Our Leadership Team

Naomi Orensten is Chief Executive Officer of ESC. She is dedicated to ESC’s mission of empowering nonprofits to achieve their goals and contribute to a more just and equitable world, bringing extensive leadership experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors to this role.

A trusted partner to civil society organizations and a passionate advocate for a strong nonprofit sector, Naomi is deeply committed to advancing justice and equity. Most recently, she served as Senior Director of Programs and Strategy at the Dorot Foundation, and at the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) as Director of Research and Director of Assessment and Advisory Services. Earlier in her career, she worked in program and engagement roles in education, civil rights, human services, and civic engagement. Naomi also serves on the board of the Krupp Family Foundation and the advisory council of Horizon Philanthropy.

Naomi is a first-generation college graduate from rural northern Wisconsin. She holds an EdM in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a BA from Brandeis University. She lives in Cambridge, MA with her family, and loves experiencing the world through the eyes of her high-energy kids and testing new recipes from library cookbooks.

Education: BA in Art History, Oberlin College; MBA, Simmons University; Certificate in Museum Studies, Tufts University

ESC Involvement: ESC Consultant since 2015. Elected to the Board January 2023.

Career Highlights: Carol most recently held Research Director and Product Management positions at The NPD Group, Inc., a market research company. She served as an internal survey research consultant to all business units and launched numerous ongoing research programs in the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Previously Carol was COO of STS Market Research where she created and managed a consumer research panel for the apparel industry and oversaw the operational and financial aspects of the company.

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Membership & Development Manager at the Photographic Resource Center (volunteer); former board member, Simmons School of Management Alumnae Association; member, New England Museum Association.

Education : BS, Economics, Boston University ; Faculté de Droit et des Sciences Économiques, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

ESC Involvement: Joined ESC Board in 2021 and consultant since 2018.

Career Highlights: Chelinde is the founder of CME Consulting, an independent employee benefits consulting practice. Prior experience in the group insurance business includes Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (1997-2009); Director/Vice President of National Underwriting, Healthsource, Inc. (1996-1997); and Director of Underwriting, Tufts Health Plans (1995-1996). As an ESC Consultant, Chelinde offers expertise in strategic planning, grant writing, needs assessment, and program and service evaluation and has served on ESC consulting teams for ESC clients UWander and Hope House.

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Current Board Member, Haiti Development Institute; former Trustee at Catholic Charitable Bureau of the Archdiocese of Boston, Inc.; former Chair of the Haitian Multi Service Center Board in Boston, MA.

Certifications CLU, Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), American College of Financial Services.

Education: B.A., Barnard College; Master of Arts and PhD, Columbia University; 

MBA Northeastern University. 

ESC Involvement: Elected to the Board January 2025. Dorothy was the Board President at the Worcester Art Museum when she recommended ESC to develop the museum’s multi-year strategic plan.

Career Highlights:  Works with regional and national foundations, arts commissions and arts councils, as well as cultural, educational, and human services organizations.  Projects include strategic/business planning; governance, organizational and operational assessment; market research and audience development. 

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Recent past Board President, Worcester Art Museum; board  member The Greater Lowell Community Foundation and Arts Extension Service of UMASS, Amherst.   

Past Board chair YWCA Boston; co-chair WGBH Community Board; Leadership Board Beth Israel Lahey Hospital; board member Visitors Studies Association, New England Museum Association, Massachusetts Foundation for Humanities, The Bostonian Society; Barnard College President’s Advisory Council and Class Vice President.  

Education: BS and MS from MIT, MBA from Boston University

ESC Involvement: Consultant since 2019, Board Member since 2024, Finance Committee Member since 2023.

Career Highlights: A senior manager with broad-based experience in manufacturing, technology, and financial services including international operations, along with advising non-profits on financial sustainability and board governance. Background includes leadership and strategy-setting roles in finance, accounting, planning, acquisitions and divestitures. Served as CFO at WobbleWorks, Inc., 2016-2018; and Founder and Principal/Practice Director at Patina Solutions, 2003-2016. Currently advises women-owned start-up businesses on strategic planning and how to achieve profitability. Occasionally accepts interim CFO positions.

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Former member of the Executive, Finance, Audit and Auction committees for the Center for Women and Enterprise. As former Treasurer, communicated to the Board on a quarterly basis on the status of the financial and cash position of the organization and provided financial forecasts.

MORE ABOUT JOEL
Career experience
WobbleWorks, Inc.; Patina Solutions, formerly Accretive Solutions and The Pentad Group Inc.; Parson Consulting LLC; Availant, Inc. (formerly Clam Associates); Fluor Daniel GTI, Inc.; I.D.E. Corporation; Coopers & Lybrand (CPA)

Education
BS and MS, Biochemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MBA, Accounting and Finance, Boston University, Questrom School of Management

Board or Volunteer Service
Board member and Treasurer for the Center for Women & Enterprise

Interests
Traveling, hiking, and bicycling

Education: BA, Hobart & William Smith College; Certificate of Special Studies in Management & Administration, Harvard University; Certificate in Financial Planning, Boston University; Certificate of Nonprofit Board Consulting, BoardSource.

