Executive Director
Sister Margaret A. Leonard, LSA
Project Hope’s mission is to partner with families as they move up and out of poverty.  Sister Margaret Leonard is the Executive Director who has designed the strategies to make that happen.

 

Since her appointment in 1985, Project Hope has grown from being an Emergency Shelter serving 8 homeless families, to a multi-service center with an array of educational and economic empowerment programs serving families in the North Dorchester/Roxbury neighborhoods. In 2006 a four story “green” building was constructed on Dudley Street in Roxbury to house those programs, while the original site, a Victorian home in North Dorchester, continues to house a family shelter and children’s center. Using an intensive case management model Project Hope is a pioneer in the movement to prevent homelessness from occurring.

 

In addition to fostering internal growth, Sister Margaret has been a catalyst in forging strategic alliances, partnerships and collaborations at local, city and state levels that create a continuum of care and support for low income families in the movement from crisis to stability. Sister Margaret has long served on the Boards of the Pine Street Inn, Homes for Families, and the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative.

 

Sister Margaret has been honored for her achievements throughout her career. In 2008 she received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from her alma mater, Assumption College, for her life long commitment to improving society - one person, one family and one community at a time. In 2009 she received honorary degrees from University of Massachusetts and Tufts University. She was also selected to be a Barr Fellow in 2009.

 

Director of Finance
Hazel Briceno

Hazel Briceno joined Project Hope as Director of Finance in July 2007.  Prior to coming to Project Hope, she served as Chief Financial Officer at Urban Edge Housing Corporation.  She also co-owned with her husband an accounting services business from 1998 to 2004.  Hazel started her accounting career shortly after she came to the United States from Trinidad, West Indies in 1979.  She brings over twenty years of experience to the position. Hazel has an undergraduate degree from Northeastern University in Accounting and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts in Boston.
 
Over the years, Hazel has served on many Boards.  She is the current Financial Secretary of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. and serves as a Lay Eucharistic Minister and Chairperson of the Outreach Committee at her church.

 

Director of Development and External Affairs
Elizabeth Zarrella, MSW
Elizabeth Zarrella joined Project Hope as Director of Development and External Affairs in July 2005. She brings to the position significant skills in planning, marketing, relationship cultivation, fundraising and community outreach, along with knowledge about the issues of homelessness, child welfare and poverty. With over 20 years experience in the public policy and advocacy arena, she has extensive non-profit experience. Prior to joining Project Hope she served as the Director of Advocacy and Public Policy and a registered lobbyist at The Home for Little Wanderers. Prior to that, on behalf of the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union she filed landmark legislation calling for creation of a statewide standard of economic self-sufficiency. Elizabeth has also worked in the public arena working for both the New York City Commission on Human Rights Bias Prevention and Response Team and New York City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

 

Elizabeth has an undergraduate degree from Boston University in political science and a Master of Social Work degree in policy and administration from Catholic University. She is certified in conflict resolution from the New York Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution.