Work

I was griping one time at home to my husband. “I don't know why am I doing this? This is so frustrating.” And he's looking at me. He said, “Aren’t you thinking about your dad?” And it wasn't until that moment that I realized what effect that had actually on me. And yes, you are completely right. I think that was a big part of my desire to work with people who need assistance like that, that nobody's really looking after or helping. 

I think about when I first got out, sitting in the jail cell, I never imagined I would be sitting here with you, holding my child, I never believed I would be allowed to be near my children.  I thought the best-case scenario I was going to get benefits and live out my life in a crappy rooming house.  I never believed I could do any of these things.  But also when we lean into people’s strengths and skill sets instead of their worthlessness I believe people can accomplish so much.  And I think of all the women around me who do this work every day, most of them began as participants or survivors in our programs, to now watch them really use their power...It’s really hard to undo all of the messaging of worthlessness and things like that that you’ve received your whole life.  But again, it’s leaning into your strengths and capabilities instead of that old story of incompetence and all you’ll ever be is a body for men to abuse.  That is not true and for me, I think there’s many paths to recovery, many paths to exiting prostitution.  My pathway out was social justice work and finding that I could make change for others and demonstrating that that is possible and true.

I think one of the biggest things to share with young women is that it’s okay to change, to not doubt yourself all the time…Trust your gut. I found I had all these other strengths that I never knew. So, I think it’s more about realizing I’m more diverse in my abilities than I thought I was…I think every experience that you work through, you gain important values.

I have to tell you, it's been an incredible honor, working at the Boys and Girls Club of Worcester, because I feel like this organization has done so much for so many years.  We are 133 years old so way before I was ever involved, it was doing great work and I believe it's continuing to do great work. And what I like about Boys and Girls Clubs in general is they meet the needs of the community they serve. So, there's I think 4000, over 4000 Boys and Girls Clubs in the US. If you've been to one Boys and Girls Club, you've only been to one Boys and Girls Club.  Every Boys and Girls Club is going be different. And I love that I feel like our clubs in Great Brook Valley, Palmer Village, and in the Main South area, truly represent our kids and our community. And I'm really proud of the incredibly talented and diverse team members that do so much incredible work with our kids and families. But I also want to acknowledge how great our kids are. Unlike regular childcare, our kids decide every day to walk here to get here. So, they're making really good choices and they're showing great leadership. And I'm proud of the work that they're doing. We're providing some resources and support but ultimately, it's up to the kids and it's always a real privilege to see them when they first start with us they’re age five and then graduate from high school and then go on to college and just see their transformation in their growth and everything that they've done for themselves. It's, it's amazing.

So now I'm the Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager for the Worcester Red Sox and there's a lot that goes into it.  People ask what day to day is like, and I always say every day is different. I directly oversee productions and ballpark entertainment and that includes what you see on the video board, as well as social media and the television broadcast. I oversee merchandise, so the team store and all of our branding, community relations.  And then marketing has really been kind of my specialty and that includes advertising, but also outreach and the different promotions that we do. I have a hand in some of our HR [human resources] efforts, including recruiting and hiring and training. So pretty broad, but I think that's one of the really beautiful things about minor league baseball is that you're not put into a box and you get to explore a lot of different areas. We all wear many different hats, and it's been a really great opportunity to grow professionally.