Sr. 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.
Elizabeth Zarrella Maglio , MSW
Elizabeth Zarrella Maglio 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.
Julie Burkley
Julie Burkley joined Project Hope’s staff as the Director of Programs in January 2011. She has dedicated the past fifteen years to building economic opportunities for lower-income families in Boston and Jersey City, New Jersey. During this time, she developed and/or managed programs in workforce development, small business assistance, childcare, financial education, and outreach & education. In addition to her project development and project management skills, she brings to Project Hope skills and interest in evaluation and performance-based outcomes.
Prior to joining Project Hope, she served as Director of Workforce and Economic Development at the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation and Director of Community Economic Development at WomenRising, Inc. (NJ). Julie has also worked in democracy building and conflict resolution in Washington DC, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Julie has an undergraduate degree from University of Michigan in Political Science and holds an M.A. from Princeton University and a MCRP (Masters in City and Regional Planning) from Rutgers University.
Chief Financial Officer
Carol Ann McAuliffe
Carol Ann McAuliffe joined Project Hope’s Board of Directors in 2003.
For the past 8 years, she served as the Treasurer of the Board. In November
2011 she joined Project Hope’s staff as the Director of Finance. Prior to
joining Project Hope’s staff, Carol Ann worked for 20 years at Fidelity
Investments. She most recently held the position of Vice President in the
operations area at Fidelity. She is highly skilled in the areas of
accounting, operations management, project management, new product
implementation and business planning.
Carol Ann has an undergraduate
degree from Boston College and a MBA from Boston University.
Jennifer Taub, Ph.D.
Jennifer Taub is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with a background in children, families and couples. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Vermont, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. She has held academic appointments in the Department of School and Counseling Psychology at UMass Boston, and in Psychiatry at UMass Medical School. She has extensive experience working in teaching, research and evaluation for non-profit organizations in New England, most recently as the Director of Learning and Evaluation at Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. Dr. Taub has worked as a consultant for child and youth serving mental health programs, schools, diversity programs, Healthy Start home visiting programs, child and adult wraparound services programs, and respite services for children with special health care needs. Her additional clinical interests include transporting evidence based treatments into real world settings, using outcomes to inform services, LGBT concerns and women with chronic pain.