Catherine co-founded LightHouse with Josiah S. Litant and they led the organization together for three years. In 2018 Josiah relocated and Catherine stepped up to the role of Executive Director.
Catherine has been a driver in the leading edge of education for more than two decades. Before LightHouse she spent 12 years at North Star: Self-Directed Learning for Teens as Program Director and was a founding board member for Liberated Learners, the umbrella program connecting centers using the North Star model.
Catherine holds two bachelors degrees from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Masters in Education, Creative Arts in Learning, from Lesley University. She also holds a Montessori Certification from New England Montessori Teacher Education Center.
Ashley graduated from UMass with her BA in Legal Studies and BS in Psychology, as well as minors in Sociology and Italian. She has been a part of LightHouse’s staff for 6 years and has worked in various different roles. She is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Crime Scene Investigation. Ashley is an avid reader, competitive board game player, and a master of organization.
Diana grew up in Holyoke and attended Holyoke Public Schools, graduating from Holyoke High before working on her college degree. She began working in health services in 2010 and became a certified HHA in 2011. She loves working with the elderly and now also with adolescents!
She is a bilingual speaker and mother to two wonderful children. Diana manages the administrative side of LightHouse, bringing positive professionalism, deep empathy, and and attitude of active learning to our front desk every day.
Jayde is excited to be working with the students and staff at LightHouse! Jayde received her bachelors in Social Work from UNC Wilmington, where she got to mentor students in an internship program while enjoying the beach life! Jayde is also a certified yoga instructor and appreciates the benefits of yoga practices on the mind and body. Jayde finds joy in spending time with friends, tending to her plants, and traveling.
Jailyne was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is a Graphic Designer with a B.A in Psychology and background in child welfare. She is a part of the Resilient Community Arts team, and is the creator of Shyguns, a creative clothing brand and vintage curation project. Jailyne enjoys spending her time playing basketball, reading, writing, designing, and cultivating meaningful relationships.
Ailey Verdelle is an accomplished musician, composer, and educator working in the styles of jazz, improvisation and electronic music. A graduate of Hampshire College, Ailey is passionate about the creative arts and the use of music in creating a more compassionate world. In Ailey’s hands, music is a tool for connecting with others, and for cultivating a diverse reality to share with friends, family, and community. Ailey loves listening, reading, cooking, movement, and movies.
Steph joined the LightHouse in early 2021. She graduated from Northern Vermont University with a B.A. in Theatre and Drama. Since graduating, Steph has continued to work and teach in theaters locally and in the Metro West area. Some of her theatrical interests include costume design, playwriting, acting, and directing. Steph is passionate about personalized education and is excited to be a part of the LightHouse community.
Entrepreneur, Project Manager, Developer, Systems Administrator. Kelly Albrecht is an expert Linux Server Admin, having been responsible for several servers where over 100 sites and services are run and maintained.
As a Web Developer and Project Manager, Kelly has implemented web-based IT solutions for over 10 years and has extensive experience in all aspects of website design and development.
As an Entrepreneur, Kelly Albrecht has founded several businesses including the left-click IT strategy and consulting firms as well as the Last Call Media web development agency.
He is a regular presenter at Drupal Meetups, Camps and Conferences and stays involved in his local IT industry as the Executive Director of NERDs.
Kelly graduated Summa Cum Laude with departmental honors in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts.
Adam is Vice President of Commercial Lending at Greenfield Northampton Cooperative Bank. He has over 13 years of experience in the banking industry assisting small business owners and non-profit organizations achieve their dreams to start or grow their organizations as well as help investment real estate owners grow their real estate portfolios.
Adam holds a Bachelors Degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Masters Degree in Finance from Southern New Hampshire University.
Adam dedicates his time helping youth including his volunteer work with the non-profit organization Horizons for Homeless Children in Holyoke, where he has served as a Playspace Activity Leader since 2016.
Adam also serves on the Board of Directors of Empty Arms Bereavement Support which is a non-profit organization in Northampton.
Adam lives with his wife in South Hadley. His interests include traveling, real estate investing, spending time with his friends and family, reading, and sports!
