LIFT

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

 

With a mission to combat poverty and expand opportunity for all Americans, LIFT currently runs centers staffed by trained volunteers in Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. to serve low-income individuals and families. LIFT clients and volunteers work one-on-one to find jobs, secure safe and stable housing, make ends meet through public benefits and tax credits, and obtain quality referrals for services like childcare and healthcare. Simultaneously, the LIFT experience pushes volunteers to grapple with our country’s most challenging issues related to poverty, race, inequality, and policy. Since LIFT’s founding, over 5,000 volunteers have served more than 30,000 individuals and families. By 2015, 10,000 LIFT volunteers will have advanced 150,000 clients on their path toward economic security and personal success.  LIFT is a member of the venture philanthropy portfolios of New Profit, Robin Hood (NYC), and CharityWorks (DC), and a proud partner of the AmeriCorps program.

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 as the Chair of the Board of the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project (HCPP). Her leadership with LIFT has been featured by NBC Nightly News, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and CNN, and she has received numerous honors for her work, including the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service.  In 2009, she was honored to be selected as a Scholar at the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival.

Lodal graduated from Yale University in 2001 and has completed the Executive Management Program at the 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 Chief Operating Officer, 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.

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 currently serves as a board member for her alma mater, Providence College and on the Young Nonprofit Professional Network of Washington, DC's (YNPNDC) Leadership Council.  She was formerly on an advisory board for America's Promise Alliance.

Betty comes to LIFT after a 36-year career with the federal government in the Department of Veterans Affairs. She worked in three VA medical centers in the New York metropolitan area, serving in a wide variety of clinical, administrative and management positions.

In her most recent assignment, Betty was responsible for the management of a number of residential and outpatient treatment programs which served veterans struggling with substance abuse disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues, as well as homelessness and unemployment. She developed internal initiatives and community partnerships which provided veterans with access to affordable housing and job training and placement.

As an Adjunct Professor at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work she teaches clinical practice.

Betty received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the City College of New York and her MSW from Columbia University. She also has a Masters degree in Health Care Management from New York University and is a NYS Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor.

As a social worker, she finds LIFT’s strengths-based social justice model very much in sync with her own values and is particularly drawn to LIFT’s community based approach and its long range impact on society through exposing college students to the realities of poverty, racism & classism in America. Betty oversees the operations of the local LIFT site in The Bronx and works with LIFT’s local community and university partners.

Raël Nelson James comes to LIFT with several years of experience in nonprofit fundraising and grantwriting, having worked previously as a Development Associate with KIPP DC, and she also has extensive experience as a programmatic manager through her work as a Program Director with Operation Understanding and as an Assistant for Leadership Programs with the Institute for Educational Leadership.

As LIFT-DC's Executive Director, Raël is charged with overseeing the operations at two LIFT local sites and developing a vibrant team of staff members and local university student volunteers.  She is currently leading the growth of LIFT-DC's programs by managing current partners, attracting new funding sources, working with local universities, expanding LIFT-DC's local visibility and recognition, and serving as an external spokesperson for LIFT in Washington, D.C.

Raël says, "As a native Washingtonian, I am enthusiastic about being part of a team of professionals, students, and community members working together both locally and nationally toward the eradication of poverty and the expansion of opportunity for all."

 

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.