Our Executive Committee
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Bonnie Zahorik
President, Development Chair
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2018
Bonnie has over 30 years of experience working in financial services, with 22 years at Fidelity Investments in leadership positions in systems development, operations, CRM, marketing operations & analytics, and segment management. Bonnie brings her passion for social justice and equity, strategic thinking, and organization to our board. Bonnie is active in the Andover community, served for five years on the Town of Andover Finance Committee, and has three children who graduated from AHS.
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Susan Connolly
Vice President, Operations
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2010
Susan contributes over two decades of experience in consulting and technology executive leadership to her roles in the program and has been involved in all aspects of running this nonprofit. Following a shift from full-time paid employment, she has dedicated more than 13 years to voluntary service on the executive board, serving as both VP and President Emerita on a full-time or nearly full-time basis. Her experience with both startups and established organizations has informed her approach to nonprofit leadership. Working with startups provided her with insights into agility, innovation, and the importance of a lean approach to operations. Her tenure with established organizations imparted valuable lessons on scalability, structured processes, and the significance of organizational culture. With experiences from both ends of the organizational spectrum, she brings a balanced perspective of innovation and stability and has been instrumental in fostering growth while implementing best practices.
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Nancy Kendrick
Residence Life Chair
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2017
Nancy has been involved with Andover ABC both directly and indirectly for over 30 years beginning as a Host Family along with her husband and two children, in the 1990’s to Taide Argelia Byers Broadbelt. She initially joined the Board as Host Family Liaison in 2017 and served in that role for a number of years before becoming Chair of Residence Life in 2022. In addition to ABC, Nancy has been on the Board and Advisory Board of Family Services of Merrimack Valley for over 35 years. Nancy is a trained End-of-Life Doula and is the sole proprietor of Death Journey Guidance, a company offering a number of services related to planning and supporting individuals and families as they prepare for the end of life. She is also a Hospice Volunteer with Tufts Care at Home. Nancy’s previous experience is in Human Resources and Move Management.
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Allison Reilly
Vice President, Communications Chair
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2019
Allison is a marketing executive with over 25 years of communication strategy, branding, and messaging experience which she brings to her role as VP, Communications Chair. Allison also has strong past affiliations with the program. Her husband, Ian Dowe, is a graduate of A Better Chance of Andover (’84), and along with their three children, they were a host family for Justene Salomon (’10).
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Sandis Wright
Vice President, DEI & Belonging
(he/him/his)Board Member since 2020
Sandis is Managing Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and has 30 years of experience in health insurance with evolving leadership roles in operations, data, and technology. In his current position, he also helps create a culture of inclusion and belonging by volunteering with the diversity council. Sandis is highly active within Andover, serving as a member of the Andover School Committee, the Town of Andover Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Commission, and is on the board of Andover Parent to Parent. Since joining ABC, Sandis has supported several priorities, including DEI training, sponsorships, and community engagement. Sandis is also a host family of Mané Sakho (‘26) and Larissa Cardine (‘22). Sandis and his husband live in Andover with their two daughters.
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Monalisa Shroff
Treasurer
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2018
Monalisa has over 20 years of experience in strategy, financial planning & analysis, forecasting & budgeting, business analytics, accounting, and operations management. She is the CFO of Freight Farms, a Boston-based hydroponic growing company. Prior to Freight Farms, Monalisa worked as a financial executive for companies in several industries spanning e-commerce, consumer goods, publishing, financial services, energy conservation, and agricultural technology. As Treasurer over the past five years, Monalisa has helped streamline financial processes and build ABC's endowment fund for the program's long-term sustainability.
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Andrew Gribbel
Treasurer Elect, Finance and Investment Committees (he/him/his)
Board Member since 2022
Andy is a retired finance executive whose career spanned many investment roles. He brings a depth of financial acumen to the board serving on the Finance and Investment Committees. He is also on the Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue board and chairs the Investment Committee for the Town of Andover. Andy has lived in Andover for nearly 20 years and has been a long-time supporter of the A Better Chance of Andover program. Along with his wife and five children, they are currently a host family for Alice Segun-Oside (’24).
Our Board
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Carla Byers
BIO COMING
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Julie Ireland Childs
Development Committee
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2015
Julie has been an active volunteer and board member of the program for many years. Prior to joining the Board, Julie was an ABC volunteer offering her professional college counseling services to the Scholars and continued in this capacity for 11 years. Her board roles include co-chair for the 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2017, Vice President on the Executive Board, Chair of the 2021 Community Building Match Campaign, and Development Committee. She is currently establishing a Planned Giving Program.
