparities in minority contact in the juvenile justice system.

Lisa’s current book, Bulletproof Therapist, is drawn from her work dealing with trauma in Boston, Israel/Palestine, and Northern Ireland. Lisa leverages her deep expertise in counseling and mental health to provide pro bono guidance to the Alray program and our scholars.

Thaddeus Miles, an Alray founding board member and recipient of the Alray Community Leadership Award, is an author, award-winning photographer, and force for good in Greater Boston. He is the creator of the “BlackJoy Project,” which recently published To My Kin, an anthology of youth stories and poetry. The longtime director of Community Services at MassHousing, Thaddeus founded several nonprofits, including HoodFit, a cross-collaborative movement to amplify the positive attributes in communities of color. Hoodfit started Roxbury’s first 5k race, now an annual event in partnership with the Boston Athletic Association and the Dimmock Center.

A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Thaddeus has done work with Harvard Law School and MIT. He is co-chair of My Brother’s Keeper Boston and Chair of Becoming a Man (BAM), Boston and was named one of Boston’s Most Influential People of Color. He received the Embracing the Legacy Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Action Corp. and the Director’s Community Leadership Award from the FBI, among other honors. A devoted dad and grandfather, he remains a trusted and active senior advisor to the Alray team.

Jack O’Brien, an Alray founding board member and recipient of the Alray Community Leadership Award, is a longtime teacher, coach and mentor. In a decade of coaching basketball at Charlestown High School, he led his teams to a record-breaking five state championships in six years. More important, during his tenure, nearly every one of his players who stayed with the Charletown program through his senior year went on to college. A graduate of Salem State College and a longtime educator in Boston Public Schools, Jack previously coached in Salem and his hometown of Medford. Irish America Magazine named him one of its Top 100 Irish-Americans. A champion mentor, Jack helped lead the Alray mentoring program and remains an active and trusted senior advisor.