Abbie Rosenberg
Founder, Executive Director
Abbie has over 30 years of experience as an advanced psychiatric nurse practitioner, including outpatient private practice, inpatient psychiatric care and on college campuses. She also has experience in the non-profit sector as the founder and executive director of an event raising money for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) for 16 years
Abbie lives in Hopkinton, MA with her husband and two sons. She enjoys hiking with her dog, volunteering in her community and spending time with family and friends.
Marissa Carty
Program Development & Marketing Manager
Marissa is a former MHC intern, the founder of MHC’s Young Adult Advisory Board, and an alumni from Boston University’s Class of 2022. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in psychology and was a Kilachand Honors College scholar. She has experience in social-emotional education, behavioral healthcare, graphic design, event management, and research. She is excited to use her skills to support MHC in bringing mental health literacy to all.

In her free time, Marissa teaches dance, spends time outdoors, and loves to bake for her family and friends.
Our Board of Directors
Ellie Winthrop
Board Chair
Ellie has worked in the nonprofit world for the past 18 years serving on various boards as secretary and treasurer. She has experience in fundraising as well. She currently volunteers as an ESL tutor at Literacy Unlimited in Framingham MA and as a mentor for Mazie Mentoring of Big Brother Big Sister in Framingham MA as well.
Ellie lives in Hopkinton with her husband and 3 children. In her free time she enjoys playing tennis, bike riding and plant based cooking.
Ali Balster
Vice Chair
Ali has over 20 years experience as a diverse business leader with expertise in supply chain management, financial analysis, engineering and operations. She is a trained industrial engineer having spent fifteen years in aerospace manufacturing worldwide. More recently, Ali founded a gourmet catering business and currently serves as an account analyst for a wealth management firm.
Ali volunteers for various Hopkinton organizations including MOMs Group, the HPTA, the Sharon Timlin Memorial 5K and Mental Health Collaborative.
Josh Levitt
Treasurer
Josh has over a decade of volunteer experience across a breadth of focus areas, including education, homelessness, hunger, and support for youth on the autism spectrum. He has served in both regional and national leadership roles focused on promoting corporate social responsibility. He is currently the Chief of Staff to the CEO at Blink Health, a health technology company that makes it cheaper and easier for patients to access prescription medication.
Josh lives in Denver with his wife Jamie and their 2 cats, where he spends much of his free time frequenting new restaurants.
Brian Gross
Secretary
Brian Gross is a partner in the Boston office of the law firm Manning Gross + Massenburg, and has more than twenty years of experience finding client-oriented solutions to complex business and litigation issues. His practice involves a broad spectrum of litigation, but is primarily concentrated in corporate litigation.
Brian lives in Hopkinton with his wife and two children, and has been active in Hopkinton youth sports for many years. He enjoys travel, sports, and spending time with family.
EDUCATORS & TRAINING CONSULTANTS
Gabrielle Giordano BS, EdM
Gabrielle was a teacher at Fay School in Southborough MA for many years. She was previously a stay at home mom, who balanced volunteer opportunities with part-time businesses, and also a Financial Aid Director at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has three adult children who are now all out of the house. She is working with Mental Health Collaborative as an educator consultant and co-taught the mental health curriculum remotely and is now enjoying training other educators.
Denise E. Hildreth, Phd, LICSW
Denise has been a licensed clinical social worker for almost 25 years. During that time, she has provided support to children and families facing a variety life challenges. She has expertise in helping families navigate typical life transitions and to recover from painful life events, significant losses, and mental health challenges. In addition to her clinical work, Denise has been a social work educator for much of her career, educating and training social work students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She currently serves as a member of the faculty at Regis College in Weston.
Carrie Prisco MA, EdM
Carrie was a teacher and team leader in Westborough, MA for years. She has two girls of her own and loves being active and volunteering in her community. Carrie co-taught the mental health curriculum to remote 8th graders in MA, and enjoyed using interactive and creative ways to engage the students. She is passionate about teaching and learning, and believes this curriculum will make a difference in students and schools.
Karen Renaud, M.Ed., CiWPP, CiHS
Karen has been teaching in the field of wellness education for 23 years. She proudly served as the K-12 Wellness Subject Matter Leader for the Hopkinton Public School district and has presented at the MAHPERD, SHAPE America Eastern District Association and National conventions. Several years ago, she was introduced to Positive Psychology while developing a high school stress management course. She was so fascinated by this field of study that she enrolled in a certification program in Wholebeing Positive Psychology. In the years since, she has also completed certifications in Positive Psychology Coaching, Happiness Studies with Dr. Tal Ben Shahar and is completing a mindfulness and meditation certification program. Currently, she works as a Positive Psychology coach for teens and young adults, is an online course creator and professional education provider. She is passionate about bringing Mental Health education to all schools in the U.S. because it is an often ignored, stigmatized and misunderstood part of our health and wellbeing. Karen is thrilled to be part of the Mental Health Collaborative team.
