Meet Our Team
Nancy Allen-Scannell
Executive Director
Nancy joined MSPCC in 2006 and most recently served as the Director of External Affairs. She has spent almost two decades developing and strategically implementing the agency’s child mental health and child welfare policy and legislative initiatives. A highly respected and team focused leader, Allen-Scannell has worked collaboratively with legislators, key policy makers, youth, families, and a wide range of stakeholders to advance improvements in policy, practice, and resources for children and families. She has also spearheaded coalition efforts, including most recently the work of the Children’s Mental Health Campaign on the Mental Health ABC Act: Addressing Barriers to Care. Before joining MSPCC, she was the Director of Government Affairs at Jane Doe, Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. She has served on numerous state- and community-level commissions and boards.
See Nancy on LinkedIn.
Contact Nancy at nscannell@mspcc.org or 617-587 -1510.
Sarah Ahola
Project Coordinator, Encompass Encompass: Community and Collaboration for Foster Families
Sarah joined MSPCC in 2020 as the Project Coordinator for Encompass: Community and Collaboration for Foster Families, an innovative program supporting foster families in Central MA. Sarah is a Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW) and has received a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Westfield State University as well as a Master of Social Work degree from Bridgewater State University. She has been working in the world of mental health and human services since 2014, and prior to joining MSPCC worked for The Home for Little Wanderers in school, mental health clinic, and residential settings. Sarah is also a foster parent with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) and brings her personal experience to her role with Encompass.
See Sarah on Linkedin.
Contact Sarah at sahola@mspcc.org or 781-854-1509
Sara Brown
Associate Director for Communications
Sara joined MSPCC in 2022 as the Associate Director of Communications. In this role, she manages MSPCC’s external communications including press relations. Prior to this role, she served as the communications director for a nonprofit in the North Shore. She also has over a decade of experience as a journalist in the New England area. She received her B.A in communications from Lasell University and is currently working on her masters in public administration from Suffolk University.
Contact Sara at sbrown@eliotchs.org
Courtney Chelo
Assistant Director for Government Relations
Courtney has been with MSPCC since 2014. In her role, she coordinates the work of the Children’s Mental Health Campaign. Prior to joining the MSPCC, she served as a Policy Coordinator at Health Care For All, where she worked to expand access to quality, affordable oral health care and coverage for vulnerable populations. She is a member of the Massachusetts Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Youth, where she serves as the government relations committee chair. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a B.S. in environmental and resource economics.
See Courtney on LinkedIn.
Contact Courtney at cchelo@mspcc.org or 617-587-1513.
Megan Hempstead, MPH
Director of Foundation Relations
Megan joined MSPCC in 2015 and serves as the Director of Foundation Relations. In this role, she builds and manages the agency’s partnerships with private foundations. Megan writes grant proposals and reports to support programs and services and coordinates applications for funding through state agencies, including the Department of Children and Families, Department of Mental Health, Department of Public Health, and the Department of Early Education and Care. Megan received a B.A. in public and community health from the University of Maryland and a Master in Public Health degree with a concentration in health communication from Tufts University School of Medicine. Prior to MSPCC, Megan was a Program Coordinator in Boston University’s Department of Family Medicine, managing research projects related to maternal and infant health.
See Megan on LinkedIn.
Contact Megan at mhempstead@mspcc.org or 617-587-1523.
Lisa Levine
Community Outreach Coordinator
Lisa joined MSPCC in 2022 as part of the Encompass program and later transitioned to her current position within the Development team. In both roles, she has focused on identifying other organizations, community groups and volunteers whose values align with those of MSPCC and stewarding partnerships that help us more fully actualize our goals.
Lisa holds a BA from Becker College, a MS from Antioch University New England and brings years of diverse nonprofit experience to her role. She is a foster parent with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) and an active board member of the Massachusetts Alliance for Foster Families (MAFF). Lisa takes pride in living a heart-driven life both at home and in the community.
Melanie S. Lima
Director of Development
Melanie joined MSPCC in 2015. As Director of Development, she leads a team of 5 fundraising professionals in activities that generate more than $2 million annually from individual, corporate, foundation and government funding sources. Melanie works closely with MSPCC’s Executive Director, Board of Advisors, and Board committees to strategically plan and implement fundraising, communications and public relations initiatives to sustain and grow MSPCC’s programmatic impact and footprint across the Commonwealth. Melanie has more than 30 years of development experience holding key leadership positions for non-profit organizations in Massachusetts, Vermont and California including Italian Home for Children and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and has a B.S. in communications from Emerson College.
See Melanie on LinkedIn.
Contact Melanie at mlima@mspcc.org or 617-587-1587.
Sasha Martin
Foundation Relations Associate
Sasha joined MSPCC in 2023 as the Foundation Relations Associate. In this role, Sasha coordinates with agency staff to write and edit foundation grant proposals to fund various programs and advocacy work of MSPCC, The NAN Project, and other programs of Eliot Community Human Services. Sasha received a Bachelor’s in Social Work at Florida State University and a Master’s in Social Work at Boston College. Prior to MSPCC, Sasha interned with a capacity-building nonprofit in collaboration with the strategy and operations team to work on a range of projects and special initiatives.
Contact Sasha at SMartin@mspcc.org
Julie Sheflin
Assistant Director of Development
Julie joined MSPCC in 2016 and currently serves at the Assistant Director of Development. In her role, she cultivates, solicits and stewards a portfolio of current and new agency corporate donors and prospects as well as co-leads major gift efforts. Additionally, she is responsible for the planning, managing and implementation of all agency events. Prior to joining MSPCC, she was the Director of Events & Visibility at Italian Home for Children where she was co-founder of the Emerging Leaders Society young professional board. She currently serves on the Young Professional Council of Room to Grow Boston and has a B.S. in communications with minors in management and public relations from Bridgewater State University.
See Julie on LinkedIn.
Contact Julie at jsheflin@mspcc.org or 617-587-5204.
Aditi Subramaniam
Associate Director, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health
Aditi Subramaniam, joined MSPCC in 2019 and is leading a partnership between MSPCC and the MA Association for Infant Mental Health (MassAIMH), focused on enhancing and supporting the infant mental health workforce with the goal of improving access to services for children age birth – 5 and their families. She is a Licensed Psychotherapist specializing in Infant, Parent and Early Childhood mental health with more than fifteen years of experience, in India and Boston.
Her experience includes clinical work, serving as faculty and trainer, and engaging in systems to build capacity in infant and early childhood mental health. She served as a board member of MassAIMH and currently is the co-chair on their policy committee. She holds an M.A in Expressive Therapies from Lesley University and an M.A in Clinical Psychology from University of Delhi, India. The principles and practices of social justice and equity are embedded in her lens and work.
See Aditi on LinkedIn.
Contact Aditi at asubramaniam@mspcc.org or 617-983-5839.
Julie Welch, MSW
Policy Associate
Julie joined MSPCC in 2022 as Policy Associate. Julie received a B.S. degree in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice from High Point University and a Master’s degree in Macro Social Work with a focus on children, youth, and families from Boston College. Prior to MSPCC, Julie provided behavioral health care to children and families in the Greater Boston area, and interned with an evidence-based policy institute researching and drafting reports relating to children’s behavioral health.
See Julie on LinkedIn.
Contact Julie at jwelch@mspcc.org.