Boston Partners in Education is excited to welcome three new staff members to the BPIE team, who will work closely with volunteers, school partners, and educators to run our core mentoring programs. Get to know Sara, Claire, and Susie below.
Sara Kilroy, Program Director
Sara Kilroy, Program DirectorWhat do you enjoy most about working with Boston Partners in Education?
During my first three months on the job, I have enjoyed connecting with Boston Public School leaders, working closely with a team of individuals that care about the work while learning more about the diversity of our schools and neighborhoods in Boston. It makes me feel good knowing that BPIE’s reach is wide and that we have a large impact on our city’s students’ learning.
Why should someone volunteer with Boston Partners in Education?
Our young people are so important and we all have a responsibility to promote positive youth development. Our youth need more caring adults in their lives, someone to foster a supportive relationship and help them connect school, community, and family. They need opportunities to belong and continued acknowledgment that they matter. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
Claire Hammer, Partnerships Manager – ILS
What do you enjoy most about working with Boston Partners in Education?
I love working with the Boston Partners in Education team because we keep students centered in everything we do. Our primary goal is to help students have the opportunities and support to succeed, whatever success may look like in their eyes.
Why should someone volunteer with Boston Partners in Education?
Not many volunteer opportunities give people the opportunity to build such strong relationships in one-on-one settings. Not only does Boston Partners provide volunteers with the chance to do so, but the number of mentors who return year after year is a testament to the importance of those relationships, not just to students, but to volunteers, too.
Susie Beyl, Partnerships Manager
Susie Beyl, Partnerships ManagerWhat do you enjoy most about working with Boston Partners in Education?
I really like being part of an organization that is so focused on people-power. The work we do is only possible when the staff, volunteers, teachers, and students organize around the common belief that all young people should have access to consistent and caring adults in their lives.
Why should someone volunteer with Boston Partners in Education?
Mentorship goes both ways: it’s an opportunity for volunteers and students to get to know each other throughout the course of a whole school year (and maybe longer!). By volunteering with Boston Partners, mentors get to be part of a strong web of varied sources of student support. Those relationships are foundational to community engagement, personal growth, and friendship that endure far beyond the classroom— for everyone involved in the mentoring relationship.