Staff

Susannah Cintron, scintron@families-first.org, ext. 24
Development Officer
Susannah received her bachelor's degree in Communications from Indiana University and a Paralegal Certificate from Northeastern University. In 2007 Susannah joined Families First as the Office Administrator and in 2008 moved into the role of Development Officer, where she assists the Director of Development in event planning, donor management, and fundraising. Prior to joining Families First, she worked as a paralegal for a small law firm in South Boston. As the mother of an infant, Susannah recognizes the importance of Families First's mission to help parents build strong relationships with their children.

Elizabeth Cohen, ecohen@families-first.org, ext. 19
Executive Director
Elizabeth Cohen joined Families First in January 2012 as its third Executive Director. She has fourteen years of experience in non-profits focused on a variety of public health issues, including violence prevention, comprehensive sexual education, and supporting families dealing with health complications. Prior to coming to Families First, Elizabeth was the Manager of Training at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, where she oversaw all external training to teachers and health professionals, as well as internal training for over 200 staff members, including managers, health care staff, and educators. Her past work experience also includes a position with WGBH Boston as Director of Health Initiatives. While at WGBH, she worked on local and national outreach education campaigns focused on childhood asthma, cancer, caring for older parents, and heart disease. The first part of her career was dedicated to advocating for survivors of sexual violence and their significant others through positions at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, and Rape Crisis Services of Greater Lowell, where she served as Executive Director. Elizabeth has a BA from Tufts University and a Masters of Public Health from Boston University, where she developed and taught a course for four years on sexual violence. Her greatest achievement and joy is being the single mother of an amazing toddler.

Sue Covitz, scovitz@families-first.org, ext. 14
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Sue is responsible for exploring and developing key relationships with a variety of organizations and stakeholders. Sue brings over fifteen years of experience in non-profit coalition building, community organizing, and management consulting. Sue formerly served as the Executive Director of Greater Options for Adolescent Lives and has worked as a non-profit and public health consultant for the past five years. She received a B.A. in Philosophy from Haverford College and an M.S.W. from Boston College. Sue is the parent of two young children and has participated as a parent in Families First workshops.

Stacey Ellsworth, sellsworth@families-first.org, ext. 10
Office Administrator
Stacey joined Families First in July 2008 as the Office Administrator after several years of providing administrative support in the corporate sector. Her major responsibilities include assisting the Executive Director, managing the office, acting as Board Liaison, and assisting other departments with projects.

Michael Goldman, mgoldman@families-first.org, ext. 16
Director of Finance & Administration
In addition to his regular finance and administration responsibilities at Families First, Michael recently served as Interim Executive Director and is currently helping lead organizational efforts to build an enhanced program evaluation system. He has also led the re-launch of the organization’s website and program management database development, and regularly provides support to development department initiatives. Michael is a graduate of Brandeis University, with a degree in Psychology, and has an MBA from Dartmouth College. He is currently Board Treasurer of the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. Prior to joining Families First, Michael was CEO of a Washington, DC, publishing company, and his previous work in the non-profit sector includes Heifer Project International in West Africa. He is married and the father of two daughters.

Debbie Shapiro Katz, dkatz@families-first.org, ext. 22
Director of Development
Debbie Shapiro Katz comes to Families First with over ten years of experience in raising support for social change. Most recently she was the individual donor development consultant for the Hyde Square Task Force, an award-winning teen empowerment organization in the Hyde Square neighborhood in Jamaica Plain. Prior to this, as the Associate Director of Development and Alumni Relations at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, she developed a plan for increasing engagement from the Board, friends, and alumni. Before moving to Boston from New York City, Debbie strengthened the giving programs of the Jewish Funds for Justice and the New Israel Fund. Debbie has a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and an M.A. in Modern Middle East Studies from Brandeis University. As the mother of a pre-schooler, she knows from experience about great need for parenting education.

Lauren Morse, lmorse@families-first.org, ext. 15
Program Coordinator
Lauren recently joined the Families First team as Program Coordinator. She will generate new, and maintain ongoing, contractual relationships for our parenting and professional programs that serve the needs of low-income and underserved populations. She most recently worked in the Bronx, NY, doing grassroots community organizing with families around education reform issues. Lauren attended Wesleyan University for her BA, and prior to traveling in Latin America and getting an MSW at Hunter College, she worked at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and in New York City with parents of children with mental illness and developmental delays. A product of Cambridge Public Schools, Lauren recently relocated back to the Boston area with her family, including a new baby. She is passionate about social justice and providing all families with the support they need.

Madeleine Otani Oldman, motani@families-first.org, ext. 25
Program Coordinator
Madeleine came to Families First in 2002 as a volunteer in the Program Department and was hired as Program Associate in 2006. Madeleine is responsible for coordinating program logistics, supporting our parenting educators, and collecting evaluation data. She received a B.A. in Elementary Education from Marylhurst University in Oregon, followed by Early Childhood and Infant & Toddler Certification in Montessori education. During her tenure at the Cambridge Montessori School, Madeleine worked as a Primary and Toddler Master Teacher and Director of Admissions, and was involved in their Parenting Education Program.

Randi Walsh, rwalsh@families-first.org, ext. 12
Director of Programming
Randi oversees the Program Department at Families First. She is responsible for the development of innovative and effective parenting curricula and the implementation of parenting education and professional development programs. She also contributed leadership to the Parenting Education Summit in May 2007. Randi brings extensive experience in the development and management of family support and education services in the southeastern, metro, and Greater Boston regions of Massachusetts. She formerly served as the Prevention Director at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (M.S.P.C.C.). She received a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A. from Boston College.