Dr. Latoya Bosworth, also known as Dr. Boz, is by nature an artist, by nurture an empath and advocate, and by trade an educator. Dr. Boz began her first job in human services at 19, and since then she has worked with youth and families in several capacities, from crisis intervention to family stabilization. She has collaborated with and consulted for the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Youth Services, after-school programs, Job Corps, summer camps, and community centers. In 2006, she established her own arts and mentoring program, with a special education teacher certification, Dr.Boz taught in alternative high schools for 15 years. She consulted as Behavior Specialist for an inner city public school, is an adjunct professor in Education & Human Services, and is faculty for the Institute for Equity Centered Coaching. She has B.A. in Sociology, an M.S. in Nonprofit and Philanthropy, and a Ph.D. in Social and Community Service. Her research involves young women. Dr. Boz continuously spreads her message of H.E.R.S - health, empowerment, resilience, and self-worth in workshops, as a keynote speaker, and as a life coach, in print, and on stage.
Jill has been working in the nonprofit field for more than a decade, with a focus on development, project management, and partnership-building using a collaborative, community-centric approach. Currently, she leads development efforts at Mass Humanities, whose mission is to create opportunities for the people of Massachusetts to transform their lives and build a more equitable commonwealth through the humanities. She holds an MS in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University and BA in English Language & Literature from the University of Vermont. Jill also serves on the board of directors for Dress for Success Western MA as well as the grantmaking committee for UMass Amherst's Fine Arts Center. She lives in Amherst and enjoys writing and exploring new places.
Tiffani Curtis serves as Chief of Talent, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging for Hartford Public Schools. Prior to joining the leadership team in Hartford, Tiffani served as the Chief of Schools for Holyoke Public Schools. Tiffani has been the principal of a charter elementary school in Albany, New York, and the founding principal of a charter elementary school in Las Vegas, Nevada. In both roles, Tiffani was charged with creating sustainable school systems that supported teacher retention, practitioner development, school-based leadership, special populations and ultimately increased student achievement. As a founding principal at Imagine School at Mountain View in Las Vegas, NV, Tiffani led the school in earning the district’s distinction of “high performing.” Earlier, Tiffani assisted in writing the Master Plan for Universal Preschool for the County of Los Angeles.
Tiffani holds a B.S. in Business from the University of Southern California. She continued at USC to earn a MAT and Ed.D. from the Rossier School of Education where she studied K-12 educational leadership with a focus on urban school settings.
Jacqui joined the board of LightHouse in the summer of 2017. She brings twenty plus years of experience working in the Not for Profit sector focused mainly in education, but also in healthcare, leadership and contemplative science. Jacqui has worked with regional, national and international start-ups as well as established organizations committed to promoting human flourishing. She has expertise in identifying, designing and implementing programs to embrace growth opportunities while qualifying funding sources and building relationships for long-term programmatic sustainability.
Currently, Jacqui is the Director of International Development at Smith College, where she is responsible for engaging non US constituents to cultivate and grow philanthropic giving and other forms of support.
Prior to Smith College, Jacqui was with the Mind & Life Institute as Director of Advancement and Global Relations. Mind and Life fosters interdisciplinary dialogue between Western science, philosophy, humanities, and contemplative traditions, supporting the integration of first-person inquiry through meditation and other contemplative practices into traditional scientific methodology, founded by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1987.
Jacqui is Scottish by birth, but for the last 25 years she has lived in Holyoke, MA with her husband Scott and her 2 sons and her niece and nephew. Jacqui is delighted to be on the Board of LightHouse, to be of service however she can to help LightHouse respond to the educational needs of the area’s youth.
Jacqui holds a Masters in International Business from Strathclyde University and a Bachelors degree from Caledonian University, both in Glasgow, Scotland. Jacqui is a dedicated cyclist, and can be found most weekends on the bike trails around western Massachusetts.
Alice has lived in South Hadley their entire life and attended LightHouse Holyoke for five years. Alice graduated from LightHouse Holyoke in 2021. They are currently enrolled at Holyoke Community College and pursuing a degree in sociology.
Alice has interned at the Holyoke State Representative’s office and the Holyoke Public Library.
While attending LightHouse, Alice taught classes about LGBTQ+ identity and screenwriting. They also compiled and edited the student art magazine Siembra.
Alice joined the LightHouse board in 2022 and is excited to bring the perspective of a former student.
