Juan Cantu (president)

Born and raised in South Texas, Juan Cantu has called Boston home since 2008. Juan grew up as a migrant worker, spending his summers traveling from Texas to Iowa to work in the cornfields to help his parents make ends meet. His family instilled in him the value of education and through their support and resources from his high school, he was able to make it up to Boston to attend college. He graduated from Harvard in 2012 with a Bachelors and the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2018 with a Masters.

Juan is passionate about educational access and success, having worked at the Hyde Square Task Force to provide college success support for three years, at The Boston Foundation, overseeing the Success Boston College Completion Initiative. Juan is now VP of Youth & Young Adult Pathways with United Way of Massachusetts Bay. In his free time, you can see him trying to learn how to longboard, running around the Arnold Arboretum and Jamaica Pond or reading a book.

Michelle Ramirez Castrow

Michelle Castrow is an accomplished marketing communications professional with a strong focus on public-sector outreach and engagement. As the former spokesperson for Workforce Solutions in Houston, Texas, Michelle orchestrated a remarkable transformation during the COVID-19 unemployment crisis. By strategically cultivating partnerships, she secured an unprecedented $50 million in earned media over three years. This extensive reach significantly heightened stakeholder awareness and engagement, earning Michelle the nickname of “The Jobs Lady.”

With a wealth of experience spanning branding, media relations, digital marketing, and special events, Michelle is deeply committed to elevating the economic and human potential of local communities.

Michelle is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, and currently serves as the interim communications director for HCC Online College.

Alexandria Diskin

Alexandria Diskin is an Enterprise Account Manager at Parentaly, which helps companies provide seamless parental leave experiences. She previously worked at Handshake as Senior Education Partnerships Manager, helping higher education institutions achieve their career services goals of finding every student a great career after graduation. She has a strong background in editorial services, project management, and relationship building. Alex graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in Literature. She is passionate about making her work and personal communities a better place and loves inspiring those around her to do the same.  

MELISSA ECHEVERRI (Clerk)

Melissa serves as Relationship Manager at Handshake, which works to help every college student find the right job for them, no matter where they go to school, what they’re majoring in, or who they know. Previously, she served as Director of Program Design for Bottom Line, a national organization partnering with students from underserved communities to get into and through college and successfully launch a career. She has an MPA from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and a BA from UMass Amherst.

SUSAN GOLDBERGER (TREASURER)

Susan is a co-founder of NextGen Talent and provides pro bono product management services for our data products. Her prior positions include Director of Educational Products at Burning Glass Technologies, a labor market analytics firm,  and VP for Planning and Venture Development at Jobs for the Future (JFF). At JFF she led the development of innovative educational and workforce training programs for low-income and underprepared populations on district, state, and multi-state levels. Susan holds a Ph.D. in Social Policy from the Heller School and a BA from Brown University.

Abbey Guerino

Abbey is the Senior Manager of Workplace Experience at Bottomline. Throughout her 6 years at Bottomline, she has focused on social impact roles, and her passion for the use of data to empower good decision-making for students drives her work. Abbey is especially interested in the labor market literacy needs of first-generation and low-income students. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Spanish from Providence College.

Andrea Keenan

Andrea joined MEFA in August 2024 as Coordinator, K-12 Services. In this role, she will work to bring MEFA's programs and resources to all K-12 students and their families throughout Massachusetts. Previously, she served as the Director of College and Career Counseling and Program Chair at Excel Academy Charter High School, where she also founded the DREAM team to manage high-school-based immigration support and advocacy initiatives. Andrea is also an experienced presenter, regularly hosting webinars and delivering conference presentations on effectively counseling undocumented students during high school.

Before joining Excel in 2017, she was a Bilingual Education Adviser at the ASA College Planning Center in Boston, overseeing the Satellite EOC in Chelsea for five years. Andrea also taught TESOL in Nantes, France. A first-generation college graduate and immigrant from Mexico, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowdoin College and a Master’s in Public Policy with a focus on Education Policy from UMASS Dartmouth.

CARA PRESS

Cara is Director of Career Connections at Bottom Line. She manages a team of career coaches who empower students to achieve their career goals through a range of career development services. Cara brings deep experience as a career coach and nonprofit manager dedicated to helping young adults craft fulfilling careers and become lifelong learners. She has an M.Ed. from Lesley University, and a BS from California Polytechnic State University.

Leah Press

Leah is the DEI Program Manager at SimpliSafe with over 11 years of experience in HR within the tech industry. At SimpliSafe, she has played a key role in establishing and leading four Employee Resource Groups for over 1000 employees. She also initiated and currently oversees DEI programming, creating initiatives for an inclusive workplace. As a biracial, first-generation college graduate, she is deeply passionate about supporting historically marginalized communities and individuals of color in their career and life paths.