Guiding Organizational Change Consultants
Gary Lyon, Ed.D.
Gary Lyon, Ed.D. joined Centerboard in 2013. Native to North Carolina, Gary brings his southern charm along with nearly 20 years of nonprofit managerial experience to Centerboard. As Director of Youth Services & Special Initiatives, Gary is responsible for the overall operations of Youth Services at Centerboard with the support of his leadership team. In 2020, Gary obtained his doctorate in education specializing in organizational management. He completed his dissertation on social identity and fostering inclusion in the workplace. Gary spearheads Centerboard’s diversity, equity and inclusion work, overseeing and implementing strategies to support continuous quality improvement for the organization. Gary is also a consultant at VISIONS, Inc. where he teaches and trains core concepts around culture and identity with VISIONS’s tools and guidelines to assist others in embracing, utilizing, and understanding differences.
Kim Hopkins, LICSW
Kim Hopkins, LICSW, is the Director of Innovation & Planning for Centerboard. She has more than 20 years of experience working with youth and families in a variety of settings including residential programs, foster homes, special education day schools, public schools, and outpatient clinics. Kim has been a Collaborative & Proactive Solutions trainer with Lives in the Balance since 2007, and has brought her expertise to Centerboard. Kim brings ten years of experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion work. She also has a Certificate in Professional Fundraising and is involved with our quality assurance, program development, and grant writing initiatives.
Ebony White
Ebony is the Residential Director of Youth Services for Centerboard. She has over 15 years of experience working with families and youth in the Lynn Community. She joined the Centerboard team in 2008. Ebony serves as an active member of the community and works with organizations to continue ensuring that institutional policies and procedures support people of color and help bring diversity, equity, and inclusion to community members with a focus on organizational change. She has a B.A. in Communications from Newbury College and received a certificate from Suffolk University in Non-Profit Business Management. In her free time, she like to hang with her two children, travel, and coach travel basketball.
Jen Dowd, LICSW
Jen Dowd is the Clinical & Community Director of Youth Services for Centerboard. Jen has more than 15 years experience working with children and adults in school, residential, and community settings. Since joining Centerboard in 2015, Jen has worked as a clinician and program director in our Group Home, Melrose TPP, Family Resource Center, and We Rise programs, and now oversees the Youth Services Clinical Team and community-based programs. She is particularly passionate about issues which impact historically excluded populations, including at-risk youth and people who have experienced sexual exploitation.
Agnes Misigah, LMHC
Agnes Misigah, LMHC is the Director of Housing, Policy and Practice. Agnes began her career at Centerboard in 2006 and started as a clinician in Centerboard's Youth Services division, later transitioning to Clinical Director of Youth Services. In 2014, Agnes joined the Housing Division as a Program Director and most recently became co-director of Housing Services. Agnes’ perspective of helping people is based on the Empathy-Altruism Theory. She believes in putting herself in another person’s shoes, understanding how they feel and ultimately offering help without expecting anything in return. Agnes is a valuable asset at Centerboard and is a member of both the CQI and DEI planning committees. She also holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Human Service Management from Suffolk University. Away from Centerboard, Agnes is involved in her local church volunteering both her leadership skills and music talent.