About THRIVE
About THRIVE Communities
MISSION
THRIVE empowers communities to welcome and support our neighbors
transitioning from incarceration.
VISION
THRIVE envisions a world where wholeness and justice replace cycles
of incarceration and oppression—a world where communities THRIVE
Meet our Founders, Staff and Board of Directors
Kim Yeasir, MSW
Co-Founder &
Chief Empowerment Officer
A macro-practice social worker driven by a sincere belief in the possibility of a world in which people thrive together. Inspired after volunteering with the Alternatives to Violence Project, Kim pursues opportunities to support, heal, and bridge the gaps between communities and returning citizens in real and lasting ways.
George Halfkenny
Co-Founder
A social justice advocate, restorative justice circle keeper, and returning citizen, George has experienced the school to prison pipeline first hand. George hopes to focus his life’s work on dismantling the school to prison pipeline and organizing communities around issues of mass incarceration. In addition to all of this, he aspires to reduce recidivism by providing communities with opportunities to repair harm and proactively support returning members by way of restorative justice circles.
Lisa A. Fagerstrom
Volunteer Trainer
Lisa brings passion and experience to THRIVE with over twenty years of experience in Organizational Development, she is a Principal Consultant at OPTi—a consulting and training firm specializing in diversity and inclusion and its role in organizational effectiveness. Additionally, Lisa is certified in Spiritual Direction and has over 25 years experience in the field of addiction recovery.
Louie Diaz
Board Member
Navigator/Reentry, Middlesex Sheriff’s Department & Featured cast member in the documentary Beyond the Wall
Thula Sibanda, PhD
President
Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative Reform Specialist, Massachusetts Department of Youth Services
Charles Dickinson, MSMgmt
Board Member
Retired Manager & Consultant
Jessica Rubin-Wills, Esq.
Secretary & Treasurer
Staff Attorney,
Committee for Public Counsel Services, Children and Family Law Division
Boston, MA
Meet our Support Team
ACTIVE MEMBERS
All of our amazing CoSA Volunteers - You could be one too!
Professor Christopher Allen, PhD - CoSA Evaluation
Pam Andrews - Outreach & Events Planner
Audrey Bryant - Grants Director
Erica Sawyer - Marketing, PR, & Branding Coordinator
William Stockhecker - Technical Support
Mike Thomas - IT Specialist
Coral Trivedi - Special Project: Exploring Systems Efficiency in Reentry Planning
Marc Wennberg - CoSA Consultant
ALUMNI
Though they may have moved on, we honor the contributions of our numerous administrative volunteers. They helped build a strong foundation for the THRIVE community.
2018: Frankie Caraballo - Leadership Fellow & Community Organizer (Lawrence); Tara Desmarais - UMASS Lowell Practicum, Community Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator; Yael Rhodes - Brandies COEX Practicum, Research; Rafael Santana - Leadership Fellow & Community Organizer (Lowell)
2017: Franallen Acosta - Community Organizer (Lawrence); Suji Choe - Program & Development;
Connor Stuart - UMASS Independent Study; Evaluation and Community Organizing;
Shianne Sneider - UMASS Lowell Intern; Selin Tekin - Intern & Volunteer Coordinator
2016: Kelly Bradford - Marketing & Public Relations; Carly Denardis - Program Development;
Tugba Metinyurt - Program Development; Tricia Murphy - Program Development;
Joshua Stachowski - Grants Research; Mengmeng Yu - Community Outreach
CONTRIBUTORS
Ongoing: Generous community members, individuals just like you!
2018: Cummings Foundation, Episcopal City Mission - Urban Burgess Fund, Lenny Zakim Fund, Harvard Epworth United Methodist Church, H-EUMC United Methodist Women, Lexington UMC Social Justice Endowment Fund - United Methodist Foundation of New England, Shared Nation
2017: Cummings Foundation, Episcopal City Mission - Urban Burgess Fund, Lenny Zakim Fund,
First Congregational Church in Billerica, First Parish Unitarian Universalist Chelmsford,
Singing for Change, Harvard Epworth United Methodist Church,
H-EUMC United Methodist Women, Wesley Worcester United Methodist Church
2016: Entrepreneurship for All, Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, Lexington United Methodist Church Social Justice Endowment Fund, Sparkplug Foundation
THANK YOU!