Leadership

Nicole McLaughlin

Executive Director

Nicole has a deep knowledge of child welfare, nonprofit management, and Plummer Youth Promise. Her work with Plummer spans almost two decades. She joined the Plummer board in 2002, becoming board chair in 2006 at a pivotal period during which the organization adopted a transformative strategy to develop effective practices to help teens in residential foster care connect with permanent families before leaving care as young adults.

In 2009, with the explicit goal of raising philanthropic support to fund these practices, Nicole left the Board to become Plummer’s first Director of Development. In 2013, having built a strong development operation, Nicole was able to focus more on long-term organizational strategy and became the organization’s first Director of Strategy and Advancement. In this role, Nicole led a rebranding process that shifted the organization from its original identity, an 18th century group residence for boys, to that of a visionary, multi-service child welfare organization setting a standard of practice for others in the field. She became Executive Director in 2020.

Throughout her career, Nicole has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to philanthropic organizations and the people they serve. She serves on the board of Root, NS, a culinary training program for high-risk youth and is a member of its Strategic Planning Committee. She chairs the Family Builders Network, a collaborative group of foster and adoption organizations committed to finding permanent families for all young people. In prior years she chaired the board of the Mental Health and Addiction Network, a national fundraising group. Earlier in her career, Nicole worked for the City of Boston’s Emergency Shelter Commission, served on the Board of Directors of Rosie’s Place, a shelter for homeless women and provided relief staffing in a home for previously homeless women struggling with mental illness.

For 17 years, Nicole practiced law. Spending most of those years working with the Washington, DC, firm of Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, she specialized in tax-exempt organizations, representing clients and providing legal and strategic counsel to a wide range of national foundations, charitable and lobbying organizations, associations and political action committees. Nicole has a BA in Political Science from Wellesley College and earned her JD from Northeastern University School of Law.

Chris Hallinan

Director of Finance

Chris has spent most of his career in the field of nonprofit accounting and financial management. Prior to joining the Plummer team, Chris served as the Chief Financial Officer for Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), a nonprofit historical document conservation center. There he managed all aspects of the accounting and finance functions, as well as overseeing technology and facilities.

Prior to NEDCC, Chris held the positions of Associate Director of Finance and Controller for the Trustees of Reservations, a nonprofit land conservation organization. He previously served as Controller for a venture capital organization and managed all aspects of the accounting cycle, from the day-to-day to the monthly closes and the annual audit/tax process.

Chris earned a Certificate of Accountancy with Honors from Bentley College and a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Massachusetts.

Mary LeBeau

Director of Permanency Practice Leadership

As Director of the Practice Leadership Division, Mary oversees the organization’s provision of training, consultation, and coaching services in permanency best practices to a wide range of child welfare agencies and providers, while also continuing to build Plummer’s expertise.

Prior to assuming the position of Director, Mary served as a Senior Child Welfare Manager with the Practice Leadership Division. In this role she provided intensive, collaborative consulting to public and private child welfare agencies to strengthen implementation of front-line best practice and supervision. Her specialty is implementing strategies that promote permanence-focused youth and family engagement, team planning, and decision-making. She has a special interest in developing and installing supervision models to achieve safe permanency outcomes. Mary brings both a direct practice and implementation science lens to her work- understanding that achieving organizational change requires both a micro and macro system focus.

Mary has worked in child welfare for over 35 years, starting as a direct frontline practitioner, supervisor, and director. Prior to joining Plummer she was a Senior Associate with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Child Welfare Strategy Group.

Mary holds a BS in Sociology form the University of Massachusetts and a Master’s of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker.

Shane MacMaster

Director of Operations

As Director of Operations, Shane oversees the day-to-day clinical and programmatic operations of Plummer’s residential, foster care and community-based programs. He is responsible for implementing the organization’s mission across all programs through the application of Plummer’s Intervention Model and outcomes measurement system.

Shane is deeply committed to helping youth in the foster care system find permanent families and become intellectually, socially and emotionally prepared to transition to adulthood. He has worked in the child welfare field for 20 years, starting as a direct care counselor in residential programs for teenagers and shortly thereafter joining the MA Department of Children and Families (DCF). During his 12 years at DCF, Shane worked in a variety of positions, ultimately becoming responsible for the referral, oversight and quality assurance of DCF services for youth placed in congregate care and intensive foster care settings.

