Board

Jeannie is an award-winning author of two novels, Eden and The Nine. After a career in finance, Jeannie became a writer and an active GrubStreet student. She currently splits her time between Boston and Westerly, RI. She is a nationally-ranked squash player who served as the first female board chair of US Squash, the sport’s century-old national governing body. During her tenure at US Squash, she oversaw sweeping governance changes and led the organization’s first strategic planning process, creating a platform for financial stability and increased fundraising. She is a volunteer squash coach at SquashBusters, an urban youth squash program located on the Northeastern campus. In addition to coaching there, she has co-chaired the organization’s major annual fundraiser numerous times. Jeannie loves adventure travel, especially with her husband, John, and their three grown children.

Under Eve’s (she/her/hers) leadership, GrubStreet has grown into a national literary powerhouse known for artistic excellence, working to democratize the publishing pipeline and program innovation. An active partner to the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, Eve was the driving force behind securing chapter 91 space in the Seaport to build a creative writing center. The Barr Foundation recently named her a 2019 Barr Fellow in recognition of her leadership. Having graduated from its inaugural class, Eve remains active with the National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program, a consortium of 200 of the world’s top cultural leaders, which addresses the critical issues that face the arts and cultural sector worldwide. Eve has presented on the future of publishing, what it takes to build a literary arts center, and the intersection of arts and civics at numerous local and national conferences. Her essays and op-eds on publishing, the role of creative writing centers and the importance of the narrative arts have appeared in The Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Cognoscenti, Writer's Digest and TinHouse. Eve serves on the Advisory Board of The Loop Lab, a new Cambridge-based nonprofit dedicated to increasing representation in the Media Arts. Eve worked as a literary agent at The Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency for five happy years where she developed, edited, and sold a wide variety of books to major publishers. Before starting GrubStreet, she attended Boston University’s Writing program on a teaching fellowship, farmed in Oregon, and ran an international bookstore in Prague.

Tina Cassidy is GBH’s Chief Marketing Officer, leading GBH’s marketing, communications and public relations efforts, which includes responsibility for local and national marketing, institutional branding, events strategy, creative and design services, station relations and audience and media research. Before joining GBH in 2019, Cassidy was the executive vice president and chief content officer at InkHouse, an innovative bi-coastal integrated digital marketing and public relations agency which she helped expand into new markets and service offerings. Prior to that she was a journalist with a wide range of experience as a reporter and editor, primarily at the Boston Globe. Cassidy is the author of several nonfiction books that focus on women and culture. Her latest is Mr. President How Long Must We Wait?: Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the Right to Vote. In addition, she is the author of Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born; and Jackie After O: One Remarkable Year When Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Defied Expectations and Rediscovered Her Dreams. She is on the board of The Conversation US, and was previously on the board of the New England Center for Investigative Reporting. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Northeastern University.

Literary Performer, actor & educator, Regie Gibson, has lectured & performed in the U.S., Cuba & Europe. Representing the U.S. in Italy, Regie competed for & received both the Absolute Poetry Award in Monfalcone & The Europa in Versi Award in LaGuardia di Como. He’s received a Mass Cultural Council Poetry Award, is a Brother Thomas Fellow & has received two Live Arts Boston Grants to develop his first play, The Juke: A Blues Bacchae. He has composed texts for The Boston City Singers, The Mystic Chorale and Boston’s Handel+Haydn Society. He performs regularly with Atlas Soul: a world music ensemble & Shakespeare to Hip-Hop: an education & performance program integrating classical & modern texts into English curriculums. He has served as a think-tank member & consultant for both the National Endowment for the Arts “How Art Works” initiative & for the “Mere Distinction of Color”, an exhibit at Montpelier, the historic home of President James Madison examining the legacy of slavery and the U.S. constitution. He is Poet-in-Residence of the Cary Memorial Library in Lexington & teaches for both Emerson College & Clark University.

