Staff

Colby Berger, Ed.M, LCSW

Executive Director
(617) 224-1305

Colby joined AFC Mentoring in July 2009. As a former educator, Colby earned a Master's Degree in Education from Harvard University, and later turned her focus to child welfare and social services earning a Master’s degree in Social Work from the Simmons School of Social Work. Colby came to AFC after working at The Home for Little Wanderers for seven years where she opened and oversaw a group home for LGBTQ teenagers, did clinical work in adoption and family stabilization team services, facilitated support groups for foster and adoptive families, and provided training and consultation nationwide on sexual orientation and gender identity issues.

Melissa Chu

Program Supervisor
(617) 224-1301

Melissa has a B.A. from Wellesley College, was a one-to-one mentor for three years, and has been working at AFC Mentoring since 2006. She works with programming staff to train, match, and support mentors and mentees; continuously improve programming; evaluate program performance; and partner with outside organizations. She has recently returned to school part-time to begin work on her Masters in Social Work at Simmons College.

Jill Rowell

Development & Operations Manager
(617) 209-5307

Jill joined AFC Mentoring in May 2011.  A native of upstate New York, Jill specializes in Nonprofit Capacity Building which includes organizational development,program strategy, and financial growth.  Prior to joining AFC Jill was the acting Chief of Staff of the Rochester/Geneses Valley Foodbank which also included management and oversight of a hydroponic vegetable farm and full service kitchen that provided more than 2,300 fresh, from scratch, meals every day for at-risk children.  Jill holds a BA degree from Canisius College and has executed three major nonprofit capital campaign projects between Buffalo and Rochester that have raised in excess of $45 million dollars. 

Jill’s is passionate about nurturing and cultivating the entrepreneurial spirit. She has assisted and participated in several small business development projects and hopes to one day create a fully sustainable agricultural education facility; giving opportunity to youth and helping them to realize and reach their true potential.  

Kim Sims

Program Coordinator
(617) 224-1303

Kim joined AFC in July 2008. Prior to that she trained and worked with teens on bridging the gap between youth and the police for 3.5 years at Children’s Services of Roxbury, Inc.’s Youth and Police in Partnership. She is currently attending Bunker Hill Community College for an Associates Degree in Nursing and recently graduated with a Certificate in Early Childhood Development.

Alaina MalpereAlaina

Match Support Specialist & Social Work Intern
(617) 224-1102

Alaina joined AFC Mentoring in September 2010 as an intern from the Masters in Social Work Program at Simmons College. Alaina comes to AFC after working at St. Mary’s Home in Dorchester, MA serving pregnant and parenting teens. She now works part-time for Crittenton Women’s Union as a Case Manager in the Youth GED program and is currently serving as the Support Specialist at AFC working with older youth who are transitioning into adulthood.

Tyler BerresTyler

Recruitment & Volunteer Coordinator (AmeriCorps*VISTA)
(617) 224-1302

Tyler joined AFC in August of 2010. He received his BS in Outdoor Education from the University of Minnesota in 2009 after completing an internship with the non-profit Wilderness Inquiry. He also completed a semester specifically for educators with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). His previous non-profit experience comes from working with The Youth Farm and Market Project.

Ellen ThomasEllen

Development Coordinator (AmeriCorps*VISTA)
(617) 778-1312

Ellen joined AFC in August 2010 through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. She earned a BA from the University of Rochester with majors in History and Political Science. She has experience as an intern at a national nonprofit organization and is excited to join the AFC development team. She is from St. Louis, MO.

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