Shane received a BS in Psychology from the American International College and an MS in Human Services from UMASS – Boston.

Sarah Morrill

Director of Strategy and Evaluation

As Director of Strategy and Evaluation, Sarah leads Plummer’s strategic planning processes and ensures measured organizational growth and impact on the youth we serve. Sarah began her career in 1992 as a direct care clinician. As her career progressed, her interests and efforts evolved toward addressing systemic inequality and other issues in innovative ways, most often with the use of data to inform decision making. These various experiences allow her to bring both micro and macro perspectives to her work, identifying trends across populations and working with colleagues to craft solutions and manage effective change.

Attracted by Plummer’s mission and the quality and dedication of those who work here, Sarah began working with Plummer over 14 years ago in a variety of roles including board member, consultant, and eventually employee. Prior to her current role, she served as Director of Outcomes and Evaluation working to design the current intervention and outcome model and spearheading Plummer’s efforts to embrace data to understand best practices and achieve better outcomes. Prior to joining Plummer, Sarah worked in both the private and public sector, providing organizational development and program evaluation, and held leadership positions with local non-profit boards. Sarah has a BA in Sociology from Boston College and earned her Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University.

Corinne Plotz

Executive Assistant to the Senior Leadership Team

Before joining Plummer Youth Promise as the Executive Assistant to the Senior Leadership Team, Corinne worked in the Medical Device industry at Analogic Corporation for 13 years supporting several senior level executives.  With over 20 years of experience in Executive Administration and a track record of strong performance in high-volume, high-pressure environments, Corinne skillfully manages administrative duties and ensures the smooth operation of the day-to-day activities, through her support of Plummer’s executive leadership and the Board of Directors.

Over the years, Corinne and her family have taken in several foster children who lived with them for over forty years.  It is a passion they shared throughout her entire family who continue to foster children through the generations.

Paula Young

Director of Growth and Innovation, BASW, MUP

As Director of Growth and Innovation, Paula designs and implements a sustainable business and operations plan to support permanency and expand best practices nationally, ultimately creating positive outcomes for youth and transforming the child welfare system.

Prior to coming to Plummer Youth Promise, Paula was the Director, Strategy and Implementation for Child, Youth, and Family Initiatives at Lutheran Services in America. She has 15 years of experience in systems change, program development, and community engagement. In her current role, she leads results-based leadership initiatives to support members in improving outcomes for children and families involved in the child welfare system.

Previously, Paula led public-private partnership development and community engagement at KABOOM! as an Associate Director. Prior to KABOOM!, Paula worked at the Annie E. Casey Foundation and was responsible for youth advocacy and engagement, technical assistance, and the fellowship program for the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative and served as a strategic consultant with the Child Welfare Strategy Group where she supported assessments and strategy development for state child welfare agencies. Earlier in her career, Paula worked at the Michigan Department of Human Services managing older youth policy, data systems, grants and statewide program management.

Paula also works as an independent consultant as a racial equity facilitator.  She is originally from the South Side of Chicago and has a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh.

MaryLuz Arling

Foster Care Program Director

MaryLuz believes all youth need and deserve families and she brings this passion to her leadership role at Plummer. As Foster Care Program Director, she oversees the appropriate placement and case management of children in foster homes, the support given to foster families and the recruitment and training of foster families.

MaryLuz began her child welfare career in 2000 as an Adoption Social Worker. She became a Permanency Social Worker in 2007 while maintaining her career as a Clinician working primarily with families and youth who were in foster care or part of the Adoption Triad.

MaryLuz obtained her BA in Psychology and certificate in Latin American Studies at UMass Amherst. She later obtained her Masters in Social Work at Salem State University.

Christina Brackett

Residential Services Clinical Director

Christina is proud to serve as Clinical Director for Residential Services.

Christina began her career in social work in 2001 working with women and children who were survivors of domestic violence.  She graduated with her MSW from Salem State University’s School of Social Work in 2009.  Since that time she’s devoted her career to helping kids in Massachusetts’ foster care system, first as an adoption social worker and then as a social worker at Plummer, where she has worked since 2014.

Christina has presented to groups locally and nationally on Plummer’s work reconnecting teens in foster care to family.

Jillian Chenault

Intensive Permanency Services Program Director

Jillian serves as Program Director of Intensive Permanency Services at Plummer. Her team works to find, repair, and strengthen youth’s connections to permanent family.

