Board of Directors

Before joining the board of NAMI Mass, Jack served for many years on the board of directors of NAMI Central Mass. He has a commitment for giving back in the area of mental illness, having survived bipolar depression that nearly took his life. In 2016, Jack lost his youngest son, Hale, to suicide. His work in the mental health area is dedicated to Hale’s remarkable life.

Jack served as president of NAMI Central Mass from 2018-2022, and had the privilege of leading a very committed group of individuals in their core mission of improving the lives of persons struggling with mental illness and their families. He taught a Family-to-Family class, and recently became involved with the In Our Own Voice program. He also enjoys public speaking, and IOOV has provided him with an opportunity to share his story of recovery and hope.

Jack also serves as president of the board of trustees for the Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital. His involvement with WRCH is particularly meaningful to him given that he spent time in several psychiatric hospitals.

Jack has a diverse background in law, mediation, teaching, and journalism. After graduating from Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law, he practiced law in Washington, D.C. and also served as Adjunct Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University School of Law. Currently, he is an instructor in constitutional law with the Worcester Institute for Senior Education at Assumption University and facilitates a Supreme Court discussion group. He also writes a column for Northeast Golf magazine.

Ms. Wolfson serves as the Assistant Vice President, Taxation for the Beth Israel Lahey Health network, a health care delivery system with affiliates located throughout eastern Massachusetts. The network is comprised of tax-exempt teaching and community hospitals, physician groups and other taxable and non-taxable entities. In her role, Ms. Wolfson is responsible for overall tax strategies and tax risk assessment, advising executive management and handling tax compliance, special projects and other tax matters. Ms. Wolfson also has significant experience in educating others on non-profit tax matters. She has spoken at, served on the planning committee for, and/or served as chair/co-chair for national and regional conferences addressing non-profit healthcare tax issues.

Ms. Wolfson is also a long-time active local community volunteer. In addition to serving as Treasurer and Trustee for NAMI MA, Ms. Wolfson currently serves on the board of, and as a Trustee for, Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh in Newton, MA. She has also served on, and chaired multiple committees at, Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, MA and is a past Trustee/Advisory Board Member of the Wellesley Scholarship Foundation. Previously, she held several positions supporting the Wellesley Public Schools including Treasurer of the Wellesley Central Council of PTOs, School Council Member for Wellesley Middle School and Bates Elementary School (Bates) and President of the Bates PTO.

Ms. Wolfson holds a J.D. from Boston University and a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband, has two sons and two dogs.

Although a Massachusetts native, Kathleen has spent the bulk of her social work career living in NJ and serving on the staff of NAMI NJ.

Kathleen’s family has had a long experience with mental health conditions.  The positive steps that her family achieved with respect to mental health are closely correlated to their being part of the NAMI family; its education programs and the support, outreach and networking with other committed, like-minded advocates who have positively altered her family.

Kathleen is a former member of the NAMI Mass Board, where she served for more than 8 years. Kathleen has also served as a trained Family-to-Family teacher, state trainer for the Family Support Group (FSG), and a current facilitator of the NAMI Plymouth Area twice-monthly FSG. She is one of several local NAMI Plymouth volunteers focused on raising NAMI name recognition and its profile by serving on various local community Boards:  Plymouth DMH Site Board, Community Health Network Alliance (CHNA) and Plymouth County Jail Mental Health Advisory.

Kathleen majored in French at B.U. and received her Masters in Social Work from Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ.

Dayna is an energetic and dynamic mental health speaker, entrepreneur and advocate. The full force and sole operator of Bake it Till You Make it LLC, Dayna harvests her passion for mental health advocacy by using food and baking to create an authentic recipe for vulnerable storytelling. The author of five mental health cookbooks, the facilitator of a variety of mental health presentations and the subject of an award-winning documentary, Dayna is a sought-after storyteller. Dayna has been invited to speak at national conferences, in community kitchens, on the news and most notably, at the White House in 2022, With experience working in both clinical and advocacy mental health settings, Dayna’s breadth of knowledge in the field informs her work as does her own recovery. Today, Dayna lives with major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and is in lifelong eating disorder recovery. When she’s not testing new recipes in her kitchen or quoting her therapists, Dayna is in pursuit of creating art as a means to explore new ways to change the world using her own story.