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Eugenio Concepcion Jr
BIO COMING
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Katarina Curtin
BIO COMING
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Dianne Domenech-Burgos
Development Committee
(she/ella)Board Member since 2018
Dianne has almost 30 years of experience in education and currently works at Phillips Academy as the Chief of Staff and Assistant Head of School for Strategic Planning. Dianne brings her passion for diversity, equity and inclusion to the board as well as her love of working with youth. Dianne lives in Andover and is also a member of the Town of Andover Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee. She has helped with the ABC Oak & Iron event for the last three years as a member of the team.
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Kathie Eldridge
Admissions Committee
(she/her/hers)Board member since 2021
Kathie is a Vice President and founder of a specialized staffing and consulting services firm based in Andover. Kathie and her family are strong supporters and benefactors of many youth-serving non-profit organizations throughout Massachusetts. Kathie brings her expertise in managing a large company and serves on the admissions committee and as ABC’s college relationship liaison.
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Sheila Graham
Host Family Coordinator
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2020
Sheila has been involved with ABC since 2016 when her family had the privilege of being a host family for four years. Currently, Sheila serves as Host Family Coordinator. Active in the Andover community, she has served as the president of The Mother Connection and Andona and has been involved in the PTO at her children's school. Sheila has both an Analyst and an HR background. She lives in Andover and has three children.
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Rodney Johnson
Events Volunteer Chair
(he/him/his)Board Member since 2021
Rodney “RJ” works for a global experiential event agency as an Executive Director, Account Operations. He brings 25 years of event and marketing operations experience to the program leading many global event and a SF-based event that drew 140,000 attendees. He has the skills to envision large high-level marketing experiences and activations and lead large teams. RJ successfully executed the 2022 A Better Chance Gala and looks forward to using his experiences to help plan and execute additional events for the ABC organization. RJ and his husband live and work in Andover with their 11-year-old son.
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Lauren Jones
BIO COMING
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Nikelle King
Alumni Engagement Committee
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2021
Nikelle King is an accomplished 20+ year sales executive & tech evangelist. Currently, Nikelle is a Growth Leader with Google Cloud and leads innovation strategy plus growth and expansion efforts in global enterprise, helping to accelerate enterprise digital transformation. She is an ABC alum, Class of 1996, joined the Board in 2021, and currently serves on the Alumni Engagement Committee, working to create an active, successful alum framework and program. Nikelle has a passion for cultivating diversity, equity, and inclusion to help amplify the voices & experiences of African Americans in technology and is an advocate for Women in Technology.
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Gabrielle Hager Nossiff
President Emeritus, Communications Committee
(she/her/hers)BIO COMING
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Leanne Parziale
Assistant Treasurer
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2021
Leanne is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management in the Municipal Bond Research Department. She brings over 25 years of financial analysis experience to the program. Beyond her current role as the board’s Assistant Treasurer, she has guided ABC Andover scholars in searching for scholarship programs. She and her husband, Tony, live in Andover with their college-aged daughters.
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Claire Stahley
Admissions Committee
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2020
Claire has been an active volunteer at Andover ABC for 12 years. She currently serves on the board Admissions Team and is the Health and Wellness Coordinator and Head Chef at the ABC house. Claire has held many PTO positions at LLL Preschool, Shawsheen and Bancroft Elementary Schools, Doherty Middle School, and Andover High School. She has also served on boards for Family Services, Andover Coalition for Education, and the Andover Youth Foundation. After recognizing the extensive financial and social needs of low-income families in the area, Claire co-founded the Family to Family program in 1998 and continues to be actively involved today. In addition to her community leadership initiatives, Claire is a trained Merrimack Valley Hospice volunteer and Trauma Intervention Program volunteer providing emotional support to victims and their families in the first few hours following a tragedy. Claire and her husband have raised five children and have lived in Andover for 31 years.
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Gloria Rosario Wallace
BIO COMING
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Delia Vallejo Welch
Academics Chair
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2022
Delia is a marketing executive at software company, Boomi. She has over 25 years of experience in marketing and strategy, and she holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Delia first joined A Better Chance Andover as a Host Family to Abby Shugert ('21) from 2017-2021 and then became an Academic Advisor to Janay Cox ('25) before joining the Board of ABC. She lives in Andover with her husband and two children.
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Beth Winkowski
Academic Advising Committee
(she/her/hers)Board Member since 2020
Beth is the founder and principal of Winkowski Public Relations (WPR), a public relations consultancy representing venture capital-backed technology companies. Beth first joined A Better Chance Andover as a volunteer accompanying scholars on college visits, then joined the board as the academic advisor for Kijari Boyd (‘22), and more recently served as co-chair of the Academic Advising Committee. Previously, Beth was a Head’s Advisory Council member and a parent admissions ambassador at Lawrence Academy.