Jillian is committed to the advancement of permanency-focused work in child welfare. She began her career in social work in 2012 at The Home for Little Wanderers working primarily as Clinical Coordinator of the Intensive Foster Care Program. Through her work with children and youth in foster care, Jillian saw the cost of growing up in “the system”. She continues to dedicate her career to child welfare, feeling strongly that every child has a right to family.

Jillian is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW). She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Marist College and her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Simmons College. Jillian has an interest in trauma-informed care which led her to pursue a Post-Master’s Certificate in Relational and Multi-Contextual Treatment of Trauma from Simmons College.

Joshua Metcalfe

Residential Program Director

For the past 17 years, Joshua has worked with children with emotional, behavioral and learning difficulties. As the Residential Program Director for Plummer Youth Promise, he oversees programmatic operations of our group home and supported apartment, including managing all direct care staff.

Joshua began his career in youth services working as a teacher at the Home for Little Wanderers. He also served as a counselor at the Victory School for Autism in Miami and Director of the Children’s Trust Summer Camp at Victory School. Joshua also taught at the Monarch Preparatory Academy in Florida, which is an alternative high school for high-risk students.

Joshua has a BS in Human Services from Cambridge College and a MSW from Salem State University.

Terry Musgrave

Director of Young Adult Supported Living Program

As the Young Adult Supported Living Program Director, Terry’s work focuses on transitioning aged youth in the foster care system with the main goal in mind that all youth need a long term, permanent loving family to provide safe and stable relationships. In 2009, Terry became a kinship placement, which was the catalyst for her career in Social Work. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Salem State University, and she is currently enrolled in Salem State University’s master’s in social work program with an expected graduation date of 2020. Terry began her career working with women and children at an emergency domestic violence shelter. She now continues to work with youth in the child welfare system.

Julia A. B. Pearson

Permanency Mediation Services Program Director

Julia is the Program Director for Permanency Mediation Services. She oversees the day-to-day operations, including managing referrals from the Juvenile and Probate and Family Courts, the training of permanency mediators and coordinating all program activities.

From 2005-2010, Julia was the Program Director for Massachusetts Families for Kids which was lead agency for the Juvenile and Probate and Family Courts’ statewide permanency mediation services. Julia was trained as a permanency mediator in 2000 during the state’s first roll out of permanency mediation in the courts. She helped with mentoring and training new mediators until she was hired as program director. Julia is an attorney who has practiced in the Massachusetts Juvenile and Probate and Family Courts since 1992. She focused on Care and Protection and Termination of Parental Rights cases representing children and parents. Her work in the Juvenile Court included conducting Court Investigations and being appointed as Guardian Ad Litem for children. Julia has also practiced in the Massachusetts Appeals Court representing both parents and children in appeals of their Care and Protection or Adoption cases. Julia began representing children in Cook County, Illinois at the Public Guardian’s Office in 1989.

Julia studied Criminal Justice at Loyola University Chicago, and obtained her Juris Doctor Degree at Loyola University School of Law Chicago. She has been practicing in Massachusetts since 1993.

Isaac Dinallo

Community Treatment Residence Program Manager

Isaac joined Plummer in August of 2020 as a residential counselor. His natural ability to deescalate youth led to him taking on a leadership role and in November 2021 Isaac became shift supervisor. As of May 2022, Isaac assumed the position of Program Manager for the Community Treatment Residence. In this role Isaac oversees programmatic operations for the residence, including managing direct care staff and working closely with residents.

Isaac is a proponent of Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and enjoys woodworking in his free time.

Sarah Stockwell

Youth and Young Adult Group Residence Program Manager

For the past 15 years, Sarah has worked with youth struggling with behavioral and emotional challenges.

As the Youth and Young Adult Group Residence program manager for Plummer Youth Promise, she oversees and manages the staff and milieu for Plummers’ former pre-independent living program.

Sarah began her career working for adventure-therapy companies managing groups of teens in wilderness settings. She has worked in community social work as a therapeutic mentor and therapeutic training and support. Sarah started working in residential as a supervisor at Beverly Continuum Services and continued as an Independent Youth Service doing follow along service for IGH residents developing independent living skills. Sarah was also an ABA teacher at Hopeful Journeys, a school for youth with severe autism.

Sarah has a BA in Intercultural Relations from Salem State University and is completing her MSW at Salem State University. She hopes to go into policy someday but can’t seem to stay away from residential as she loves the residents and the culture too much.