Makaila began working at NAMI Massachusetts in January 2017, at 20 years old. She was the walk intern, and quickly became a speaker for In Our Own Voice. Since then, she has stayed deeply connected with NAMI Mass, having done over a hundred presentations for thousands of people. She has extensive experience in event planning, public speaking, DEI training, union organizing, peer mentorship, and supporting other non-profits, such as RevereCARES, Massachusetts Profit Fellowship, and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Makaila is excited about bringing a young adult Latina perspective to the NAMI Mass Board. Based on who we know is living in Massachusetts, and how we know everyone experiences mental health struggles, Makaila sees an infinite amount of opportunity for collaborating with communities of color. Additionally, as a relatively recent Northeastern graduate, and a college access coach currently for her senior high school students, Makaila has strong insights and connections to higher education. Everyday at the high school she teaches at, Makaila sees the impact that social determinants have on mental health.

Mary resides in Massachusetts as a single parent with two children. In May 2019, Mary graduated from Boston College with an M.S. in Leadership and Administration. She works for a pharmaceutical company and has been a Strategic Sourcing professional for over 40 years. Mary is active in fund-raising activities at her parish and teaches a negotiation class at a local college. She received the Global Ambassador Leadership Award from the Healthcare Business Association for completing their program.

Mary’s son was diagnosed with a mental health condition in May 2018. Feeling overwhelmed and challenged by the entire mental health system, she was fortunate enough to discover NAMI Mass, and attended her first Family-to-Family (F2F) workshop in Westborough in 2019. The available resources, including Compass, Advocates, and the NAMI Massachusetts emails, have enabled her to find the right resources for her son.

Mary’s experience with NAMI Mass has been positive, so she wanted to give back by volunteering. In June 2020, she was elected to the NAMI MetroWest board, and previously served as the President and is currently the secretary. Mary is a Family to Family (F2F) state trainer and facilitator. She is especially interested in helping to develop programs that assist both family and loved ones as they navigate through the complexities of mental illness. Mary and her daughter have also created a team for the Virtual Walk to raise awareness and money.

Annie is a healthcare executive with a background within provider organizations and digital health companies, with expertise in areas such as new program development, complex project management, consulting, strategic partnerships, and business development. She previously ran the MGH Psychiatry Department’s inpatient and specialty service lines, including opening MGH’s Ketamine Center for Refractive Depression.

Annie has significant experience navigating the still-too-complex landscape of mental health. She is an avid advocate for herself as well as for many friends and family, who often turn to her for guidance and support in this area. She has many family members who have struggled with other mental illnesses, and she feels called to give back to the field.

She currently serves as a board director and secretary for CharlestownDogs, a local community organization focused on advocacy, education and programming. She also serves on the New England Expansion Taskforce for Partners for World Health, an NPO based out of Maine that works with hospitals and medical device companies to collect unneeded medical supplies and equipment and ship them to global communities in need.

Zoe is a certified peer specialist, volunteer advocate for mental health needs of patients and family members, and Director of Housing and Respite Services at a non-profit organization. Zoe is trained in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and finishing a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Non-Profit Management. Zoe’s passion for mental health advocacy, support, awareness, and experience working with diverse groups piqued her interest in NAMI’s mission. 

Ingrid has over 30 years of experience in corporate Human Resources, and has dedicated her career to nurturing and empowering individuals to reach their fullest potential. She leads Talent Development at a high growth company of 800 employees, where she designs programs to foster leadership, networking, and improve performance. Her expertise extends to employment law and immigration, ensuring fair and thoughtful practices throughout the hiring and termination processes.

Ten years ago, her daughter faced a mental health crisis and she found support through NAMI—a community that transformed her loneliness into a family of shared understanding and compassion. Engaging with other families dealing with similar struggles, she discovered the power of connection and advocacy.

Ingrid is a speaker in school programs, shares her story with legislators on Beacon Hill, and is trained as a NAMI Basics instructor. She joined the inaugural class of Sharing Our Stories, and now contributes to Crisis Intervention Team training for law enforcement. Professionally, she has championed wellbeing initiatives, securing $50k in grants for NAMI Mass.