Catherine is the chief of staff and executive director of strategic initiatives at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She previously served in a variety of senior executive roles including the managing director of the Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning at Harvard, chief operating officer for Ariadne Labs, chief of staff to the executive vice president, and administrative director for the Chan School’s PEPFAR program. Before arriving at Harvard, Catherine worked for five years in Moscow and Washington, D.C., at the World Bank. Catherine earned a B.A. from Colby College and an M.S. from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Liz has a B.A. in Psychology from Boston University. After college she worked with children and adults with disabilities, first as a case manager and later as a service coordinator for Massachusetts Department of Retardation, and subsequently as a teacher to autistic children at the New England Center for Autism. Liz then worked in product management and marketing for several Boston based technology companies including Lotus Development Corporation. Liz lives in Boston with her husband Steve and her daughter, who is in college.

Deborah is a founder of 3LPlace and its Executive Chair. She has nearly 40 years of high-level project management in private and public sectors: Senior Vice President, Investment Banking, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley; a founder and board member of two national autism-related organizations, including the Floortime Foundation; a founder, CEO, and Executive Chair of 3LPlace, 1997 to present; and parent advocate for an autistic son for 32 years. Deborah earned her MBA in Finance from The Wharton School, and a BA from Tufts University.

Bern is a 1984 graduate of Brown University who began his career in high tech and founded a start-up that eventually became a leading provider of email systems for internet service providers. In 2000, Bern created the Astra Foundation to support children. He serves as executive director of the foundation, which does both grant-making and its own project work. Bern also serves as the board chair of Parenting Journey, an organization focused on helping parents build stronger families.

Dalia has an LLB and an LLM from the University of London. She is a parent of an adult son with developmental disabilities. Dalia worked as a Legal Risk Manager at Fidelity Investments and as a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch. Over the past 14 years, Dalia chaired a fundraiser for St Jude Children’s Research Hospital raising money for kids with cancer and other diseases. She was a member of Massachusetts Advocates for Children. Dalia is involved in her local community chairing football fundraisers and other local events. Dalia is currently actively chairing the auction for Find the Cause, an organization committed to breast cancer prevention. Dalia resides in Wellesley with her husband Ramzi and their three children.

Bella has served in many roles as a Massachusetts educator since 1991. These include 16 as Superintendent for the Natick, Lincoln-Sudbury and Wellesley Public Schools, six as Assistant Superintendent in Wellesley and seven as a science teacher, department coordinator, and union president for Lincoln Sudbury. She is a parent of twin boys, one of whom is an adult with autism.  She earned a BA from Harvard College, a JD from University of California School of Law in Davis, and an EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She currently coaches new school superintendents and serves as Interim Superintendent for the Brookline Public Schools.