Deborah Hughes (she/her/hers), M.Ed., President & CEO – has served the families of Brookview since 1991. This tenure demonstrates her allegiance to improving poor women’s circumstance and her passion for helping courageous moms lift their children out of homelessness. Brookview is highly successful and Deborah leads a team of creative and skilled professionals who make it possible for 92% of moms to maintain housing long-term and 88% of youth who participate in Brookview youth programs to graduate high school.   Her expertise is in taking an idea from start-up to full-scale venture. During her tenure, Brookview expanded into a multi-service agency providing affordable housing, training programs, and youth services to more than 350 women and children per year. Brookview will ensure more moms and kids succeed and thrive when the agency breaks ground fall 2017 on a third affordable housing program with education, training and youth programs on-site. Under her leadership, Brookview is redefining what investing in moms and children signifies.   Ms. Hughes is Co-founder of the Jane Doe Safety Fund – a statewide advocacy organization for domestic violence programs in MA, and instrumental in development of the Roxbury Community College Foundation. She is a founding member of the Transition to Work Collaborative, Dorchester Women’s Safety Network, Independent Women’s Project, and Child Resource Collaborative. She also serves on the board of directors for Building Pathways Construction Preapprenticeship program  and Community Services Advisory Committee for MassHousing.   She is a recipient of the Pinnacle Award in Nonprofit Management from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and ‘Be the Change’ award from the Massachusetts Conference for Women.

Sharissa (she/her/hers) is currently at work on her Nebraska-based novel, And Then in Omaha. She graduated from GrubStreet’s Novel Incubator program in 2015 and blogs for Dead Darlings. She holds a BA in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale College and was previously a partner at Capital Z Investments, a New York-based private equity firm, where she focused on the firm’s hedge fund investment portfolio and served as a director of several portfolio companies. Prior to joining Capital Z as a founding member, Sharissa was an officer at Zurich Centre Investments, where she was responsible for evaluating and structuring private equity investments. Sharissa was also in the investment banking division at Morgan Stanley & Co. She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Fortune Magazine, and other publications. Additionally, she was profiled by the Omaha World Herald, and was named in Crain’s New York Business “40 under 40” list. Sharissa began her term as Treasurer this year, after serving on GrubStreet’s Board of Directors, including the Development Committee, for many years.

Pamela A. Mason (she/her/hers), EdD is a senior lecturer on education, the director of the Language and Literacy Master's program, a Co-Chair of the Literacy and Languages concentration, and the director of the Jeanne Chall Reading Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her professional and research interests encompass the role of culturally sustaining pedagogy in promoting literacy achievement, the interaction of text complexity and background knowledge, and the efficacy of the roles of Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches. She has conducted school-wide literacy program implementation and evaluation, using qualitative and quantitative measures. Dr. Mason has extensive experience as a reading/language arts curriculum coordinator for several local school districts.   Dr. Mason has significant and effective elementary school principal experience serving in both urban and suburban districts in the Boston area. She collaborates with colleagues nationally and globally on preparing reading specialist teachers and literacy coaches, developing the capacity of school leaders as literacy advocates, and evaluating school-wide literacy programs.   Dr. Mason is active in the International Literacy Association (formerly the International Reading Association), serving on the Assessment Task Force. Dr. Mason is also an active member of the Literacy Research Association and serves on the Reading Standing Committee of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. She is a past president of the Massachusetts Association of College and University Reading Educators and the Massachusetts Reading Association. Dr. Mason is a member of the Board of Trustees for Cathedral High School (Boston), GrubStreet (a creative writing center), and the WGBH Educational Foundation, as a trustee emerita.

Deborah L. Plummer, PhD is a psychologist, university professor, diversity thought leader, author, and speaker on topics central to racial equality, inclusion, and mutual respect.   Her groundbreaking and timely book, Some of My Friends Are…The Daunting Challenges and Untapped Benefits of Cross Racial Friendships (Beacon Press) examines contemporary race relations through the lens of cross-racial friendships, noting how they work and fail within American society.  She is editor of the Handbook of Diversity Management (Rowman and Littlefield) and author of Advancing Inclusion: A Guide for Effective Diversity Council and Employee Resource Group Membership (Half Dozen Publications), and award-winning Racing Across the Lines: Changing Race Relations through Friendships (Pilgrim Press).   She has written for Diversity Executive, Boston Globe Magazine, authored several book chapters and published numerous journal articles for the professional academic community. Her essay “The Girl from the Ghetto” is published in the anthology All of the Women in My Family Sing: Women Write the World, Essays on Equality, Justice and Freedom (NBTT Press). Her work has been featured in several media outlets and she served for many years as an expert commentator on television and radio. Debbie was named by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the Top 15 Chief Diversity Officers to Know.    Debbie is most passionate about creating inclusive organizations and building peaceful communities. Her blog, Getting to We, facilitates forward-thinking and enlightened conversations on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Kathy (she/her/hers) is the author of the novel Leaving Coy’s Hill (Pegasus Books, 2021), Fill the Sky (SixOneSeven Books, 2016) and a family memoir, Finding Home. She is also the proud owner of the Hemingway House writing retreat in Southern Massachusetts. Prior to her writing life, she co-founded Circles, a full-service concierge and loyalty marketing company headquartered in Boston, and served as President and then CEO from 1995-2009. She lives and writes in Cohasset with her husband, two sons, and black lab. In addition to serving as Board Chair, Kathy has been a long-time student at GrubStreet.

