Meet the Team
Jeanne Dasaro, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer
Jeanne is a social entrepreneur and activist who is interested in using her skills for social change. She has extensive experience in nonprofit management, event planning, project planning, and community journalism. In addition to her work with the New Prosperity Initiative, Jeanne is owner of Plan-It Green Consulting and Events, a meeting and event planning company that delivers environmentally conscious meetings to mission driven organizations. She also serves on the Board of Directors for several Boston nonprofit organizations.
Jeanne studied Anthropology and Economics at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and is currently enrolled in the Professional Writing Program at U-Mass Boston. She has been featured in O Magazine as one of “Tomorrow’s Leaders” and The Boston Globe as a “Leading Woman” specifically for her social entrepreneurial spirit. When she isn’t pursuing professional interests, Jeanne can be found cooking in her kitchen or venturing off to get a new stamp in her passport.
Email Jeanne at jeanne[at]thenewprosperity.org. Read more from Jeanne at NPi’s blog: thenewprosperity.wordpress.com. Follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JeanneDasaro.
Alexis Schroeder, Co-Founder and Executive Director 
Lex is a freelance writer and editor who believes personal narratives are one of the most powerful tools for social change. Originally from Old Orchard Beach, Maine, Lex holds a B.A. in Government (International Relations) from Smith College. Prior to NPi, she worked on the publishing team at the Lean Enterprise Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, an educational research and publishing company dedicated to teaching the lean business method.
Lex is also an active member of her community. She serves on the board of directors of The Writers’ Room of Boston and is a “Connector” for Boston World Partnerships. In addition to developing the NPi business, she is NPi’s Managing Editor. These days she’s very interested in things like systems thinking, social entrepreneurship, health and wellness, humor writing, poetry, and design.
Email Lex at alexis[at]thenewprosperity.org. Read more from Lex at NPi’s blog: thenewprosperity.wordpress.com. Follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LexSchroeder.
Austin Briggs, Media Production Volunteer
Austin Briggs graduated from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida with a degree in Media Production & Cinema and Media Studies in 2009. His experience with production includes shooting, directing, and editing 16mm film and high definition digital video. In March 2007 his 16mm short film, “A Search for Truth” was shown in Symbiotic Media’s “The Dig” art show in St. Augustine, Florida.
Social and environmental issues are two areas Austin is particularly interested in sharing through the media. His 2009 short: “You Live Here” is a documentary on urban sprawl and deforestation in South Florida wetlands. Austin also recently launched his own website ABriggsFilm.com, and in addition to interning at NPi, is working as a freelance video/film editor in Seattle, Washington.
Marlene Feil, Marketing Communications Intern
Marlene is currently a junior at Boston University, where she studies sociology and philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is originally from Los Angeles, California where throughout her high school career she volunteered as a phone operator at Cedar Sinai Hospital’s Teen Line Hotline. She has always been interested in public policy and the strengthening of urban communities. In the summer of 2009 she interned at South End Roxbury Open Space Land Trust in Boston, where she helped gather the input of the community to aid in Architecure for Humanity’s creation of a new youth center.
Marlene was interested in joining NPi because of its unique ability to connect people through the use of media. She firmly believes in socially conscious media and its power to revitalize communities through increased awareness and communal participation. Marlene hopes her work will create equal social and economic opportunities for disadvantaged citizens in the city of Boston.
Diana Gravallese, Marketing Communications Intern
Diana Gravallese is a senior at Boston University studying print journalism and political science. She is originally from Washington, D.C. As a junior at Boston University, Diana studied abroad in Geneva, Switzerland. There, she interned for the International Federation of University Women, a Geneva-based NGO, and worked on a research project on women’s access to higher education. She also attended several meetings of the United Nations Human Rights Council and Durban Review Conference. In 2008, Diana worked as a coordinator for the First Year Student Outreach Project at Boston University. She designed a week of education and service for incoming BU freshmen.
Diana was interested in joining the NPi team because of the unique way that NPi integrates media and the community. Diana is interested in working in the nonprofit sector after she graduates from college in 2010.
Laurie Herschman, Graphic Designer
Laurie Herschman is a freelance graphic designer who uses her creativity and skills for social change. She works for non-profits and social businesses that support a more equitable and sustainable world. Her design work includes invitations, posters, event signage, Web design, brand identities, fact sheets, greeting cards, and annual reports. Check out some of her work at www.laurieherschman.com, and visit www.laurieherschman.wordpress.com to see what she is currently working on.
Some of Laurie’s freelance design clients have included, NPi, America SCORES, AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps, Brookview House, Up2Us, and New Voices magazine. In 2007-08, Laurie was a Corps Member of AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps in Chicago. She worked for America SCORES Chicago as both a Community Resource Manager, planning outreach and programming for youth and their families, and as an in-house graphic designer.
Laurie was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and studied Mass Communication with a concentration in Advertising at Boston University. While at BU she split her time between creative advertising courses in the College of Communication and graphic design courses in the College of Fine Arts, while also pursuing a minor in art history.
Ari Klickstein, Media Production Intern
Ari is currently a student of Media and Communication at New York University. He is a native of Boston and attended Boston Latin School. He has always been interested in politics as well as the transforming power of a good story. At BLS, he wrote and edited for the school’s paper, as well as worked with a team of friends to create websites about leaders in social justice for the Seevak Website Competition. In the summer of 2007 he was a John William Ward Fellow at the editorial page of The Boston Globe. The program places Latin School students in government offices across the city and exposes them to the importance of public service through meeting a variety of Boston’s city leaders and representatives. At the end of the summer, the Globe published Ari’s Op-Ed column which highlighted the sleep deficit among Boston’s high school students and a way the school department could improve their situation.
Ari was interested in joining NPi because it leverages both the new media of the Internet as well as utilizes the unbeatable person-to-person interactions to form bridges between non-governmental organizations and the people that they can benefit. Ari looks forward to helping enhance and sustain these connections. He is an avid photographer, both in digital and film formats, as well as a biking enthusiast. In New York, Ari plays the role of a Reverse Mentor, explaining the digital landscape that teenagers inhabit online to inquisitive executives at Time Warner Inc.
For a complete list of contributors, click here.
Please note:
NPi is looking to expand the leadership team! If you live in the Boston area (and perhaps if not) and are interested in working with NPi in the areas of development and/or fundraising, technology and design, or communications in a leadership role, please email us at info[at]thenewprosperity.org for more information. For the time being these are part-time, unpaid positions.
