August 26, 2025

Plummer Youth Promise, setting a standard of excellence that improves outcomes for young people in or at risk of entering state care, has elected Jonathan Flores and David Guilbeault to its board of directors. Guilbeault previously served on the board from 2013 to 2024. It is Flores’ first appointment to the board.

David Guilbeault was just eight years old when he entered foster care. At the time, his parents struggled with addiction and couldn’t care for him. He bounced around the system and eventually came to Plummer as a teenager. Guilbeault witnessed from afar his mother’s journey to sobriety that started several years after he and his siblings were placed in care. Their relationship was supported by his Plummer team and eventually flourished.

“I have watched Plummer’s approach evolve over more than two decades, and I love that we aim to share these distinct differences with other organizations through teaching,” said Guilbeault, who is a Senior Accounting Project Manager with OWL Automotive Consulting, LLC.  “Many of my connections to family – biological and chosen – were strengthened or forged during my time at Plummer.”

Jonathan Flores also entered foster care at a young age and, like Guilbeault, bounced around the system for years. By the time he came to Plummer as a teenager, he had nearly lost hope of finding permanent family connections. The team at Plummer, however, helped him reconnect with one of his former teachers who instantly took him under his wing, teaching him to drive and helping him apply to college. “He is part of my forever family, and he calls me his son,” says Flores.

When Flores graduated from Salem State University in 2024 with a degree in criminal justice he was chosen as the commencement speaker. He recently became a Deputy Sheriff for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office where he advocates for at-risk youth who just need someone to believe in them and help them achieve their dreams, like he found at Plummer.

“Having former residents on our board is critically important,” said Nicole McLaughlin, Executive Director at Plummer Youth Promise. “No one knows the work we do better, as well as ways we can improve. I look forward to working with Jonathan and David as new board members.”

About Plummer Youth Promise
Plummer Youth Promise believes that every young person needs a family unconditionally committed to nurture, protect, and guide them to successful adulthood. The organization’s mission is to set a standard of excellence that improves outcomes for young people in or at risk of entering state care by deeply engaging youth, families, and the systems that impact them to develop permanent family relationships, skills, and community connections.

This story was originally posted on MassNonprofitNews.