Our Leadership

Get to know Boston Builds Credit's leadership team

Our Leadership Structure

Boston Builds Credit’s leadership structure is made up of three core parts: The BBC Director / Leadership Team, the Board, and the committees. BBC has ambitious goals, but we can’t reach them alone, so both the Board and BBC’s committees are designed to share power with our cross-sector partners and Boston residents.

There are currently five committees within our leadership structure:

  • Service Delivery
  • Systems Change
  • Safe Products (in partnership with Bank On Boston),
  • Community Advisory Council
  • BBC Backbone Committee

For more information on these committees or on BBC’s Board, please contact Paul Francois at pfrancois@supportunitedway.org

    BBC Leadership Team

    Get to know the team behind Boston Builds Credit.

    Economic Inclusion & Wealth Building Team

    Juan Pablo Bonilla Santiago

    Vice President of Economic Inclusion and Wealth Building | United Way of Mass Bay & Merrimack Valley  

    Juan is Vice President of Economic Inclusion and Wealth Building at the United Way of Massachusetts Bay leading its economic mobility and wealth building work which includes Boston Builds Credit and its network of Financial Opportunity Centers. Prior to joining the United Way, Juan spent 18 years at Lawrence CommunityWorks, Inc., a UW community partner, as their Chief Operating Officer. Juan has an extensive background in nonprofit leadership in the areas of affordable housing, community building, financial empowerment, workforce development and housing counseling programming. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Spanish from Bowdoin College (Class of 1995), is a graduate of the Institute for Non-Profit Management and Leadership certificate program (Boston University) and received his master’s in public policy at Tufts University in August 2022. He served as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank’s Community Advisory Council (2017-2020) and is a past board member of the YMCA of Merrimack Valley, The Midas Collaborative, the Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union, the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC) and Ahora, Inc., a non-profit start-up. Juan is a past recipient of the Bowdoin College Common Good Award and the Lawrence Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award for Community Service. Born in Puerto Rico, he came to Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1982 at age 9 and grew up in the city. He now lives in Haverhill, Massachusetts with his family.

    Email: jbonilla@supportunitedway.org

    Marie Elianor

    Senior Director of Community Strategies | United Way of Mass Bay & Merrimack Valley 

    Marie is the Senior Director of Community Strategies at United Way of Mass. Bay. She is committed to building, fostering, and supporting community-based collaborations that promote financial empowerment, wealth building, and economic inclusion. Marie obtained her master’s degree in public administration and nonprofit management in 2021 from Seton Hall University and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her role. Previously, she served as the Project Director of Rising to the Challenge at the United Way, leading a multi-partners effort to end youth homelessness in Boston. Marie is also the founder and director of the Haitian American Student Corporation, a non-profit working to empower Haitian students as agents of change. Marie is known for her strategic leadership and ability to foster collaboration across sectors. She is dedicated to creating equitable communities and believes in empowering individuals to thrive.

    Email: melianor@supportunitedway.org

     

    Christine Niccoli

    Director, Economic Inclusion and Wealth Building, United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley

    Christine’s focus at United Way is capacity building for  financial empowerment partners. Christine manages United Way’s Financial Empowerment Learning Institute and financial and career coaches Community of Practice meetings. Christine comes to the United Way with several years of direct service experience in youth education and human services. Additionally, she led partnership engagement and program delivery at Rosie’s Place and Science Club for Girls. Christine is the Chair of the Boston Builds Credit Service Delivery Committee which brings together service delivery partners to improve credit access and credit building for Bostonians.

    Email: cniccoli@supportunitedway.org

    Paul Francois

    Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications | Boston Builds Credit / United Way of Mass Bay & Merrimack Valley 

    Paul serves as the Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications for Boston Builds Credit. Before his time with BBC, Paul served as the Marketing & Project Manger for CLLCTV.US where he managed initiatives and projects for several notable organizations. His past work includes projects managed for Boston based clients that include the MFA Boston, Converse, Bodega, and Reebok. As a resident of the Roxbury area, Paul’s goal is to help members of the greater Boston community gain access to valuable information that can help them realize their economic goals

    Email: pfrancois@supportunitedway.org

    BBC Board Members

    Boston Builds Credit’s Boad is an essential component of our leadership structure. It is comprised of community and organizational partners

    Board Members

    • Karley Ausiello, Senior Vice President, United Way of Mass Bay
    • Daniel Dodd-Ramirez, Director for the Office of Community Affairs, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
    • Emilio Dorcely, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Edge
    • Constance Martin, Deputy Director, Boston Center for Working Families
    • Gail Sokoloff, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Foundation Relations, United Way of Mass Bay

    BBC Committees

    The committees of our leadership structure that help give external insights to BBC’s initiatives.

    Service Delivery Committee

    • Alan Gentle, Boston Center for Working Families
    • Constance Martin, Boston Center for Working Families 
    • Jason Andrade,  Compass Working Capital
    • Morgan Spears, Working Credit
    • Paola Liendo, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp.
    • Marie Elianor, United Way Mass Bay
    • Christine Niccoli, United Way Mass Bay
    • Ronice Kimbrel, Boston Tax Help Coalition
    • Nathalie Kallab Racimo, Neighborhood of Affordable Housing
    • Adalberto Jaimes, Jewish Vocational Services

    Systems Change Committee

    • Mimi Turchinetz, City of Boston
    • Michael Best, National Consumer Law Center
    • Juan Bonilla, United Way of Mass Bay
    • Michael Rousseau, United Way of Mass Bay
    • Will Lehrer, United Way of Mass Bay
    • Marie Elianor, United Way of Mass Bay
    • Brian Robinson, Boston Tax Help Coalition
    • Ricki Lowitz, Working Credit
    • Carolyn Brandes, The Midas Collaborative
    • Symone Crawford, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Association

    Safe Products Committee

    The Safe Products Committee is a committee focused on the standards of safe credit building products; primarily Secure Credit Cards and Credit Building Loans.

    Community Advisory Council

    Boston Builds Credit’s Community Advisory Council is a community informing partnership with Union Capital Boston. It is comprised of network leaders that focus on community engagement, hosting network nights, and informing decision-making.

     Network Leaders:

    • Cynthia Jones
    • Garret Thames
    • Sharee Fairley
    • Blanca Gomez

    BBC Backbone Committee

    • Christine Nicoli
    • Cynthia Jones
    • Adalberto Jaimes
    • Paul Francois
    • Ronice Kimbrel
    • Gail Sokoloff
    • Constance Martin
    • Mimi Turchinetz
    • Ricki Lowitz
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