Bonnie Asbjornson – At Large, 5/04 - 5/07
Bonnie Asbjornson was active at a local chapter of The Arc of Massachusetts for four years, with a special interest in family support services. She also volunteered in the office at that chapter (no longer an affiliate). Her advocacy included two pilot projects: supported employment, and a tuition payments program for direct care workers in return for a service commitment. Bonnie’s husband Ron is on the Family to Family Steering Committee and Bonnie often participates in Family to Family.
Bonnie and Ron are active in Massachusetts Families Organizing for Change. Bonnie’s interests on The Arc of Massachusetts Board are membership and local Arc relations. Bonnie and Ron are parents of a young man with disabilities.
David Broden – At Large, 5/04 - 5/07
David Broden has served on The Arc of Massachusetts board since 2001. He works at TJX in Framingham. David is a self-advocate who is very independent. He has held a number of full- and part-time positions to advance himself.
David also serves on the Board of The Arc of Northern Bristol County. He represents the organization in various venues. He is a long-time participant of Special Olympics and keeps active in various sports activities. David has been an active participant on The Arc of Massachusetts Board.
Vibeke Christensen – At Large, 5/04 - 5/07
Vibeke Christensen lives with her husband, Gustav, in Lexington. They have two adult children. Vibeke’s greatest interest over the past 20 years has been to improve the life and future of their son, Daniel, who is disabled.
Several years ago, Vibeke co-founded the LABB Parents’ Association. She has been active in her local PAC and on a committee that worked on interagency relationships. She is a member of a number of local Arcs and TASH.
Vibeke looks forward to working on statewide issues and comes prepared with a strong personal and local advocacy background. Vibeke believes that individuals have to connect their personal advocacy goals to a commitment to systems advocacy to be successful.
Linda Cournoyer – SWCARC, 5/05 - 5/08
Linda is well known to our community through her decades of volunteer work at Southern Worcester County Arc (Center of Hope) in addition to working in family support services, (currently with Seven Hills).
Linda has played a key role in organizing annual legislative breakfasts at Southern Worcester since 1978. She has won a “Woman of the Year” award from the Webster Patriot newspaper. Linda has been married to Ovide “Cook” Cournoyer for 38 years and has two children and three grandchildren. Her son, Danny, is a truck driver and fireman, and her daughter, Denise, is challenged with significant disabilities. Linda is an avid photographer, winning many awards for her work.
Sherri Dottin - GBARC, 5/06 - 5/10
Sherri Dottin has been involved in the Arc movement for over 35 years. Ms. Dottin has served as Secretary for The Arc of Massachusetts as well as Chairperson of several Annual Meeting Committees. Besides being a member of The Arc of Massachusetts Board, she also is a board member of the Greater Boston Arc, where she has held numerous positions over the years. In addition, she has served on the Board of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council for several terms.
Sherri’s brother Randy, who is mentally disabled, lives at home and has worked at Houghton Chemical Corp. for over 12 years. Randy made the transition in recent years to his own apartment, where he receives staff assistance as needed. Ms. Dottin is employed with the Federal Aviation Administration as an Operations Officer.
Ruth I. Freedman – At Large, 5/06 - 5/09
Ruth Freedman is Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Boston University’s School of Social Work. A graduate of Brandeis University, she earned her M.S.W. and Ph.D. from the Heller School at Brandeis and has taught and published extensively in the field of developmental disabilities, including family support, legal and ethical issues, health and mental health. She was a Fellow of the American Association on Mental Retardation, and is a Consulting Editor of Mental Retardation and an Editorial Board Member of Journal of Gerontological Social Work. She is also a member of the Advisory Committee of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts-Boston and a member of the Advisory Board of Jewish Family & Children’s Services for People with Disabilities. Ruth and her husband, attorney Donald Freedman, have been active in The Arc’s Leaders and Founders since its inception. They are residents of Newton. They have two sons and one grandchild.
Cynthia R. Haddad – At Large, 5/04 - 5/07
Cynthia Haddad, a Certified Financial Planner licensee, is affiliated with Bay Financial Associates LLC in Waltham, MA, which she joined in 1994. She previously worked with Tucker Anthony in Boston and with the Darrow Company in Concord, MA. She has over a decade of experience in insurance, investments and financial services, and has committed her practice to planning for women, retirees, and families with a special needs member.
Cynthia received her B. A. in finance and economics from Simmons College in 1985 and her CFP designation from the College for Financial Planning in 1989. She is also a NASD securities registered representative and a licensed Life, Accident and Health insurance broker.
A specialist in Special Needs Planning for families as well as comprehensive issues of Planned Giving, Financial and Estate Planning, Cynthia has frequently spoken to audiences for various Arc chapters; Family Support Groups; Specialized Housing, Inc.; PLAN of Massachusetts (formerly MARC Trust); the Down Syndrome Congress; and the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, among others. Cynthia lives in Arlington with her husband, Mark, and their two young children.
