About Us

 

How we began.

In 2001, a Boston teen was brutally murdered while being commercially sexually exploited. Latasha was 17 years old and living in a group home funded by the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Unbeknownst to any of the caring adults in her life (her family, her DCF worker, the group home staff), she was being sold for sex. Following her death, city leaders came together to ask "was this an isolated incident or the tip of the iceberg?” We quickly learned it was the tip of the iceberg.

Out of Latasha's death, My Life My Choice was born. 

Survivor Empowerment

We provide intensive, consistent support with a multidisciplinary, survivor-led team to provide community and stability for our mentees. 

Led by survivors. Informed by evidence.

Our holistic battle tested approach is grounded in the experiences of youth who have survived the ugly realities of commercial sexual exploitation. Our mentors, survivors themselves, provide stability, community and hope to exploited children. Our partners and allies stand with us, shoulder to shoulder, in the fight for change and social justice. Our vision for change centers around four strategic endeavors: survivor empowerment, prevention, training, and policy and advocacy.  

Prevention

Our nationally-acclaimed, research-based curriculum and prevention solutions protect young people from predators. 

Training

We work closely with service providers, law enforcement and community members to build a strong network of responsive and informed providers and community leaders.  

Policy and Advocacy

We advocate for legislative change that codifies safety, rights, and resources for minor and adult survivors of commercial sexual exploitation.   

Our Values

  • Social Justice

    We provide more than just social services. We are warriors fighting for social justice who aim to dismantle the systems that give rise to trafficking and exploitation.

  • Survivor Leadership

    Through Survivor Leadership, we give voice to a movement by uplifting and inspiring others, who, too, are strong, resilient, and worthy of greatness.

  • Empowerment

    Empowerment is not something that is handed out. It is the process of taking back or finding one’s power. It is reclaiming the breath in our voices that was once kept quiet, suffocating.

  • Unconditional Love

    We provide unconditional love to the youth we serve. It is what all children deserve and it is what we do every day.

  • Community

    Community unites us, keeps us from feeling alone, and helps us feel part of something greater than ourselves.

  • Equity

    Racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, transnegativity, ageism, and ableism have no place at My Life My Choice. We are committed to advancing equity internally and advocating for it externally.

  • Opportunity

    At the intersection of hope, possibility and access lies opportunity. We make sure those roads all cross.

  • Effective Allyship

    For effective allyship, one must honor and amplify that those most affected by an injustice have the greatest knowledge to fix it.

  • Resilience

    We model and teach resilience. It is the courage to begin anew, and it is the refusal to give up hope.

Our core values are all grounded in the undeniable truth that people have fundamental human rights, including the right not to be bought or sold.

Our Team

  • Olivia Angood-Hardy, LICSW

    Assistant Clinical Director
    She/Her/Hers

  • Natasha Bate

    Training and Partnerships Coordinator
    She/Her/Hers

  • Cailyn Carr

    Development Manager
    She/Her/Hers

  • Alina Caudle

    Evaluation and Communications Co-Op
    She/Her/Hers

  • Jenna Clark

    Case Manager
    She/They

  • Akida Cooper

    Senior Survivor Mentor and Groupwork Coordinator
    She/Her/Hers

  • Shikha Datta

    Senior Manager of Youth Services
    She/Her/Hers

  • Carol Dupras

    Senior Survivor Mentor
    She/Her/Hers

  • Maria Flores

    Clinical Coordinator
    She/Her/Hers

  • Nora Gallo

    Public Policy and Advocacy Manager
    She/Her/Hers

  • Lisa Goldblatt Grace, LICSW, MPH

    Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director
    She/Her/Hers

  • Ashley Guevara, LICSW

    Assistant Clinical Director
    She/Her/Hers

  • Bridget Herndon

    Senior Survivor Mentor
    She/Her/Hers

  • Indigo Kirsh

    Outcomes and Evaluation Manager
    They/Them

  • Holly Landry

    Senior Survivor Mentor
    She/Her/Hers

  • Bridgette MacDowell

    Senior Survivor Mentor
    She/Her/Hers

  • Berkeley McCarthy

    Senior Case Manager
    They/Them

  • Debra Medina-Andrews

    Survivor Mentor
    She/Her/Hers

  • Tonya Morris

    Training & Survivor Leadership Manager
    She/Her/Hers

  • Audrey Morrissey

    Co-Executive Director
    She/Her/Hers

  • Charel Murrell

    Assistant Director of Prevention & Partnerships She/Her/Hers

  • Rachel Niemiec, DNP, FNP-C

    Director of Training and Partnerships
    She/Her/Hers

  • Nancy Rachel Rousseau, MS

    Senior Director of Development
    She/Her/Hers

  • Karilyn Rivera

    Economic Empowerment and Housing Coordinator
    She/Her/Hers

  • Emma Salters

    Communications Manager
    She/Her/Hers

  • Kat Santiago

    Assessment Coordinator She/Her/Hers

  • Katina Scott

    Operations Manager
    She/Her/Hers

  • Sonja Solberg Potter

    Assistant Director
    She/Her/Hers

  • Sharon Teed-Medeiros

    Senior Survivor Mentor & Assessment Specialist She/Her/Hers

  • Tina Valila, LICSW

    Senior Clinical Director
    She/Her/Hers

  • Delia Vega

    Senior Survivor Mentor and Policy and Advocacy Specialist
    She/Her/Hers

  • Barbara Wanyana

    Senior Survivor Mentor
    She/Her/Hers

  • Phoebe Wraith

    Grants Coordinator
    She/Her/Hers

Board of Directors

 

  • Ziba Cranmer, Chair
    BU Spark! 

  • Patricia Bellinger-Balzer, Vice-Chair
    Harvard Kennedy School

  • Carolina Avellaneda
    Vice President and General Council of Emerson College

  • Stacy Belf
    State Street

  • Jennifer “Jenn” Borggaard
    AlderBrook Advisors

  • Camille Carlstrom
    Fidelity Institutional Asset
    Management

  • Brenda Diana
    Ropes and Gray

  • Luke Goldworm
    U.S. Attorney's Office

  • Ashley Judd

  • Maheen Kaleem
    Grantmakers for Girls of Color

  • Katrina Huff-Larmond
    Randolph Town Councilor

  • Makeeba McCreary
    New Commonwealth Fund

  • Christina Pujals Ronan 
    Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office

  • Melissa Snow
    National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

  • Andrew “Andy” Takats
    Cognizant 

  • Goldie Taylor
    Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

  • Brian Ulicny
    Raytheon BBN Technologies

 

Financial Integrity

At My Life My Choice, we are focused on building a lean operation with a committed staff and effective programming. We rely on diverse funding streams, including federal grants, earned income, private grants and individual giving to achieve this. We work diligently to grow the organization, without compromising the quality of our services, while planting the seeds for future sustainability and advancement.

 
 

REVENUE – FY2022
$3,774,875

EXPENSES – FY2022
$3,893,921

Our Foundation Partners

 

Join the fight.
We’re stronger together.