LIFT

Kirsten Lodal co-founded LIFT in 1998 as a sophomore at Yale University and has devoted the last ten years to guiding the development of LIFT’s innovative program model.

Lodal is a frequent public speaker on such topics as social entrepreneurship, program evaluation, and civic engagement. She is committed to strengthening the nonprofit sector as a whole by participating in numerous service and poverty-related policy working groups, coaching leaders of emerging social ventures, and actively serving on the Board of the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project (HCPP). She served as a panelist at both the 2008 and 2009 National Conference on Service and Volunteering, and was selected as an Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar in 2009.

Lodal was the 2004 recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service and recognized with the Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 or Under.

Lodal holds a B.A. from Yale University and an executive management certificate from Columbia Business School’s Institute for Not-for-Profit Management. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Jeff Himmelman, who is an author and musician.

As Vice President, Tony oversees LIFT’s field operations nationwide, ensures quality national training and technical assistance support to local offices, and guides the organization’s ongoing program impact and evaluation efforts.   Tony joined the LIFT team in 2007, bringing with him over 13 years of experience in counseling and social work, business development, IT management, and service to low-income communities in the U.S. and abroad.  Prior to joining LIFT, Tony helped to establish Jordan House, a residential stabilization program for individuals in psychiatric crisis in Washington, DC, operated under the umbrella of the renowned non-profit So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.).  In addition to helping establish the program, Tony provided direct therapy  and case management support to Jordan House residents. Tony also spent several years working as an IT consultant with Community IT Innovators (CITI), a Washington, DC, based IT company committed to helping nonprofits effectively use technology.  Tony consulted DC area non-profits in all aspects of IT strategy, planning and implementation.  Abroad, Tony worked in Haiti with Beyond Boarders, a nonprofit focused on education and work promoting the rights of children.

Tony is an AmeriCorps alum and has conducted years of service with the Franciscan Center, a community based social service agency in Baltimore and with Clean and Sober Streets, a residential drug and alcohol recovery program for homeless and low income individuals in DC.  In addition to his current work with LIFT, Tony is actively serving on the boards of the Capuchin Franciscan Volunteer Corps and the Rolling Ridge Foundation, an environmental conservation and education foundation.

Tony is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and received his M.S. in Counseling from Loyola College in Maryland. Tony completed his undergraduate work from, and is proud alum of, the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio.

Ben works to focus the overall development of LIFT’s operations in the greater Chicago area, and supports the work of five local Site Coordinators.

Ben earned his M.S.W. from the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration.  He provided mental health treatment to individuals living on the South Side of Chicago, and conducted policy research for the City of Chicago Mayor's Office.  Ben also received a human rights grant from the University of Chicago to travel to Namibia to support UNICEF with initiatives aimed at combating violence against women and children.  This was Ben’s third time in Namibia in a social service capacity.

Prior to graduate school Ben spent five years with LifeWorks, NW conducting outreach and home visits to families referred by the State of Oregon's Child Welfare Hotline, and working with a program that provided free psycho-educational groups to children who witnessed domestic violence.  It was with LifeWorks that Ben gained experience in strengths based programming, and witnessed the impact of services in which community members voluntarily choose to participate.

Ben earned a Bachelors degree in Comparative Sociology from the University of Puget Sound; community service was a pillar of Ben’s undergrad experience, and is another reason that he connects so strongly to LIFT’s model.

Josh comes to LIFT with over ten years of program management experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to starting with LIFT, Josh served as the Associate Director for the Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa, where he supported the efforts of Small Enterprise Development Volunteers throughout the country.  Before leaving for Guinea, Josh was the Director of Community Outreach with the SHARE Food Program, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit food distribution network serving families throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.  Josh traces his passion for service to his time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa, where he worked to develop a women's savings and credit cooperative project as well as an after-school program for Malian children.

Josh holds a Bachelor's degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Masters degree in Intercultural Management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT.

Maicharia joins LIFT with over 12 years of management, fundraising and marketing experience within human services, health care and education sectors.  She most recently served as Whittier Street Health Center’s Vice President of Development where she oversaw the strategic management of funds development, marketing, and branding to increase health and social services to a diverse population of Boston residents.

With a deep commitment to empowering individuals and families to become self-sufficient, Maicharia was formerly the Executive Director for the Organization for New Equality (ONE) where she developed programs focused on eliminating poverty through financial literacy, asset development, and community outreach.

As Regional Executive Director for the Boston region, Maicharia oversees the operations and growth of the two LIFT local sites in Cambridge and Somerville and leads LIFT’s external relations with local community, university and investment partners. Maicharia received her Master in Business Administration from Simmons College School of Management and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Connecticut.

As the Director of Development, Amy is primarily responsible for providing strategic and management support to the organization in the areas of development and communications. Amy is a graduate from Providence College with a double degree in Political Science and Public and Community Service from the Feinstein Institute for Public Service. Beyond LIFT, she recently completed a term on an advisory board for America's Promise Alliance and she currently serves as a board member for her alma mater, Providence College.