Meet The Raising Multicultural Kids Executive Board
Denise Barbosa Lane – Co-Founder/Executive Director – Denise began her career in management, with a BS from the University of Massachusetts at Boston in Management with a double concentration in Finance and Marketing. Denise also has an MBA from the Simmons School of Management. Denise has over 20 years of banking experience which culminated in the office of the CIO as a Strategic Business Consultant. Denise also served as a consultant for a medical software company on sales and service related matters. Denise manages the sales, contracts and implementation of all of RMK’s programing. She serves as Program Director for our school-based programs overseeing 20-25 part-time employees and interns. She is proud of her Cape Verdean descent and has three multicultural students attending Easton Public Schools.
Kelly Ann Lamb, M.A. – Co-Founder/President – Kelly began her career as a scientist studying Epigenetics, where she specialized in experimental design. In 2009, Kelly co-founded Ethnicity & Disease Community Empowerment Center working to address the healthcare gap in BIPOC and immigrant communities, designing patient education programs, clinical trials to improve patient outcomes, and cultural competency trainings for healthcare professionals. In 2012, she began working on resource access issues in the foster care system, eventually becoming an advocate and serving as Vice President of Massachusetts Alliance For Families. Kelly helped design and advocate for the Behavioral Health Partners Program, utilizing the skills and knowledge of experienced foster parents to help foster parents struggling to meet their child’s behavioral health needs. She also consults for the Department of Children and Families working to address systemic issues experienced by Foster Parents that ultimately harm the children in their care. In 2019, she co-founded RMK after her daughter experienced multiple racial incidents in Kindergarten. Kelly is responsible for resource and program development, custom designing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs for schools and other non-profits. Kelly’s amazing experience in advocacy and program development and design in multiple sectors has been a wonderful asset to the organization. Kelly has three multiracial students in Easton Public School.
Maria Monteiro – Vice President – Maria is a Senior Integration Analyst on the Interface Engineering Team at Boston Medical Center. She has a Bachelors in Biology with a Pre-Med concentration from Manhattanville College. Maria has been a member of RMK since inception and she has one multicultural student in Easton Public Schools.
Angela Clark – Treasurer – Angela is President of Diversity and Inclusion at Robinhood Investments. In her current role, she develops, manages and helps set the direction for DE&I processes across the enterprise, creating a culture of inclusion. Prior to joining Robinhood, Angela received her Bachelor of Arts from Boston College in 1996 and a Master of Science degree from Boston College in 1998. She also holds the FINRA Principal Series 7 and 63 licenses.
Jacqueline (Jackie) Grant – Secretary – Jackie has a BS in Business Management from Bentley University. She is a Client Accounting Manager at a law firm in Boston, where she has worked for 23 years. She has been a member of RMK since June 2020. Jackie and her husband have two multicultural students attending Easton Public Schools.
Leadership
Kessena Alcántara–Goncalves – Early Elementary Curriculum Director – Kessena is an educator with 12 years of experience in urban education. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Bridgewater State College and a Master’s Degree from Fitchburg State University in Curriculum and Teaching. She has dedicated her career in education towards establishing meaningful relationships with students and their families while promoting cultural sensitivity and awareness through teaching. Recently, Kessena obtained a certification through Lesley University in Family and Community Engagement in Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Education. She is passionate about working towards ensuring access to quality education and leadership opportunities that is equitable for all individuals. She enjoys traveling and learning about other cultures and has been a member of RMK since 2019. Kessena resides in Easton, Ma with her husband and two children who attend Easton Public Schools.
Lauren Robinson- Curriculum Specialist – Lauren spent 13 years as an educator and supported students who have a variety of needs and backgrounds, including Autism, ADD/ADHD and Dyslexia. She has M.A. in Special Education/Moderate Disabilities and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction served as the Director of Special Education for Pre K-12 for for a charter school in Boston for 3 years. She also is a parent of a child with special needs and utilizes her lived experiences to support other parents through the special education process. Lauren is a Curriculum Specialist for RMK and owns Mind Motives Consulting where she helps families navigate the special education system.
