Scott McCue, Head of School, Boston Preparatory Charter Public School

Boston Preparatory Charter Public School (BPCPS) opened its doors on September 7th, 2004, with an inaugural class of 110 sixth graders. BPCPS received its charter from the Massachusetts Board of Education in February of 2003. BPCPS was one of only five schools to receive a charter, from an initial collection of 25 charter prospectuses. BPCPS was the only school focused exclusively on the city of Boston which received a charter. Its mission is to utilize rigorous curriculum, extended academic time, and a range of supports for children and families to prepare 6th-12th grade students to succeed in college. An environment structured around scholarship and personal growth cultivates students' virtues of courage, compassion, integrity, perseverance, and respect.

Speaker Bio:
Scott has worked as the Head of School at BPCPS since the school's founding in 2003.  In this capacity, he has overseen the development of the school's instructional and cultural programming, budgeting, and fundraising.  Prior to taking this position, Mr. McCue coordinated the work of the school's Founding Group.  He has served as a teacher and administrator at the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter School in Hyde Park and in the New York City public schools.Scott is a graduate of Harvard College and of Columbia University Teachers College.

Catherine D’Amato, President and CEO

As President and CEO of The Greater Boston Food Bank, Catherine D’Amato runs New England’s largest hunger-relief organization. She assumed her leadership position at The Greater Boston Food Bank in 1995 after heading up the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and, before that, the San Francisco Food Bank. Under D’Amato’s vision and leadership, The Greater Boston Food Bank has been transformed into a nearly $63 million charitable business, an organization that now leads the region in providing nutritious food to nearly 600 hunger-relief organizations. These agencies annually serve more than 320,000 hungry residents of the nine counties and 190 cities and towns of eastern Massachusetts. The Greater Boston Food Bank distributes approximately 30 million pounds of food and grocery products annually.

D’Amato currently serves on the board of directors of the Boston Foundation, the Massachusetts Food Association, and Basic Health International Market Association, and the Human Rights Campaign. She has received numerous honors and awards for her leadership role in the fight to end hunger, including a 2008 Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce;  an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Newbury College and “Women’s Business” Hall of Fame, Non-Profit/Professional; the New England Women’s Leadership Award. D'Amato earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from the University of San Francisco and Business Management Certificates from Harvard University and Smith College.

About Haley House

From rich and diverse spiritual traditions we:

• address the needs of society's forgotten people
• challenge the structures that create violence
• offer alternatives to the attitudes that perpetuate suffering

Haley House is a lean, feisty non-profit, started in 1966 in Boston's South End. Originally providing basic necessities, we have gradually developed new ways to address the other challenges faced by the people we serve. Our strategy is to mobilize resources to support people in their move toward economic independence and meaningful lives - through these endeavors:

The Haley House Bakery Training Program is designed to promote self-sufficiency for underemployed people with barriers to employment, such as CORI constraints. (The baking field is one of the few in which persons with criminal records can find gainful employment.) The Haley House Bakery Café is an expansion of the Bakery Training Program.

Noonday Farm in Winchendon Springs, a model for sustainable living, grows organic vegetables and flowers to distribute to people of limited means.

The Food Program includes ten meals a week served in our south End soup kitchen to homeless men and to men and women 55 and older, and also a weekly food pantry. Fresh produce and whole grains are emphasized.

Housing Haley House owns and manages forty one units of low income housing in the South End, and owns and manages 69 units of low income housing in partnership with Madison park Development Corporation.

The Residential Community is an intentional community of 6 to 9 people who have chosen to live simply and engage deeply with the poor. The community members oversee many of our services and receive room and board in exchange. This approach provides Haley House with a resource of effective, highly motivated staffing that could not be subsidized with traditional compensation packages.

Other Services include a weekly clothing room for homeless and disadvantaged men, enrichment programs for at risk youth, immersion experiences and internships for college students, and three weekly AA meetings.

• Food: 40,000 meals each year as well as a weekly food pantry-with an emphasis on fresh produce, whole grains and respect
• Noonday Farm: distributes 16,000 pounds of organic produce, eggs and wild flowers each year while living gently on the land 
• Residential Community: six to nine people living simply and engaging with the marginalized while overseeing a variety of services and bringing a spirit of non-violence to their work and the larger society
• Housing: 107 units of permanent housing throughout the South End for individuals and families, incorporating tenants in the management
• Whats Up Magazine: an award winning, independent media outlet for alternative arts, a voice for social justice, and a dignified supplemental income for vendors who become part of a community of creative young people