Richard Harwood - NBC, 5/06 - 5/09
Richard Harwood has been a Past President and Board member of The Arc of Northern Bristol County. He developed an interest in the field during his school years and later, as a young teacher. He is well known to affiliates across the state through his long service. He and his wife, Diana, reside in Plainville. They have two sons: Evan, 19 (a sophomore at Bryant College), and Kyle, 17 (a junior at King Phillip Regional High School).
James D. Lawson – SS, 5/05 - 5/08
Jim is Past President of The Arc of the South Shore, having provided leadership for several years. Jim is employed at Ropes and Gray. He has played a significant role in bringing new resources to local chapters of The Arc as well as to The Arc of Massachusetts. In addition to his business background, he is especially interested in employment alternatives. He lives in Norwell with his wife, Regina, and their three children.
Susan C. Lodemore - 5/06 - 5/09
Sue is Vice President of Thorbahn Associates, an employee benefits consulting firm based in Quincy, MA. She has over 24 years of employee benefits consulting experience. She has held management positions with several well-known consulting firms. She has spoken at national pension conferences and is currently an active member of the New England Employee Benefits Council. Susan holds her Life and Health Insurance and NASD Series 6 and Series 63 licenses. She and her husband, David, live in Hingham.
James F. Powers - MMAHS, 5/05 - 5/08
Jim Powers and his family have been long-time volunteers with the Minute Man Arc for Human Services. Jim’s brother, John, who passed away in 2004, received services from Minute Man. Jim is a senior financial services executive with Met Life. Originally from Concord, Jim and his wife now live in Stow.
Alexandria J. Regan - 5/06 - 5/09
Alex is a Certified Public Accountant at Grant Thornton, LLP in Boston. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, she holds B.S. and B.A. degrees. In her previous employment with another public accounting firm, she specialized in not-for-profit audits for many human service providers.
Alex has been a volunteer at The Arc of East Middlesex, where she taught jewelry classes and worked with program directors to purchase supplies. She and her husband, Scott, have two children, Maxwell (age 6) and Harrison (age 3).
Frank Sally – SNCARC, 5/06 - 5/09
Frank Sally, a graduate of Boston College and Suffolk Law School, is a practicing attorney. In 1984, after 14 years as a trial lawyer with Bingham, Dana & Gould, he founded Sally & Fitch LLP with Jonathan Fitch. In the November 2005 issue of Boston Magazine, he was named a “Massachusetts Super Lawyer.” Frank serves as Chairman of the Board of South Norfolk County Arc, where he and his wife, Nancy, have long been active members. Residents of Dedham, they have four children between the ages of 24 and 32 years.
Frank has been a lecturer for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education’s Trial Advocacy Institute since 1980. He is a past member and chairman of the Town of Dedham’s Finance Committee, and a past member and chair of the Dedham-Westwood Water District. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, before the U.S. District Court for the Districts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Janet Sweeney Rico – At Large, 5/04 - 5/07
Janet Rico is a Nurse Practitioner in the Emergency Department of Boston Medical Center and an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School for Health Studies at Simmons College. She is also a visiting lecturer and Instructor in the occupational health program at the Harvard School of Public Health. She received her B.S in Nursing from St. Anselm College, a Master’s in Nursing from the University of North Carolina, and an MBA with a health care specialization from Boston University.
Janet and her husband, Arthur, have two teenage children, Michelle and Lauren, one of whom has microcephaly and global developmental delays. Personally and professionally, she is interested in meeting the needs of vulnerable populations, especially as they relate to healthcare and educational services. Recently, her passion for educating health professionals about people with disabilities led her to launch a community health rotation in special needs for Simmons College nursing students. She hopes to expand the program with other centers in the future.
Janet is a past member of the Board of Vinfen Corporation, and has served the Wrentham Public Schools as a member of the Health Curriculum Committee and MCAS Advisory Committee.
Jerry Silbert - North Shore, 5/04 - 5/07
Jerry has served as a member of the Arc Governmental Affairs Committee since 1998. In addition, he is active in various local affairs, including his role on a family support Governing Council hosted at the North Shore Arc. He is on the Board of the Autism Society of Massachusetts.
In February of 1999, Jerry was one of two parent leaders who helped orient newly elected legislators on Beacon Hill. In addition, he has conducted research on the prevalence of Pervasive Developmental Disability (PDD) in certain communities based on the special education census.
Jerry brings three major strengths to The Arc: he is analytical and reviews issues in depth; he can share such information orally and in writing; and he is assertive without being insulting. He is committed to helping others become knowledgeable and empowered in recognition for the support that he received as a young parent. Jerry and his wife and child live in Swampscott; he has a young son with autism. Jerry is a numismatist (dealer of coins, rare and otherwise).
Roger Walsh - SNCARC, 5/02 - 5/05
Roger is a self-advocate who has had leadership positions at Mass Advocates Standing Strong (MASS), including the position of President. He has done volunteer work for South Norfolk County Arc, including public speaking. Roger is looking forward to a new activity, as he will work to build disability awareness through speaking at public schools.
Roger has a strong interest in advocacy. In particular, he feels that the public needs to understand the value of special education. He graduated from Perkins School for the Blind and has a strong interest in sports, including basketball and bowling. Roger works at the Dollar Store in Norwood.
Meet the Officers of our Board of Directors
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