ESC Involvement: Elected Board Treasurer April 2023; ESC DEIB Committee (since 2020), ESC Finance Committee (since 2021) and Board Member (first elected 2021)

Career Highlights: Penny has over 35 years of financial services leadership experience in private banking, wealth management and commercial banking, most recently with SVB, (a division of First Citizens Bank). She has also served as President, Executive and Finance Committee Chair, development, governance, search committee and board member for nonprofits with revenue ranging from $17 million to start-up. In March 2019, she earned a Certificate in Nonprofit Board Consulting from BoardSource (Washington, D.C.), formally deepening her governance expertise. Penny’s interest in board governance, strategic planning, commitment to accessible capital and resources for under-represented populations, are integral to the range of Boston-area nonprofit organizations and professional associations she has spent time leading, advising, mentoring, granting to, raising funds for, and recruiting support.

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Lead Boston (YW) graduate, class of 2021; The Philanthropy Connection Board member and DE&I Committee Co-chair; Focus on Tanzanian Communities, Board member; Minds Matter Boston, Board of Directors Vice Chair and Governance Committee chair (past); Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Trustee, four years (past); Miss Porter’s School Board Chair and member, fifteen years (past); Boston Estate Planning Council, Trustee, three years (past); and Family Services of Greater Boston, three years (past)

Education:  BS, M.E., Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn; MS, Management, Northeastern University.

ESC Involvement: ESC Consultant since 2002. Elected to the Board January 2018.

Career Highlights: In addition to serving as the Interim COO of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston, Neil has participated in senior roles at three high-tech start-up companies, one of which went public during his tenure. In addition, he has worked at ADE, Teradyne, Instron and Texas Instruments in a variety of worldwide roles. Neil has been awarded U.S. and International Patents. He was awarded ESC’s Loring Award for Excellence in consulting and the Marshall outstanding project award.

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Volunteer tour guide for Boston by Foot, the Boston Public Library, and WGBH. Neil also serves on the Advisory Board for the New England Center for Investigative Reporting as it transitioned to become part of GBH.

Education:  BA, Princeton University; JD, Harvard Law School.

ESC Involvement: Elected to the Board April 2021. ESC Consultant since December 2021.

Career Highlights: Prior to joining the Boston University School of Law in 2019, Toni was the founding director of the Senior Fellows Program at the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). During an earlier stint as a CLF staff attorney, Toni worked on a wide range of issues, from transportation policy and stormwater management to renewable energy and regional climate action. She has also served as executive director of Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, and as a litigation associate at Ropes & Gray.

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Board Chair, Charles River Watershed Association (2023-present, board member since 2020); Board Member, Just Zero (2023-current); Advisory Board Member, Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (2008-present); Formerly National Advisory Board, Union of Concerned Scientists (2007-2014), Head Coach, Girls on the Run Greater Boston (2015-2017).

Education: MFA – Music Performance/Education – Governors State University

Career Highlights: Myran is an educator, executive and consultant with over 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector providing access to quality education and arts and culture. A key focus of her professional career has been working with organizations on strategic and transition planning, program development and implementation, collective impact model development and public-private partnerships.

She has held senior leadership positions with the Boston Public Schools, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Longy School of Music at Bard College. Myran has received local, national and international recognition for her work in arts and culture, arts education and arts policy reform. Her recognition includes EdWeek’s “Leader to Learn From” award; the Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s “Excellence in Arts Education” and the “Unsung Hero” award from Boston Dance Alliance. Myran serves as a lead member of the Statewide Arts Coalition, elevating the role of arts and arts education in Massachusetts, initiating legislation and policy reform.

ESC Involvement: Consultant/Volunteer since 2020; Fellow at Fort Point Arts Community, Inc., 2022; Board Member, 2022

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: American Repertory Theater, Board of Trustees; Boston Arts Academy, Board of Trustees; Boston Landmarks Orchestra – Board of Advisors; Community Music Center of Boston, Board of Trustees; EdVestors, Board of Trustees, Longy School of Music at Bard College, Board of Trustees; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Board of Advisors; Boston Chapter of the LINKS; and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Psi Omega Chapter, Boston.

Education: BS Industrial Engineering, Stanford University; MBA, Columbia University

ESC Involvement: Elected to the Board January 2025. Member of DEIB Committee and since April, 2025 co-chair. Consulting Skills faculty. ESC Consultant since 2008.

Career Highlights: Leadership roles with global companies in manufacturing industries such as medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. CFO, Haemonetics Corp.; CFO and head of operations, Converse Inc.; CFO Europe, Middle East and Africa, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Focus on manufacturing and supply chain management, financial sustainability, operational effectiveness, information systems and turnarounds.