Lauren DeSousa – Youth Service Director – Lauren has her Bachelor and Masters Degree in Social Work from Bridgewater State University. She has experience working at Oliver Ames High School to provide students with individual and small group interventions. She worked in the Bridge Program supporting students who are transitioning back to school after having experienced mental health challenges or who were absent from school for long periods of time. She co-facilitated the Multicultural Club and Social Justice Open Forum. She is also a licensed collegiate coach and has created a school-based program to strengthen both physical and mental muscles of young leaders.
Imharia Obiagba – Membership Director – Imharia holds a Bachelors in Business Administration and a Masters of Science in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a Senior Financial Analyst at Johnson & Johnson. In her spare time, Imharia enjoys reading, traveling and exercising. She has been a member of RMK since inception and has three multicultural boys in Easton Public Schools.
Gabrielle Obusek – Communications Director – Gabbie is a media relations specialist at Catholic University of America. She holds a BS in public relations from St. John’s University. She began working with RMK in the summer of 2020 and has a passion for social justice. As a transracial adoptee, she’s also done work with the transracial adoptive community to help parents better understand the cultural needs of their children.
Adam Garner – Grant Writer – Adam graduated from Dean College in May 2021 with a B.A. in English. Growing up in a multicultural family, Adam has a great enthusiasm for learning about other cultures. This aligns perfectly with RMK’s mission and work. He is currently taking courses to learn Chinese. Adam’s passion for helping people and organizations tell compelling stories has helped RMK receive several grants from multiple local Cultural Councils and foundations.
Vanessa Fossouo – Partnership Coordinator – Vanessa has a BS in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and a Doctorate in Pharmacy from Northeastern University. She is a Clinical Pharmacist Specialist at the VA Boston Healthcare System in Brockton. Vanessa has been a member of RMK since inception and has served on the board. She currently serves as RMK’s representative on Easton’s Wings of Hope board, a grassroots non-profit working to prevent youth substance use through education, awareness, and policy change.
Theresa Moore – Curriculum Consultant Theresa is the President/Founder of T-Time Productions. T-Time develops and produces unique and diverse programming/content for various media platforms including television, film, online, mobile, tablets and gaming consoles. T-Time is currently publishing a digital curricula library focused on providing more diverse and inclusive demographic representations and learning styles in the educational resources/materials used in schools, classrooms and other educational environments across the country.
In addition to educational publishing, T-Time provides professional development services for teachers, schools, school districts, non-profits and other organizations with a focus on culturally relevant, inclusive and equitable pedagogies, practices, policies and curricula.
Moore is also a Visiting Professor of Diversity & Inclusion at Providence College, teaching in their MBA, Masters of Urban Education, Global Studies and School of Continuing Education programs and providing pedagogical and curricula training, coaching and support in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for the college’s faculty.
Community Education Leadership Team
Angela Clark – Angela Clark is a Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion at Robinhood Investments. In her current role, she develops, manages and helps set the direction for Diversity and Inclusion processes across the enterprise, creating a culture of inclusion. Prior to joining Robinhood, Angela received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College in 1996 and a Master of Science degree from Boston College in 1998. She also holds the FINRA Principal Series 7 and 63 licenses. Angela has three children and a fantastic husband. She spends her free time playing basketball with her children, as well as watching the Celtics and HGTV.
Dawn Weeks Perry – Dawn Perry, Esq., is the Vice President of Business and Deputy General Counsel for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Her responsibilities include oversight of lawyers and legal staff in connection with business transactions, financial investments, corporate records administration, intellectual property portfolio management, regulatory compliance (i.e., data utilization, marketing and advertising), and offering legal advice to various business units and senior executives within Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
Dawn supports her community as a member to few boards, such as the Massachusetts Board of Registration and Pharmacy, Boston Arts Academy Foundation Boards, and Bridgewater State University’s Ricciardi College of Business Advisory Board Member. A graduate of University of Massachusetts at Amherst, she received her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University School of Law and a Master of Business of Administration from Sawyer Business School – Suffolk University School of Business. Dawn, her husband Sedrick and two daughters reside in Easton MA.