Boston Day & Evening Academy celebrates a new garden with a ribbon cutting ceremony and several speeches. Speakers included Beatriz Zapater, Head of Boston Day and Evening Academy; Sheila Dillon, Chief of Housing for the City of Boston and Head of the Department of Neighborhood Development; David Price, Executive Director of Nuestra Comunidad; Felix Arroyo, Chief of Health and Human Services for the City of Boston; Cassandria Campbell, Cofounder of Fresh Food Generation; and Jamiah Tappin, Community Organizer with the Boston Alliance for Community Health.
In the Spring of 2009, Beatriz was unanimously appointed Head of School by the Board of Trustees. During the 2008-2009 school year, she served as Acting Co-Head of School for the Day Program at Boston Day and Evening Academy, where she has been Assistant Head of School in the Day program since April of 2007. Previously, she was a Pilot Schools Program Developer and Coach for the Center for Collaborative Education guides on Boston Pilot Schools. While in that position, she worked sharing practices to be replicated in Boston and other school districts around the country. Her professional positions have also included Director of New England Small Schools Network at the Coalition of Essential Schools Regional Center, and Headmaster of the Greater Eggleston Community High School in Boston, MA. Beatriz is also the author of two children’s books: Fiesta! and Three Kings’ Day. Both books are part of a multicultural curriculum developed by the Children’s Museum in Boston. Beatriz holds a B.A. in Fine Arts and Liberal Arts and an Ed.M in Bilingual Education, both from Boston University. She has a special interest in black and white photography, computer graphic design and music.
In her role at the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, Sheila Dillon has oversight of the Section 8 Program, the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, and many of the State’s homeless programs. During her time as Deputy Director of Housing at DND, she oversaw affordable housing development and homeless programs, including management of Community Development Block Grants, Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) and several other programs. After leaving DND, she assumed the role of Deputy Director of Housing at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, where she created housing policy for the City of Boston and managed the Inclusionary Development Program. Before leaving the City, she served as Mayor Menino’s Housing Advisor. Prior to her tenure with the City of Boston, Dillon was Director of Real Estate Development at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership Fund and Director of Housing Development at Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation.
David Price, Nuestra Comunidad's Executive Director since 2008, has been a leader in Boston’s community-led development field for 16 years. Before joining Nuestra Comunidad, David worked for eight years as the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for Madison Park Development Corporation, a CDC also serving the Roxbury community. At Madison Park, he transformed a resident services department into a community organizing program whose accomplishments included the founding of the RoxVOTE coalition and co-founding of the Lower Roxbury Youth Collaborative. David has also served as the Executive Director of Tent City Corporation, a CDC serving Boston’s South End. He joined the CDC field after practicing real estate law at the Boston firm of Goulston & Storrs, noted for its affordable housing practice. He has extensive experience in community organizing. David is a graduate of Harvard College and Boston College Law School.
Felix D. Arroyo was a city councilor (at-large) in Boston, Massachusetts, United States from January 2003 - January 2008. Arroyo also served as Vice President and President of the Boston School Committee.
Cassandria Campbell is the co-founder of Fresh Food Generation, a farm-to-plate food truck that serves healthy affordable prepared foods in low-income neighborhoods. Cassandria, a Roxbury native, became a food justice advocate while working at The Food Project, a nationally recognized model for youth development and sustainable agriculture. Upon graduating from Swarthmore College, she returned to the organization to be the Youth Development Coordinator in which role she led a 60-youth summer program and coordinated a one-year leadership program. In 2011, she received a Masters degree in City Planning from MIT and continues to work in the field of community and economic development. Cassandria developed the idea for Fresh Food Generation because she wanted to find healthier food options without having to travel outside of her neighborhood.
Jamiah Tappin is a Community Organizer at Boston Alliance for Community Health.