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Volunteer mentor with Boston YMCA Training, Inc. computer and office skills career training program for adults since 2008. Formerly member of YMCA Education and Training branch advisory board and partners council; board member, finance committee and chair of audit committee of the Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston; board member, treasurer, Morris County (NJ) Rehabilitation Center (Easter Seal).

Education: Jackson College/ Tufts University 1972-1976; Certificate Grantmakers for Education Executive Sessions at Harvard Graduate School of Education: Certificate Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship for ESG/CSR Executive Track, 2020.

ESC Involvement: Elected to the Board January 2025. Member of ESC Governance Committee beginning May 2025. Like many I had heard of (Executive Service Corps) as it became Empower Success Corps–and knew several affiliated consultants. Previously my team assessed ESC proposals for Liberty Mutual Foundation. In 2023-2024 I completed the Catalyst Fellows training, joining colleagues in Cohort II.

Career Highlights: Klare retired in 2021 as the National Director of Programs at Liberty Mutual Foundation. She supervised the philanthropy team, reporting to the Foundation President. The team implemented LMIG corporate giving and had oversight for strategy, impact/KPI’s and contributions in Boston, Seattle, Ohio, and Dallas. The foundation invested almost $40M in nonprofits that changed the lives of some of the most vulnerable, seeking to promote equity and self-empowerment. Prior to that position, Klare was a department head at the Boston Public Schools, and a Senior Advisor to then Supt. Carol R. Johnson. Klare’s professional experience blends leadership and expertise from over four decades in philanthropy at the State Arts Council (now MCC), Bank of New England, Boston Globe Foundation, and Barr Foundation.

Klare has also held advisory, staff, and board roles at local and national nonprofits such as EdVestors, Boston Educational Development Fund, Grantmakers in the Arts, Funders Together to End Homelessness (Youth Homelessness sub-group), Philanthropy MA (Summer Fund Committee), New England Blacks in Philanthropy, The Urban Farming Institute of Boston, Action for Boston Community Development, and the Boston Children’s Museum.

Current Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Vice-President of The League of Women for Community Service, Board of the Grimes King Foundation; Advisory Boards: Higher Ground, The Samaritans; and Member Bethel A.M.E. Church, Jamaica Plain.

Selected Awards: Citation From the Boston City Council for Advancing Educational Equity Through Philanthropy 2022/ Boston Education Fund, Trailblazer Award for Educational Equity 2022/ Eastern Bank “Community Advocacy Award” with Sarah-Ann Shaw 2018/ Boston Celtics “Heroes Among Us” Award 2012/ Boston Center for the Arts/ Arts Champion Award 2011/ Discover Roxbury, Roxbury Puddingstone Award 2010 / Black Ministerial Alliance Award 2009.

Education : A.B. (Economics), Dartmouth College ; MBA (Finance), Cornell University.

ESC Involvement: 

• Consultant for ESC of Northern New England (ESC-NNE), 2009-18.
• Board of directors, treasurer, and board chair for ESC-NNE, 2015-18 (until ESC-NNE’s acquisition by Empower Success Corps).
• Consultant for Empower Success Corps, 2018-ongoing.
• ESC Finance Committee member since 2023.
• Elected to the ESC Board and Treasurer in 2024.

Career Highlights: Jeff is a retired financial executive for global information services and software companies in the U.S. and U.K., 1980-2008. Positions various financial analyst and manager positions at Dun and Bradstreet (1983-1996); Finance Director, Cognizant Corporation (1997-1998); Senior Director of Finance, IMS Health (1998-2002); Senior Finance Director, Thompson Reuters (2003-2007) and Vice President of Group Finance at Misys (2008). Also served as an adjunct university instructor of business courses, New England College, (2009-2012) and adjunct Instructor & Course Development, Southern New Hampshire University’s College of Online and Continuing Education, as well as Subject Matter Expert for creation of SNHU’s online undergraduate and MBA finance courses (2012-2021).

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Local election volunteer, 2024; Active hiker (currently at 15 of NH’s 48 4000-foot peaks) and trail bicyclist; Longtime leadership roles with local Dartmouth College alumni organizations (1983-2021).

Education: BA from Wellesley College, Ph.D. in Social Policy from Brandeis University

ESC Involvement: ESC Consultant since 2018, Board Member since 2023

Career Highlights: For over 30 years, Rachel worked for the Volpe Center, a fee-for-service consulting organization within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Rachel held numerous positions including Director of the Technical Center for Transportation Policy and Planning—with a staff of 74 employees, a portfolio of 142 projects for over 50 customers, and a $40 million annual budget. She capped off her career as a key senior advisor to the Volpe Director, identifying and leading major strategic business and organizational initiatives.

Other Boards/Activities/Affiliations: Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center (Current); Advisory Board, Women’s Transportation Seminar; Transportation Research Board, Management and Productivity Committee.

Selected Awards: U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary’s Award: National Conference on Marine Transportation; Volpe Director’s Award for Integrity, Loyalty, Teamwork and Leadership; Coast Guard Award for Sustained Delivery of Outstanding Products and Services.