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Emma Bird

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Emma Bird

Communications Manager

Emma is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota and holds a B.S. in Marketing from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business in New York City. 

She brings a background in communications in the arts and culture sector to Camp Harbor View. She started her career at Polk & Co. in New York, where she handled publicity campaigns for Broadway clients such as Wicked and Second Stage Theater. After moving up to Boston, Emma most recently worked for the Emerson Colonial Theatre, handling marketing and communications for theater, music, and comedy events.

Emma currently resides in Brookline with her partner and is thrilled to join the Camp Harbor View team. 

ebird@campharborview.org

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Aliyah Knudsen

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Aliyah Knudsen

Program and Challenge Course Coordinator

Aliyah is a Program and Challenge Course Coordinator and a Level 2 Challenge Course Practitioner with over five years of experience working with youth on and off the ropes course. She creates and facilitates programs that build confidence, connection, and teamwork in a safe and supportive environment.

Prior to CHV, she worked as a Youth and College Program Coordinator, where she supported youth programming, college-level participants, and adults through various nonprofit settings. She also has experience working with teachers and camp professionals through training and enrichment experiences, and a background in social-emotional learning (SEL).

Aliyah is passionate about helping individuals and groups step outside their comfort zones and grow through shared, hands-on experiences.

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Dioneiris Medrano

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Dioneiris Medrano

Guaranteed Income Manager

Dio brings over a decade of experience working alongside families as they build financial stability, set meaningful goals, and strengthen confidence and community engagement. At Camp Harbor View, Dio serves as the Guaranteed Income Program Manager, supporting families through a strengths-based, trauma-informed approach rooted in trust, consistency, and meeting people where they are.

Dio was drawn to Camp Harbor View for their our going further together approach and its commitment to supporting families in a more holistic way. Rather than focusing only on systems or processes, Dio values working collaboratively with families,  empowerment, and long-term growth. This approach allows families to not only access resources, but to truly take them in and apply them in ways that feel meaningful and sustainable.

Bilingual in English and Spanish, Dio is passionate about creating inclusive, accessible spaces where families feel seen, respected, and supported. Outside of work, Dio enjoys spending time with family, exploring the community, supporting the youth, and values staying connected to the people and places that inspire their work.

Dioneiris Medrano headshot

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Jessica Harvin

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Jessica Harvin

Development Operations Manager

Jessica is originally from New York, where she was born and raised. Her love for camp life began early, attending summer camps across the United States starting at age nine. During college, she came to Boston while interning at an overnight summer camp, an experience that ultimately shaped her professional path.

Jessica holds a B.A. in Psychology and, after graduating, relocated to Boston to teach eighth grade. Her time in the classroom strengthened her passion for youth development while also sparking an interest in the operational side of organizations. She later transitioned from education into administrative and development-focused work, supporting fundraising and donor engagement through systems like Salesforce and managing pipelines that help organizations grow sustainably.

Outside of work, Jessica enjoys traveling between New York and Boston and creating content that reflects her interests, experiences, and creative side. She is excited to bring her background in education, camp culture, and operations to the Camp Harbor View community.

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Mike McGinn

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Mike McGinn

Director of Operations

Mike McGinn joins Camp Harbor View as the Director of Operations. Mike brings over fifteen years of experience advancing mission-driven organizations in the youth development field. He comes to CHV by way of Cathleen Stone Island Outward Bound School (formerly Thompson Island), where he spent the last five years as their Director of School Programs. In this role, Mike managed their mission-based on island programming with more than 2,000 middle and high school students from partnership schools across Boston Public Schools. Previously, Mike spent eleven years at City Year Boston in a variety of roles, culminating in his role as Impact Director overseeing a cohort of BPS partnerships and student support services received by over 3,000 students.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts from Providence College in Political Science and holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Public Policy from Northeastern University. Since 2015, Mike has been a proud mentor through the Big Brother program. Mike currently resides in Holbrook with his wife Valarie, their son Nolan and their dog Ollie.

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George Deveney

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George Deveney

Chief External Relations Officer

George Deveney joins Camp Harbor View as Chief External Relations Officer, where he leads efforts to grow and strengthen the organization’s development strategy, with a particular focus on corporate and foundation partnerships and external engagement.

