ACE Staff

• Kalila Barnett, Executive Director
• Eugene B. Benson, Legal Counsel and Program Director (EJLS)
• Dave Jenkins, REEP Organizer/Co-Director
• Cris Lagunas, Community Organizer (DSOP)
• Jasmine Laietmark, Development Coordinator
• Celina Lee, Membership and Communications Coordinator
• René Mardones, Community Organizer (TRU)
• Lee Matsueda, Program Director (TRU)
• Maggie Merced, Bookkeeper/Office Manager
• David Noiles, REEP Adult Support
• Staci Rubin, Staff Attorney
• Khalida Smalls, Program Director (DSOP)
• Jodi Sugerman-Brozan, Program Director (Development)

ACE Board

• Saulo Araújo -- Grassroots International
• Tiffany Chenault -- professor, scholar, activist
• Donna Dear -- advocate, Roxbury resident
• Neenah Estrella-Luna -- Professor of urban studies, research, environmental justice and political sociology
• TJ Hellmann -- jester, youth worker, organizer
• Trina Jackson -- activist, educator, organizer
• Dumas Lafontant -- Whittier Street Health Center
• Carlos Moreno -- REEP Alum, student
• Jennifer Rushlow -- attorney, MEJAN volunteer

ACE Interns and Volunteers

We are fortunate to have many interns and volunteers at ACE. The following are the folks you'll see in our office on a weekly basis.

• Rashida Callender (Dev/Com)
• Erika Gerstenberger (EJLS)
• Patricia Hayden (TRU)
• Quianna Mendez (REEP)
• Karen Narefsky (Dev/Com)
• Taisha O'Bryant (TRU)
• Anthony Rivers (TRU)
• Anne Rogers, Esq. (EJLS/MEJAN)
• Latifa Smith (TRU)
• Michelle Smith (TRU)
• Stuart Spina (TRU)
• Jong Wai Tommee (Dev/Com)
• Gwen Vincent (TRU)
• Tyree Ware (DSOP)

Staff Profiles

Kalila Barnett
Kalila Barnett became ACE’s Executive Director in February 2009. She was previously a Senior Organizer at Community Labor United and served on ACE’s Board of Directors for 5 years. She is a Roxbury native and lifelong resident of Boston. Kalila graduated from Bates College in 2001 with a degree in American Studies and Spanish. She has also worked at Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation and Madison Park Development Corporation, organizing around community development issues and affordable housing in the Roxbury and Jamaica Plain area. Kalila was also the field director for a local city council campaign in 2005.
e-mail Kalila Barnett

Eugene B. Benson
Eugene Benson, Legal Counsel and Services Program Director, joined ACE in 2003. Gene provides legal counsel and representation for community groups and coalitions and ACE member committees fighting for environmental justice and oversees the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Assistance Network. Gene's earlier work includes Associate General Counsel, Environmental Law, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Boston, MA; Executive Director, Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services, Cambridge, MA; and Chief Attorney, Legal Aid Bureau, Frederick, MD. Gene is on the Board of Trustees of The Food Project, is a past president of the Mystic River Watershed Association, and chaired the Boston Bar Association Environmental Law Section, where he is now on its Pro Bono / Public Service Committee. He was Givelber Distinguished Lecturer in Public Interest Law at Northeastern University School of Law, where he taught Environmental Justice. He teaches Planning Law in the Boston University Metropolitan College Graduate Program in City Planning and Urban Affairs and has written and presented about environmental justice and environmental law often. Gene received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
e-mail Eugene B. Benson

Cris Lagunas
Cris is originally from Valparaiso, Chile. In 2002, he came to the United States and started fighting for the rights of undocumented immigrants. Three years later, Cris became an organizer for the Student Immigrant Movement, working nationally on issues like the Dream Act and immigration reform. Cris is enthusiastic for organizing and fighting for environmental justice. He has grown up in unjust environments, from Chile to Chelsea and Dorchester. He joined the ACE team as a DSOP organizer in 2011.
e-mail Cris Lagunas

Lee Matsueda
Lee Matsueda, Program Director of the T Riders Union (TRU), joined the staff in October 2005, after serving as an ACE Board member for one year. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and holds a MS degree in the Environmental Studies Advocacy and Organizing Program from Antioch New England Graduate School. Previous to ACE, Lee was a community organizer for almost three years with the Greater Four Corners Action Coalition (GFCAC) in Dorchester. While at the GFCAC, his efforts included campaign work to gain access to rapid transit along the Fairmount line commuter rail corridor, and Boston Schoolyard Initiative projects at the Sara Greenwood K-8 Middle School and the former William E. Endicott Elementary School. 
e-mail Lee Matsueda

Maggie Merced
Maggie Merced, Bookkeeper and Office Manager, has more than 15 years experience in bookkeeping and has extensive experience working with non-profits and as a community activist. She holds an Associates Degree in Accounting from the Banking Institute of Puerto Rico. Her most recent position was as Office Manager and Bookkeeper for Boston Urban Gardeners. She is also a professional translator from English to Spanish and has worked as a translator for a variety of Boston-area organizations. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation and is on the the board of the Forest Glen Cooperative.
e-mail Maggie Merced

Staci Rubin
Staci Rubin joined ACE as Staff Attorney in July 2010. She received her Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law, her Master of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School, and her Master of Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine where she examined the links between benzene exposure, cancer outcomes, and the legal challenges inherent in toxic tort litigation. Prior to ACE, Staci worked as a judicial intern for the Honorable Margot Botsford of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and served as legal intern at the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General in the Environmental Protection Division and Koob & Magoolaghan, a civil rights law firm in New York City. She was also an advocate at the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children at Tufts Medical Center. In autumn 2009 she served as a legal intern at ACE in the Services Program and returned as a legal volunteer in April 2010. Staci is honored to provide legal counsel and representation for community groups, coalitions, and ACE member committees fighting for environmental justice. 
e-mail Staci Rubin


 

Khalida Smalls
Khalida Smalls is a Program Director of Member Organizing. She is a 1996 graduate of Crittenton Hastings House. She has previously worked as Office Manager for Project LEEO, a non-profit educational and advocacy organization for young men of color. In 1997, she received one of 20 nationwide "American Dream Awards" in recognition of excellence in School-to-Work initiatives. Khalida grew up in Roxbury and Dorchester, is now a community activist, and brags often of her wonderful twelve-year-old son. 
e-mail Khalida Smalls

Jodi Sugerman-Brozan
Jodi Sugerman-Brozan, Program Director (Development), holds an M.A. in Urban and Environmental Policy from Tufts University. She was previously the Policy Director for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay in Boston. Jodi developed the successful youth program, Harbor Visions Crew, while at Save the Harbor and has extensive experience in Boston environmental issues. She has more than a dozen years of experience in a variety of environmental, women's, community, and social justice organizations. She previously served as Program Director of REEP. 
e-mail Jodi Sugerman-Brozan