Our People

Board

JOSH TOLKOFF, Chair
  • Managing Director, Ironwood Equity
  • Successful entrepreneur and venture philanthropist
  • Board member and past chair of MassMedic
  • Chair of the advisory board of the Harvard-MIT program in Health Sciences and Technology
STEPHEN H. KRAUS, Treasurer
  • Vice President, Bessemer Venture Partners
SUSAN LABANDIBAR, Secretary
  • President, Tech Networks of Boston
  • Board Member, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston
  • Interise Boston Alumni, 2004
LORRAYNE "DINA" YEN CHU
  • Board Advisor
  • Former CEO, Co-founder, and Director of New Basics, Inc.
  • Former Senior Vice President, Fidelity Investments
  • Former Chairwoman of the Board for the Center for Women & Enterprise and First Night, Inc.
GEORGE GENDRON
  • Former Editor-in-Chief, Inc. Magazine
  • Entrepreneur-in-residence, Clark University
  • Board Member, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)
  • Board Member, Community Wealth Ventures
CHRISTOPHER MOY
  • Manager, Interstate Food Equipment Service, Inc.
  • Interise Boston Alumni, 2007
MANJARI RAMAN
  • Senior Editor, Bain & Company
  • Former Senior Vice President, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)
  • Launched and led "eFE" - the world's first daily newspaper on the New Economy
JEAN HORSTMAN, CEO
  • CEO, Interise
  • Former National Director for Civic Engagement and Corporate Citizenship, Citizen Schools
  • Former Managing Director, Society for Organizational Learning
  • Successful entrepreneur and business owner

Founding Board Members Emeritus

GEORGIA MURRAY
ANDREW WOLK


Staff

Interise has a small but highly motivated and dedicated staff that work hard to promote the interests of urban small businesses.

J. JEAN HORSTMAN—CEO

Jean has more than 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience, spanning the private, public, and nonprofit sectors and two continents. Before joining Interise as its first CEO, Jean served as the National Director for Civic Engagement and Corporate Citizenship at Citizen Schools. She has partnered with other national social entrepreneurs, serving in senior leadership roles with Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life), and was also the Managing Director of the Society for Organizational Learning. She spent 16 years working in the United Kingdom and Eastern and Central Europe, where she led organizations responding to societal changes related to post-industrialism, post-communism, urban and economic redevelopment, and globalization. A graduate of Duke University and the City University of London, Jean is a fellow of the Society for Organizational Learning and the Royal Society for the Advancement of the Arts, Manufacturing, and Commerce.

ALISON BERGLUND - DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIPS

Alison is charged with building and strengthening Interise's relationships and networks throughout the country. Prior to joining Interise, Alison worked for Procter and Gamble for 19 years holding leadership positions in sales, marketing and business development. She left P&G to join the start up endeavor of a grocery shopping and delivery service, HomeRuns.com as the Vice President of Marketing and Sales. In 2004, Alison joined the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as the Executive Director of the Office of Small Business & Entrepreneurship. She also started and owns Twelve, her own consulting and project management business. Alison is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Isenberg School of Management. 

BERNARD JOHNSON - DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM OPERATIONS

Bernard leads the development of the Interise membership in Massachusetts.  He also oversees the creation and management of the systems and services needed to scale Interise nationally. Prior to Interise, Bernard served as manager of operations for several commercial real estate properties’ for GE Commercial Finance/InterPark in Boston. In addition Bernard, successfully commanded a start - up division in Downtown Boston with Cintas, in which he performed sales, marketing, and operational management duties. Overall Bernard brings 10 plus years of sales, marketing, business development, and management experience with several industry leaders to Interise. Bernard holds a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Boston in English.

BRANDON MASTRANGELO - BOSTON SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER

Brandon runs Interise's flagship Boston program and plays an integral role in creating more visibility and awareness for Interise's ‘StreetWise MBA™' program. He focuses heavily on recruiting and enrolling entrepreneurs, as well as logistically organizing/coordinating the nine-month program each year. Brandon previously worked at the International Institute of Boston, where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of their economic development department. His work there focused on helping the refugee and immigrant populations in Greater Boston start and/or expand a small business, as well as on organizing and teaching financial literacy courses. Brandon spent the majority of the last two years working with refugees, providing technical assistance around their small business needs, which included: financing, marketing/sales, advertising, business plan development, and networking to find industry experts. Brandon holds a B.S. from Oswego University in Business Administration.

BEECHER GROGAN - MERRIMACK VALLEY PROGRAM MANAGER

Beecher works to recruit and enroll entrepreneurs and provides logistical support for Interise's Merrimack Valley program. She has significant experience managing projects and recruiting and training adult and youth volunteers. Beecher founded the Amesbury Farmer's Market, was the owner of Ooh, Mama Photography for nine years, and serves as the founder and director of Lucy's Love Bus in Amesbury.

SHERINA HENDRIX - PROGRAMS PROJECT MANAGER

Sherina joined Interise after serving six years at CareGroup Healthcare System. Sherina's key responsibilities at Interise include partnership support, development, and managing the StreetWise Exchange. Sherina serves on the Board of Directors of Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, Onein3 Mayor's Advisory Council, and Columbia Point Strategic Planning Task Force. Sherina holds a B.A. from Simmons College in PR/Marketing Communication and Managerial Finance.

JEFF KESSNER - EVALUATION MANAGER

Jeff joined the Interise team in 2007. He develops and implements Interise's program evaluation tools and uses this data to improve the program experience for participants. Previously, Jeff worked for Summerbridge South Florida, Commongood Careers, and a human rights organization in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He also has significant experience coordinating volunteer work with the elderly and currently sits on the Board of Directors of Hearth, an organization that works to end elder homelessness. Jeff holds a B.A. in Sociology and American Studies with honors from Wesleyan University.

LAURA SCARLETT-TAVARES - MEMBERSHIP MANAGER

Laura's primary responsibility is to launch and execute Interise's new membership program.  Laura previously worked at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), where she supported youth entrepreneurship education programs at high schools and community based organizations.  Most of Laura's work at NFTE centered on creating and growing the volunteer and alumni programming, including an initiative to standardize volunteer programs across NFTE's domestic program offices.  Laura has also worked with the Brockton 21st Century Corporation and YouthBuild Holyoke.  Laura holds a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an M.B.A. from Brandeis University.

MIKE O'ROURKE - DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

 Mike plays a key role in ensuring Interise’s financial stability by managing donor stewardship and gift processing, grant research and management, and development events.  He also manages the CEO and Board schedules.  Prior to joining Interise, Mike served on a major gubernatorial campaign in Pennsylvania, where he assisted with grassroots efforts statewide and provided executive support to the candidate.  Earlier in his career, Mike worked for a government relations firm based in Harrisburg, PA, where he provided client management support and monitored legislative activity on the Hill.  In 2007, Mike committed a year of service to the Corrymeela Community, an internationally renowned peace and reconciliation center based in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland.  He was instrumental in designing, leading and facilitating community relations work for schools, youth clubs and families directly affected by the Troubles, and also played a valuable role in their outreach and fundraising efforts.  Mike holds a B.A. from Muhlenberg College in Business Administration and Economics.

STACY MCNARY - COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

Stacy joined Interise in 2009 as a co-op student from Northeastern University. She works with the Interise team to support public relations and marketing communication initiatives. Before joining the team, Stacy worked as a public relations intern at Solomon McCown & Company and as a marketing assistant at Constant Contact. She holds a B.A. from Northeastern University in Communication Studies with a concentration in organizational communication.