Elizabeth Schuster, M.A. in Counseling Psychology
Elizabeth is a licensed secondary school adjustment counselor with over 18 years of experience working with students in grades 6-12, as well as, college students. Her work has focused on helping students with mental health challenges, social/emotional challenges, and helping students and families navigate the accessibility process involved with physical, learning, and medical disabilities. Elizabeth is also an adjunct instructor in undergraduate psychology programs and an executive function coach working with college students.
Gail Martinez Waters, Ph.D., LCPC, NCC
Gail has a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision with Spiritual and Pastoral Integration, as well as a M.Ed. in School Counseling. She has 17 years of experience working with children and adolescents as a K-12 school counselor and licensed clinical professional counselor in Maryland. In addition to her school and clinical experience, she is an adjunct professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program at Wilmington University in Delaware. Gail’s doctoral research study was on the impact of mental health literacy training on mental health knowledge, attitudes, relationships, and spirituality at work of secondary teachers. Mental health literacy advocacy, research, and training in schools and communities is her passion.
Advisory Board of Directors
Evan Bishop
Evan is the principal at Hopkinton High School. He has worked at HHS for the past 15 years. He started his career as a school counselor and coach and has spent the last 10 years as an administrator. He loves to spend time with his family & friends, coaching his daughter’s sports teams, traveling and exercising.
Ilene Silver
Ilene is a former longtime principal of the Elmwood School in Hopkinton, MA. She lives in Framingham with her husband and loves to spend time with her grandchildren and travel. She is also is an avid volunteer in her community.
Kirk Lum
Kirk is a psychiatrist who has been in practice in the Boston area for over 20 years. He has enjoyed working in community mental health clinics and private practice. He has a love and appreciation for teaching and schools as both his wife and daughter are teachers and he did a student teaching internship himself at Brookline High School many moons ago.
Lisa Stevenson
Lisa is an award winning Creative Director/Art Director with more than 25 years of experience. She is VP, Creative Director at Merge, Boston—a marketing agency specializing in the healthcare and financial services industries. She is mom to two amazing daughters and when she isn’t driving the dance carpool, she loves to travel and ski with her kids.
Sharon Burdulis
Sharon has been practicing pediatrics for over 20 years in the community setting. She and her husband are blessed with 5 children and 2 dogs. In addition to spending time with her family, she loves to run and volunteer her time.
Young Adult Advisory Board
Gina Bates | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | Class of 2019 |
Natalie Harris | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | Class of 2020 |
Holly Burns | Hopkinton High School | Class of 2021 |
Camryn D’Aloia | Framingham State University | Class of 2021 |
Matt Gross | Tulane University | Class of 2021 |
Emma LaCascia | Boston University | Class of 2021 |
Maddie McGuire | Boston College | Class of 2021 |
Sarah Pearson | University of Pittsburgh | Class of 2021 |
Maddie Alford | University of Maryland | Class of 2022 |
Marissa Carty | Boston University | Class of 2022 |
Rose Goldstein | University of Virginia | Class of 2022 |
Amanda Higgens | Mount Saint Vincent University | Class of 2022 |
Sydney Holzman | The Rivers School | Class of 2022 |
Kate Huebner | Boston College | Class of 2022 |
Anagha Kumar | Harvard University | Class of 2022 |
Nate Pucci | Dartmouth College | Class of 2022 |
Danielle Sharon | University of Michigan | Class of 2022 |
Ashlyn Silva | Boston University | Class of 2022 |
Zack Sisitsky | Georgetown University | Class of 2022 |
Rana Somekhian | University of Maryland | Class of 2022 |
Ally Gray | Worcester Academy | Class of 2023 |
Maya Holzman | The Rivers School | Class of 2023 |
William Huebner | Babson College | Class of 2023 |
Harrison Liang | Boston University | Class of 2023 |
Ellie Merrild | Libertyville High School | Class of 2023 |
Elise Miller | Westfield State University | Class of 2023 |
Evan Sisitsky | Loyola University Maryland | Class of 2023 |
Nicole Winthrop | Univeristy of Michigan | Class of 2023 |
Katie Balster | Hopkinton High School | Class of 2024 |
Zadie Blish | The Blush School | Class of 2024 |
Cece Chapman | Norfolk County Agricultural High School | Class of 2024 |
Christina Galego | Hopkinton High School | Class of 2024 |
Evanya Mathur | Hopkinton High School | Class of 2024 |
Tara Pucci | Boston College | Class of 2024 |
Srilakshmi Venkatesan | Hopkinton High School | Class of 2024 |
Amelia Cohen | Colgate University | Class of 2025 |