Board of Directors
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Dave Russek, the Board President, was Vice President, Supplier Management within Enterprise Infrastructure, a division of Fidelity Investments. He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Northeastern University. David lives in the South End.
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William A. Wolff, former president and one of the founders of this organization, has been a volunteer since 2005 at Blackstone for “Literations”, a non-profit organization that works with teachers and children in first through fourth grade to improve literacy skills. Bill and his wife live in Boston’s South End. Learn why Bill founded FoBS here!
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Kimberly Paddock, treasurer, has volunteered at the Blackstone School since 2019 as a library volunteer and 6th grade math mentor with Boston Partners in Education. Kim resides in the South End with her pup Mia!
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Bruce Bemis is a visual artist living and working in the South End. As a member of the South End community, he supports art initiatives at Blackstone Elementary School by coordinating projects and facilitating partnerships in art. It is his concern that the arts continue to be integral to the learning experience of students at the Blackstone.​​​
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Lauren Van Buren is a young professional and dedicated volunteer in the Boston community, living in the South End. She joined FoBS after wanting to get more involved in her local community and support a non-profit directly benefitting children. Lauren also volunteers every Monday at Victory Programs in the South End / Back Bay, preparing and serving warm meals to those in need!​​
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Tashara Jones is a graduate from University of Rochester’s Simon Business school, working in the insurance industry. She has been serving as a board member of Friends of Blackstone for a year, along with other community events in the Boston area.
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Christine Heubusch works at Liberty Mutual in commercial underwriting operations, managing processes and system optimization. She has a lifelong love of community service, including having volunteered with food security, healthcare, and ESL organizations in the past. She is also involved with the women's employee resource group at Liberty.