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Leadership 

Board of Directors 

President

Gina Despres, MA

Retired educator

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Vice President

Marybeth Ferrarini, RN, JD, CPHRM

Southcoast Health

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Treasurer

Lissa Singer, APRN, MBA, CPC-I 

First Physician Corp

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Secretary

Kate C. Miller, MPP

Representative Antonio Cabral,

Massachusetts House of Representatives

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Members

Zachary Boyer

Coastline Elderly Services

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Michaela DeMattio, MA 

Balanced Learning Center

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April C. Funches

Taunton Diversity Network, Inc. 

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Darcy H. Lee

Samaritans Southcoast 

Ex Officio 

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Jocelyn M. Oliveira, CISR Elite, CPPL, CPIA

Partners Insurance Group LLC

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Anna Schierberl Scherr, PhD

UMass Dartmouth, Brown University

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Staff

Leadership Team

Darcy H. Lee - Executive Director

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Darcy H. Lee began her career at the John F. Kennedy Library and Foundation in Boston, going on to work as Press Aide to U. S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, after which she worked in fundraising and as a consultant for different organizations, including Clark University,  Orchard House - Home of the Alcotts, Pilgrim Hall Museum, and the Women's Fund of Southeastern Massachusetts, among others.  Read more...

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Rebecca Howard - Program Manager

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Rebecca Howard’s overall philosophy in operations is that the only way to improve the performance of the company is by nurturing the performance of its people.  She is trained and follows Six Sigma practices and strongly believes that success begins with training and development at every level.  Read more...

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Ramona Mello, LICSW - MSW Intern Field Supervisor

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Ramona Mello, LICSW, has taken the “independent” portion of her social work license seriously; after many years working in private mental health agencies, she more recently moved into self-employment.  Throughout her 25-year career, she has gained extensive knowledge and experience working with diverse populations in various settings.  Read more...

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Christine Rizza - Training & Development Director

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Christine Rizza, a lifelong resident of Southeastern Massachusetts, comes to Samaritans Southcoast from the Fall River YMCA, where she served as the Member Services Director and Livestrong Director, an intense program for cancer patients, as well as running the Diabetes Prevention Program and Dance program.   Read more...

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Natalie Schrager - Human Resources Director

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Natalie Schrager is an experienced human resources generalist with over a decade of experience.  She comes to Samaritans  Southcoast from Rave Mobile Safety, a software application company providing emergency alert systems, and previously worked at Advenir Living and South Florida Paper Products.  Read more...

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Anthony Shaw - Program Manager

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Anthony Shaw is based in Las Vegas but is originally from Los Angeles, CA.  For the past 21 years, Anthony has held various executive-level leadership roles within the contact center industry, including Director, Candidate Services, and Global Director of Contact Centers.  Read more...

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Amanda M. Souza, LICSW - Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Clinician

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Amanda M. Souza has fifteen years of experience in the social work/mental health field.  She has held a variety of roles throughout her professional career, including within a local social service agency as a case manager, mentor, therapeutic mentor, after-school daycare intake coordinator and site coordinator, and therapist...  Read more...

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