Josiah co-founded LightHouse with Catherine Gobron and co-directed the organization for the first three years, building it from an idea into a thriving reality. In 2018 Josiah and his family relocated to Minnesota, where he was Vice President of Student Affairs and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Minnesota State College Southeast, a technical and community college. Since 2023 Josiah has served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Minnesota P-20 Education Partnership, a statewide initiative to strengthen educational outcomes for learners of all ages across Minnesota. Josiah remains deeply connected to LightHouse as a consultant, senior advisor, and enthusiastic supporter.
Josiah has been in the field of education for twenty years, as a teacher, mentor, and administrator at all age levels. Prior to co-founding LightHouse Holyoke, Josiah spent a decade working with college-age students at Hampshire College. He has a particular passion for progressive education, with a focus on issues of student identity, inclusion, and advocacy.
Josiah has previously served on a number of nonprofit boards and has proudly consulted as a social justice facilitator with the National Conference for Community and Justice of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.
Josiah has a Master of Arts degree in higher education administration from Goddard College, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education from Hampshire College.
Sita has 20+ years of experience helping organizations, communities, and networks imagine, learn, and collaborate. She co-founded dpict, a facilitation firm specializing in process design, visualization, sensemaking, and collaborative environments. Her career has involved extensive international work in multi-stakeholder initiatives at the intersection of global systems. When her first child was born, she felt called to direct her attention to local experimentation in service of intergenerational learning, community weaving, and civic engagement. She co-founded Easthampton Co.Lab, a community-based co-working and learning space, and Fort Future, a space for creative, intergenerational learning. She is a member of the Connecticut River Valley Bioregional Collaborative and The Value Web, a global community focused on transforming decision-making. She is on the core team of the Ford Foundation’s Ford Global Fellows program and the Learning Innovations Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (part of Project Zero). She is actively involved in several regional planning initiatives and loves imagining and experimenting with new models for citizen-driven decision-making. She is also a board member of the Co-Intelligence Institute, where she works with others to promote innovations in collective wisdom, co-creativity, and collaborative governance.
Sita is thrilled to support LightHouse and doubly delighted to have her oldest child join the school in fall 2023!
Anthony Scibelli is the Vice President, Operations and Chief Administrative Officer for Cooley Dickinson Health Care (a subsidiary of Massachusetts General Hospital) in Northampton, Massachusetts. Anthony is responsible for all aspects of the support services operations departments (nutrition, housekeeping, facilities, safety/security) as well as human resources, performance improvement, volunteer services, medical imaging, rehab services, lab, oncology services, pharmacy, urgent care, and home care & hospice.
Anthony has been with Cooley Dickinson since December 2014 and is a native of Springfield MA. Prior to joining Cooley Dickinson, Anthony lived in Upstate NY and held the position of Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Support Services and Post Acute with the Mohawk Valley Health System in Utica, New York. Prior to his healthcare career, Anthony worked in various human resources roles in the supermarket industry (Big Y, ShopRite and The Penn Traffic Company).
Anthony earned a bachelors degree in education from Worcester State College, Worcester MA and is a graduate of Lesley University in Cambridge MA with a Masters Degree in Training & Development. In 2012, he obtained a MBA from the University At Albany in Albany NY.
Anthony lives in South Hadley, and serves on the board at the Northampton Survival Center, as well as the Franklin/Hampshire County Regional Employment Board.
Iohann was born and raised in Mexico City, started music training at the age of six, and has a background on journalism and media. He moved to Puerto Rico, where he worked for 12 years in different roles as producer, on-air host, news anchor, promotion coordinator, and music program coordinator, at the University of Puerto Rico’s Public Radio Station, WRTU. For the last four years Iohann was the Media Literacy Coordinator at the Gándara Youth Development Center, in Holyoke, MA, where he worked with youth, creating media content with social justice, and self-advocacy focus.
Iohann is also the producer of Radioplasma, a local podcast that is a workshop for the youth and community to share stories and discussion of topics of relevance and interest, not always covered by mainstream media. This spring of 2019, Iohann took the position of Director of Media Engagement with Holyoke Media, the local public access channel for the City of Holyoke, where the goal is to create engaging content, teach youth and community how to do so, and develop partnerships around the creation of media content to build a dialogue that contributes to the local media environment.