Marc Skvirsky is presently the Vice President for Special Initiatives at Facing History and Ourselves. For over three decades Marc was a member of the senior management team, overseeing all aspects of organizational management, growth, and strategy. He  joined Facing History and Ourselves 38 years ago, helping to develop it from a small educational nonprofit with a handful of staff to an international organization with 10 offices and partnerships around the globe. During his long tenure as CPO he directed all aspects of Facing History's program implementation in schools, districts, and educational networks, both in the U.S. and internationally. He was responsible for strategic planning; the ongoing professional development of Facing History's program staff focused on new scholarship, pedagogy, instructional technology, and educational trends; and the development and implementation of online learning. Marc developed content and outreach partnerships with filmmakers, authors, educational leaders, and scholars. He reviewed all Facing History publications and digital content, and designed Facing History-themed international study trips for stakeholders, including to South Africa, Eastern Europe, Northern Ireland, and the American South. He speaks at conferences and think tanks on topics ranging from school reform and civic education, to Holocaust and genocide studies, and social-emotional learning.   Before joining Facing History, Marc was a classroom teacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts, participating in the design team for an urban middle school magnet program, and teaching social studies and English. He received a B.A. in education and M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Sandra moved to Philadelphia when she was 6 years old and attended an all-girls private school through high school. She went onto study at the University of California, Berkeley where she received a B.A. in Asian Studies with a focus on Political Science and Chinese. She took a year off between her junior and senior years to study Chinese at Tung Hai University in Taichung, Taiwan. Upon graduating from UC Berkeley, Sandra was hired by Citibank’s Asia Pacific Group and completed Citibank’s executive training program. During her banking career, Sandra also worked for Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu, CoreStates in Philadelphia, and BancOne in Dallas and Boston. Sandra opened and managed CoreStates’ correspondent banking representative office in Mexico City for 3 years. While Sandra was never able to utilize her Chinese in the workplace, she did become fluent in Spanish while working and living in Mexico and uses it to this day. In January, 2016, Sandra rekindled a girlhood passion for writing, enrolling in the first of many creative writing classes at Grub Street in Boston. In June of 2018, she began a 2-year low residency MFA program in creative writing at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. Sandra is passionate about nature, animals, birds, and education, themes she hopes to weave into her writing. She is on the executive committee of WBUR’s new environmental vertical and is actively engaged in supporting Grub Street’s youth writing programs and new narrative arts center in the seaport.

Enrique is a Commissioner at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and has been in this position since the agency’s creation in 2012. He serves as the Treasurer of the Commission overseeing the overall financial operations of the agency and its licensees (casino and racing operators). Enrique has also been directly involved in the Research & Responsible Gaming initiatives at the Commission. Prior to the Commission, Enrique served in two state agencies: as the Executive Director of the Clean Water Trust, an infrastructure bank that provides low interest loans to cities and towns for water and sewer projects and as the Director of Quality Assurance at the School Building Authority, which provides grants for school construction and renovation. Enrique also spent six years as a consultant at Ernst & Young’s Real Estate Advisory Services group and additional four years as a construction business owner in Monterrey Mexico, where he was born, and where he graduated with a civil engineering degree from ITESM. Enrique came to the United States in 1995 and obtained an MBA from Yale University. Enrique enjoys cooking, meditating, and reading and lives with his wife and two children in Boston.