Michael Brown, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Michael Brown is Co-Founder and CEO of City Year, a nonprofit organization built on the belief that young people can change the world. City Year is focused on addressing the nation’s high school dropout crisis. In 2009, Mr. Brown announced "In School & On Track: A National Challenge," City Year’s national initiative to significantly increase the urban high school graduation pipeline in America by calling on the nation’s idealistic young adults to help students in high poverty schools succeed.
Mr. Brown was named one of America’s Best Leaders by US News and World Report and an Executive of the Year by NonProfit Times for his leadership role in ServiceNation and the passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. For his work developing City Year, Michael Brown has been awarded several distinctions, including the Reebok Human Rights Award, the National Caring Award, the Samuel S. Beard Jefferson Award of the American Institute for Public Service, the Boston Bar Association's Public Service Award, the Harvard Law School Association Award, and four honorary degrees.
Mr. Brown is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Prior to starting City Year, Mr. Brown served as a legislative assistant to then Congressman Leon Panetta and as a clerk for Federal Judge Stephen Breyer.
Senior Leadership Team
Jim Balfanz (City Year Boston '94), President
Jim Balfanz has served as the President of City Year since May 2010. In this role, he steers City Year’s continued evolution as a performance-driven organization. Balfanz has led City Year’s strategic shift towards addressing the nation’s urban education challenge as a scalable human capital strategy for high-poverty schools. He spearheaded the development of the In School and On Track initiative - City Year’s scale and impact plan to increase the urban graduation pipeline and is focused on developing alumni as leaders and social entrepreneurs who are committed to strengthening our democracy. In partnership with Johns Hopkins Talent Development and Communities In Schools, Balfanz has also played a leadership role in the development of Diplomas Now, the school turnaround collaboration, which was awarded a $36 million Investing in Innovation award by the Department of Education.
Prior to his role as President, Balfanz served as City Year’s Chief Operating Officer for 5 years. During this time, he led the organization through a sustained period of growth that enabled it to grow from 15 to 21 U.S. locations and launch its second international affiliate in London; scale from 1,200 to 1,750 corps members; and increase its revenue by 70%, including a 500% increase in public education funding. Balfanz also led the development of City Year’s brand strategy, resulting in a 50% increase in national awareness.
Balfanz began his work with City Year in 1993 as a corps member serving at a Head Start program in Charlestown, Massachusetts. After his corps year, Jim joined the City Year staff to help scale the program, assuming various roles in City Year’s National Headquarters, including Deputy Director of National Affairs, and Director of New Site Development, through which he played a pivotal role in founding City Year Seattle, Detroit, and Greater Philadelphia. In 1997, Balfanz was named the Founding Executive Director of City Year Greater Philadelphia and served as the Executive Director for 8 years growing City Year Greater Philadelphia to the largest City Year site.
Balfanz received his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University and is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business Executive Management Program. He is a 2011-2012 Aspen Institute - NewSchools Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education Fellow. Balfanz lives in Winchester, MA, with his wife and two daughters.
Evelyn Barnes, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial and Administrative Officer
Evelyn Barnes joined City Year as Chief Financial Officer in 2005. She brings to City Year more than 20 years of finance and operations experience. Evelyn came to City Year after serving as CFO for The Community Builders, the largest non-profit, urban housing developer in the U.S. Throughout her career, she has been employed in senior finance positions with several large nonprofit organizations. Evelyn’s leadership experience in nonprofit finance is extensive: she was the CFO at the YWCA in Boston and Midnight Mission in Los Angeles, and Deputy Director of the Los Angeles Community Design Center and the Alcoholism Center for Women. She received her undergraduate degree and master’s degree from Boston University and has a professional designation in financial planning from the University of California – Los Angeles.
AnnMaura Connolly, Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer
AnnMaura Connolly is the Chief Strategy Officer of City Year. As CSO, AnnMaura directs City Year’s public policy and public affairs work, manages relationships with national leaders and organizational partners, oversees City Year’s international programs, and collaborates with the CEO on strategic advancement issues. Additionally, AnnMaura serves as a co-convenor of ServiceNation, and oversees the day-to-day operations of Voices for National Service, a coalition of service organizations that works to advance citizen service policy. AnnMaura has over 20 years of experience in the service field, beginning with her service year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and including senior management positions at Youth Service America and the Corporation for National and Community Service. She has also acted as an independent consultant to a variety of foundations and nonprofits, including the Grantmaker Forum on Community and National Service, Atlantic Philanthropies, and the Corporation for National and Community Service. She joined City Year as Chief of Staff in 2000, and went on to serve as the Senior Vice President for Global Initiatives and Strategic Partnerships, and Chief External Affairs Officer before being named CSO in May of 2010. AnnMaura holds a BA in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross and serves as President of Voices for National Service and as a member of the Advisory Board for the Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Program at Brandeis University, the Steering Committee for the Civic Mission of Schools, and MyGoodDeed Inc.
Chuck Gordon, Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer
Chuck Gordon joined City Year, Inc. as the Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer in March 2008. Chuck is responsible for fundraising for City Year’s national headquarters, strengthening development capacities at its 21 domestic sites, and directing all enterprise-wide fundraising initiatives, including the 20th Anniversary Campaign. Prior to coming to City Year, Chuck spent 21 years at the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, where he became the youngest person named Vice President and Senior Vice President in United Way of Massachusetts Bay history and was named one of Boston’s “40 under 40” by the Boston Business Journal. Chuck received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brandeis University and a master’s in Business Administration from Boston University.
