Board of Directors

Hired as UTEC’s first Chief Executive Officer by the founding group of young adults and community leaders in 2000, Gregg has overseen the growth of the agency from a grassroots safe haven to a nationally recognized youth development organization. Gregg came to UTEC with youthwork experience that ranged from streetwork to program development in Detroit, East Boston, and his hometown of Revere, MA. With an interest in Vietnamese culture stemming from his work with gang-involved Southeast Asian youth, he spent two years working and conducting research in Hanoi, gaining fluency in Vietnamese language. He has testified at the state and federal levels – one highlight being the 2007 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gang violence through the invitation of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. He has had the pleasure of leading coalitions to help advocate for the passage of key bills, as well as new programs in our state budget. He is honored to have received awards over his career as a testament to UTEC’s overall work, but most appreciative of the relationships with young adults and staff that have helped bring UTEC’s values of madd love and clean slate to life in so many ways. Gregg received his B.A. from Wesleyan University (majoring in East Asian Studies). He earned his Masters of Social Work from the University of Michigan, along with associated masters coursework in Southeast Asian Studies. He is a proud son, father, grandfather, grand-dog dad, and third baseman for the Boston Astros (“professionally” amateur baseball league!).

Prior to his retirement from Fidelity Investments at the end of 2020, Jonathan Kelly was a portfolio manager specializing in emerging markets.  In that role, he had lead responsibility for managing Fidelity’s emerging market debt portfolios.  Prior to joining Fidelity in 1991 as an analyst, Mr. Kelly served as a research assistant to Fisher Black at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Mr. Kelly earned his undergraduate degree in computer science from Dartmouth College and his MBA in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to UTEC, Mr. Kelly currently serves on the Board of Trustees at the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT where he chairs the Finance Committee.  He also serves on the Investment Committee for SquashBusters, an urban squash program with a focus on the communities of Boston, Lawrence, and Providence, RI.

Jonathan Dowst (“Jon”) is President and Chief Executive Officer of Pentucket Bank in Haverhill, Massachusetts.  Jon joined Pentucket in March, 2019 after a long career at Bank of America and previously at community banks in New Hampshire. In Jon’s career, he has held executive-level positions in Small Business and Business Banking, Commercial and Retail Sales Performance, Sales Management, Process Design, Information and Technology, and Business Strategy.  He started his banking career as a bank teller, commercial note clerk, and Credit Analyst at a small bank in New Hampshire. Jon graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, then returned to UNH for a Master of Business Administration.  He has been active in his community, serving as Chair of the Finance and Capital Improvements Committee for the Town of Weare, NH; long-time Director and Treasurer for the Nashua Children’s Home; and a founding Director of BizGen, an entrepreneurship program for high school students interested in business careers.  Since joining Pentucket Bank, Jon has become a Director of UTEC in Lawrence, MA and a Director of the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce; has become involved with the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce and MakeIT Haverhill; and has become a member of the Rotary Club of Haverhill. Jon lives full-time in Weare, NH with his wife and large family, and also in Haverhill, MA.  When not banking, Jon enjoys running, skiing, restoring old houses and cars, hunting, and fishing.

Dr. Neil Maniar is a Professor of Public Health Practice, Associate Chair of the Department of Health Sciences, and Director of the Master of Public Health (MPH) program in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University. Dr. Maniar specializes in developing large-scale, data-driven public health interventions to improve community health and advance health equity. Prior to joining Northeastern, he was the Vice President of Health Systems within the American Cancer Society’s New England Division, overseeing cancer control efforts in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.  Prior to joining the ACS, he was the Director of Health Equity Programs in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Community Health and Health Equity. Dr. Maniar was also the founding director of the Massachusetts Youth Violence Prevention Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. He also founded and co-chaired the Massachusetts Coalition for Youth Violence Prevention. He currently serves as the President of the Massachusetts Public Health Association and on the board of directors of UTEC, Inc.  Dr. Maniar received his PhD from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and his Master of Public Health (MPH) with distinction from the Yale University School of Public Health. He has a BA from Connecticut College with a double major in English and Zoology.