George brings over two decades of experience advancing mission-driven organizations. Most recently, he served as Chief Advancement Officer at Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where he led a dynamic team to record-breaking fundraising results, built a robust alumni network, revitalized signature events, and expanded community partnerships.

Previously, he was Vice President of New Site Development at the Surge Institute, helping to expand support for diverse education leaders nationwide. Earlier in his career, George spent nearly 20 years with City Year, starting as an AmeriCorps Member and rising to National Recruitment Director. He also led expansion efforts to launch City Year sites across the U.S. and internationally in London.

A Boston resident, George is a proud BPS parent, lifelong Boston sports fan, and sneaker collector. He enjoys cooking, watching Arsenal matches, and believes The Wire and Bluey are the two greatest shows of all time.

George Deveney headshot
gdeveney@campharborview.org

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Annakate Shepherdson

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Annakate Shepherdson

Development Coordinator

Annakate recently relocated to Boston from Washington, D.C., and is originally from Alexandria, Virginia.

Before moving to Boston, Annakate worked in campaign finance at a national fundraising firm, where she led Senator Gary Peters’ fundraising efforts and supported several other U.S. Senate campaigns. She also interned at a lobbying and public affairs firm in D.C., where she assisted in onboarding clients such as TikTok and Dropbox.

Annakate’s love for New England began during her high school and college summers, which she spent working at the Lilly Pulitzer store on Nantucket. She is a 2020 graduate of the University of Virginia, where she majored in American Studies and minored in Art History.

Annakate spent six summers at a 7-week camp in Raymond, Maine, and has been a devoted fan of summer camp ever since. Now living in Back Bay, Annakate shares her home with her black cat, Boo and fiancé, Michael. 

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SEE LINKEDIN ashepherdson@campharborview.org

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Lereca Rodrigues

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Lereca Rodrigues

LEADER IN TRAINING PROGRAM COORDINATOR – 12TH GRADE

Lereca Rodrigues first joined Camp Harbor View in 2011 as a camper, where she quickly immersed herself in the camp’s community. Her journey continued as she became part of the Leader in Training program and summer camp staff. Now, as a part of the Leadership Academy, Lereca’s commitment to advocating for teens and providing support is evident in her dedicated work with young people.

Lereca is a CHV scholarship participant and received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Temple University. Lereca’s experiences and academic background fuel her drive to make a meaningful impact on the lives of the youth she partners with.

lrodrigues@campharborview.org

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Danah Blake

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Danah Blake

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY DIRECTOR

Danah has devoted the first decade of her career to ensuring equitable access to professional pathways for young people. Her expertise lies in workforce development with youth in historically marginalized communities. This includes broadening their horizons on career possibilities and enhancing the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing 21st-century economy.

Danah returns to Camp Harbor View as the Leadership Academy Director after serving as an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Career Development at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. In this role, she facilitated courses, held one-on-one career coaching sessions, and supported the DEI fellowship to help dozens of young adults as they navigated their pathways from college to career. Prior to her time at BU, Danah held roles at City Year, Camp Harbor View, and other non-profits where she led small group classroom interventions, hosted afterschool programs, and facilitated workshops aimed at helping students pursue their goals academically and professionally.

Danah received her B.S. in Hospitality, Travel, and Tourism from Johnson and Wales University and has a strong background in customer service with a niche for event planning and program development. She also holds a certificate in Community Leadership and Social Change from Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life in partnership with The Institute for Nonprofit Practice. In May 2025, she graduated from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business with a Social Impact MBA.

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danahblake@campharborview.org

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Kyle Pontes

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Kyle Pontes

LEADER IN TRAINING PROGRAM COORDINATOR – 10TH GRADE

Kyle Pontes serves as the program coordinator for the 10th grade cohort of the Leader in Training program. 

 

Kyle started his Camp Harbor View journey as a camper. From there, he went through the LIT program and eventually came back to camp as a member of the summer staff. This trajectory gives him a valuable perspective on what it means to partner with youth and encourage positively impactful experiences. Kyle finds those experiences to be crucial to his own growth and enjoys moments when he and the LITs he works with can learn from one another. Each day, he strives to provide a safe and engaged space for the next generation of Boston’s leaders. 

 

Previously, Kyle worked as a tutor at New York City Stem Club, an afterschool program in New York. He attended both the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and the University of Massachusetts Boston before transferring to Fordham University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. 

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kpontes@campharborview.org

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