Welles C. Hatch, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer
Welles Hatch, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, has led City Year's IT Services Department, providing planning and analysis, operations and applications and architecture support to City Year's 21 domestic locations since 2010. Welles has a wealth of experience in developing, implementing and managing information systems as a senior member of a number of New England technology and software companies. His previous positions include developing technology platforms and web-based curricula to public K-12 schools across the US. In addition, Welles is an active member of Boston-area civic organizations. He is a member of the Boston Chapter of the Society for Information Management. Welles received his undergraduate degree from University of Massachusetts/Amherst and his master’s in business administration from George Washington University.
Sean Holleran (City Year Boston ’95), Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Sean Holleran joined City Year when he served as a corps member in 1994-95. After his corps year, Sean served as a team leader and held various jobs including Community and Civic Engagement Manager in Boston and National Convention Director. He joined the staff of City Year Greater Philadelphia as Deputy Director in the site’s second year and was soon promoted to Co-Executive Director, a position he held for three years. Sean then served for one year as the site’s Executive Director before moving back to Boston to serve as Vice President for the Office of Site Leadership, overseeing all U.S. City Year locations. Sean graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor’s degree in English.
Sandra Lopez Burke, Vice President & Executive Director of City Year Boston
Sandra Lopez Burke joined City Year as the Director of Individual Giving in 2001, subsequently served four years as Vice President and Chief of Staff to the CEO, and most recently, was promoted to Vice President and Executive Director of the Founding Site of City Year – Boston. Sandra brought to City Year more than 10 years of management and event planning experience in the nonprofit sector, including working with Boston 2000 and the San Antonio Sports Foundation, and directing the 1998 NCAA Men’s Final Four. She also worked closely to establish the Dreams for Youth program, aimed at introducing San Antonio’s disadvantaged youth to Olympic sports. Sandra is the parent of two City Year alumna.
Mithra Irani Ramaley, Vice President, Regional and Site Operations
Mithra currently serves as Vice President of Regional & Site Operations at City Year, Inc. and is responsible for overseeing operations for all US locations. She joined City Year in 1993 as part of the start-up team for City Year Rhode Island, the organization's first expansion location. Mithra led the site as Team Leader, then Program Director, and then moved to City Year, Inc. where she created the organization's first national convention program and developed the organization's strategic planning capacity. After serving with City Year for four years, she attended New York University’s Stern School of Business, where she majored in finance and founded the school’s first service organization. After graduation, Mithra worked at A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm in Manhattan. Like many New Yorkers, Mithra was deeply affected by the events of September 11, 2001. Within months, Mithra left her position at A.T. Kearney to found City Year New York. She subsequently served as co-Executive Director and then Regional Director for City Year Philadelphia, New York, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. Mithra earned her bachelor's degree from Brown University.
Charlie Rose, Senior Vice President & Dean
Charlie Rose has been a youth worker, organizer and entrepreneur in Boston for nearly 30 years. As a founding board member of City Year and then staff member who has played myriad roles, Charlie has helped build the organization into a national model for youth community service organizations. In addition, Charlie has also been a founding board member for seven other organizations including YouthBuild Boston and has served the community through his work with organizations such as Youth Outreach Program, Citizens for Safety, National Toxics Campaign, United Labor Unions Local, Urban Edge and as a VISTA volunteer. Prior to joining City Year’s staff, he was the Director of Youth Services for the City of Boston’s Community Centers.
Nancy Routh, Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer
Nancy Routh joined City Year as the Director of Human Resources in 1994 and then became Director of the National Corps, during which time she helped grow City Year from 4 locations to 11. Subsequently, Nancy became Vice President of Development where she oversaw all fundraising initiatives and built the National Leadership Sponsor program. Nancy recently was promoted to the Vice President of City Year’s Human Resources division with a priority on attracting, retaining and developing staff to meet the organization’s goals. Prior to joining City Year, Nancy worked for The Boston Company, a financial service company, as Vice President and Human Resource Director. Nancy graduated from Fairleigh Dickenson University with a bachelor’s in psychology and sociology, and Cambridge College with a master’s in Education.
Gillian Smith, Chief Marketing Officer
Gillian Smith joined City Year in July of 2011 as Chief Marketing Officer, and is responsible for leading all of the organization’s marketing efforts. Prior to her work at City Year, Gillian was Chief Marketing Officer at Teach For America, where the recruitment marketing work contributed to more than a 150% increase in applications over the course of four years. Before Teach For America, Smith held several marketing roles at Burger King Corporation (BKC). Under her leadership, BKC marketing campaigns received a number of honors, including Cannes Golden Lions and Best Viral Advertising of 2004 (The Wall Street Journal). Smith has been recognized as a Woman to Watch by Advertising Age (May 2006) and an Online All-Star by MediaPost (September 2006). Prior to her work at BKC, Smith was a brand manager for the Coca-Cola Company in Germany. Smith is a graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., and was a Fulbright Scholar in Germany.
Stephanie Wu, Senior Vice President & Chief Program Design and Evaluation Officer
Stephanie leads the design of City Year’s youth programs which are delivered by more than 1500 full-time corps members in 20 locations and hundreds of schools across the country. Stephanie came to City Year from the private sector in 1988 as a founding team leader in City Year's summer pilot program. During City Year’s first decade she developed and led projects serving Boston youth in school and out of school programs as well as founded City Year’s Academy, putting in place foundational programs on City Year’s culture, ideals, history, programs and leadership techniques. She has held a number of management positions, including Co-Chief Operating Officer, Senior Vice President of U.S. Site Operations, and Senior Vice President for Human Resources. Stephanie served for one year in England and Wales with the American Field Service. She was also selected to be a national trainer in President Clinton's demonstration national service program, Summer of Service. Stephanie is a graduate of Boston University.