Tim Nichols provides coaching and organizational development counsel to enhance individual capabilities, cultural norms, and leadership practices that drive the success of the firm’s people and clients. In collaboration with the firm leadership, or upon request of individuals needing consultation, Tim works to improve individual performance, enhance team dynamics, manage change, and facilitate cooperation between practices and offices. Tim draws on his experience leading Nichols and Associates, a firm dedicated to transforming leadership teams and organizations; as well as his work within a variety of industries including professional services, construction management, healthcare, finance, and the non-profit sector. Earlier in his career, Tim was a member of the Monitor Group delivering coaching and leadership programming. He was also the Executive Director and a Senior Faculty member of the Family Institute of Cambridge where he focused on delivering systemic solutions in clinical and organizational contexts. Over his career, Tim has divided his time between executive leadership roles, coaching and leadership development, teaching, and practicing as a family therapist.

Lon Povich is Of Counsel at the Boston law firm of Anderson& Krieger in Boston.  Until March of 2015, Lon served as Chief Legal Counsel to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and was responsible for the broad range of legal matters that came before the Governor and his senior team, including over 130 judicial appointments. Prior to joining the Baker administration in January 2015, Lon had a very diverse career in and out of the public sector.  Immediately prior to the Governor’s Office he was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. for seven years.  Lon joined BJ’s after serving for 11 years as General Counsel at Boston Consulting Group, a global strategy firm. Earlier in his career Lon worked as a litigation associate at Goodwin Procter in Boston; as an Assistant United States Attorney, in the Economic Crimes Division of the Boston United States Attorney’s Office; and as Deputy Chief Legal Counsel to Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld.  Lon has also been active in the community.  In addition to the Board at UTEC, Lon currently serves on the Boards of MassInc. (a non-partisan political think tank) and the Jewish Community Relations Counsel, as well as on the Massachusetts Court Management Advisory Board. From 1996 to 2004, he was a director of MassHousing (Massachusetts’ low income housing finance agency); and from 2005 until 2010 he served on the Governor’s Judicial Nominating Commission.  Lon has also sat on the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Food Bank (where he was treasurer), served on the Board of Greater Boston Legal Services, and as an elected member of the Council of the Boston Bar Association, and has been involved in a number of local organizations in Wellesley, MA. Lon is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School.

With twenty-eight years of youth development experience, JuanCarlos has dedicated himself to strengthening his community and the youth within it.  His involvement has included peer leadership for Planned Parenthood, youth organizing for Coalition for a Better Acre, program coordinating for the YWCA Tobacco Prevention Program, six years of gang prevention and intervention as a Street outreach worker, Director of Operations and one of the founding member of the United Teen Equality Center (UTEC) and most recently, he serves as the Director of Operations for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell.   As the Director of Operations of the Boys & Girls Club, JuanCarlos supports the BGCGL team in providing comprehensive strategic planning, youth development programming, educational programming, healthy Lifestyles, and good Character/ Citizenship values to those youths who are most disconnected in the city.   JuanCarlos is well respected as a leader in the field of youth work. Throughout his career his work in youth violence prevention and peacemaking has been published by Johns Hopkins University Press. JuanCarlos has also received the following awards, National Professional of the Year-The Association of Boys & Girls Club Professionals, Nonprofit of the Year- Enterprise Bank Celebration of Excellence, Service to Youth Award-Boys & Girls Club of America, Community Partner Award – Lowell Police Department, Life Time Service Award – UTEC, Adult Ally Award- Lowell Community Health Center’s Teen Block.                                                        JuanCarlos has served or is currently serving on the following community boards: Enterprise Community Advisory Board, CDBG Advisory Board, Big Brother & Big Sister of Lowell Board, City of Lowell Gang Advisory Board, City of Lowell End Homeless Advisory Board, GLWIB Youth Advisory, Get there, Start now Foundation Board, Greater Lowell Community Foundation Board, and UTEC Board. This year JuanCarlos was appointed by the Governor to the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Board.    JuanCarlos is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts & Science degree with concentrations in Psychology and Legal Studies.  He is also a graduate of the Institute for Nonprofit Management and Leadership through Tufts University. JuanCarlos is certified as a national Boys & Girls Club of America learning coach and a Weikart Youth work methods trainer. Of Puerto Rican descent, JuanCarlos is a native speaker of Spanish.  

Marianela Vazquez is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Reading Cooperative Bank. Marianela is accountable for ensuring quality and security in all the bank’s operating functions. Prior to joining RCB, Marianela spent two decades delivering SaaS solutions in the financial services space. The last five years were dedicated to the delivery and service of Numerated Growth Technologies’ Digital Loan Origination system to community banks and credit unions. Before joining Numerated, Marianela spent time with Fidelity, State Street Wealth, and SunGard Wealth Management (prior to its acquisition by FIS), where she leveraged a combination of her strategic leadership skills and passion for driving cross functional execution to build relationships, processes, teams, and organizations. Marianela is an avid fan of the melting pot that is the Merrimack Valley. She is a founding youth member of UTEC and has a continued passion in supporting healthy development and growth of youth and young adults. Marianela graduated from Lasell University with a MS in Management and Bentley University with a BS in Managerial Economics. She was recognized by the Women We Admire publication as one of MA Top 50 Women Leaders. Marianela lives in Billerica, MA with her two daughters and is an active Cheer and Gymnastics Mom as well as a Religious Ed Teacher at Immaculate Conception Church in Lowell, MA. Most recently Marianela was appointed to the Board of Directors of the United Teen Equality Center, serving Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill communities.

As vice president of global sales operations and chief of staff of the customer base sales organization, Barb Vlacich manages teams across the world that directly support UKG sales teams, including inside sales, lead development, presales, and cloud sales. Her focus is on innovating the buying experience, from reimaging business processes to providing the expertise and resources to support customer interactions.   Vlacich joined Kronos, Inc. in 2003 as director of HR and payroll services, helping Kronos establish new markets and expand their mid-market base considerably, through new solution packaging for those markets. In 2006, she became vice president of presales operations, where she created specific industry-focused teams, and an expanded industry consultancy. She established a year-round college intern program that today thrives globally. She created a pivotal Sales Management Council that has become a central think tank for the entire sales organization.    In the spring of 2020, Kronos merged with Ultimate Software, later known as Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG).  Barb lead the PMO for the GoTo Market sales strategy of the merged company.  In this capacity, Barb managed the work of eight intercompany, cross-functional workstreams impacting the sales process with the goal of preparing the merged sales organization for the start of FY21 on October 1.      Upon her arrival at Kronos, Vlacich brought a wealth of knowledge on global sales cycles and strategies and experience with both vendors and consulting companies within the workforce management industry. Some of her prior roles include practice director of human resources management systems at Delphia Consulting and director of North American presales at Sage Software (formerly Best Software) as well as a variety of executive roles.   A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Vlacich has presented at many industry conferences including the American Management Association, American Payroll Association, and Massachusetts Conference for Women on topics ranging from creating an outstanding customer experience to managing high-performing teams. She also founded the Kronos Women’s Leadership Forum in 2009. Her creativity, leadership and ability to get things done have been all key reasons she has received the Kronos SVP MVP award for the global sales organization for the last 9 years.   Vlacich attended Rider University and currently serves on the boards of UTEC (United Teen Equality Center) based in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Juanita was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. During the early stages of her professional career she worked in remote communities training local leaders in mediation techniques and human rights principles so that they could seek peaceful alternatives to the resolution of conflicts. She received her law degree from Los Andes University and wrote her J.D. thesis on Pragmatism as a potential way to develop empathy between radically opposed factions. She later immigrated to the United States for graduate work in Philosophy at Boston College and study in the Japanese martial art Aikido.

Over the past two decades Juanita has supported public and private funders and social sector organizations in refocusing strategy and implementing change efforts. Her expertise in data-informed decision-making and translating policy into practice has helped many organizations increase their impact with communities, individuals, and families.

Juanita has held management positions at the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, and Commonwealth Corporation, among others. She has also served as a social change consultant, focusing on supporting organizations such as Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Rhode Island’s Department of Adult Education, City Year , UTEC, Inc., and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Juanita’s present work is rooted in advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles and practices. She has led numerous national and local conversations to advance racial understanding, dialogue, and action for organizations and communities.