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Tiered Community Mentoring program hosts networking events in Boston and Worcester

Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024
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Top: Hon. Arose Nielsen (left) of the Juvenile Court speaks at the Worcester kickoff TCM event, and Dr. Natoschia Scruggs (right) speaks at the Boston networking TCM event.

Middle: TCM Co-Chair Hon. Angela M. Ordoñez (ret.) speaks at the Boston TCM kickoff event.

Bottom: Hon. Bernadette Stark of the Worcester County Probate and Family Court speaks at the Worcester networking TCM event.

The Massachusetts Bar Association’s Tiered Community Mentoring (TCM) Program hosted kickoff and career and networking events for participants in both Boston and Worcester during the months of November and December. The TCM Program provides students at the high school, undergraduate and law school levels access to legal professionals to provide them with an understanding of the legal profession and an awareness of the career opportunities available to them. The program is based in Boston and Worcester in an effort to reach urban high school students, with a focus on building a diverse mentoring network.

For the 2024-2025 year, the TCM participants are given the opportunity to meet each other three time at various in-person events and three other events that will take place virtually. This year’s program features the participation of students from the following schools in both the Boston and Worcester area:

  • Boston Latin Academy, Burncoat High School, Charlestown High School, Claremont Academy, Community Academy of Science & Health, Doherty Memorial High School, Excel Academy, North High School, South High Community High School, The English High School, University Park Campus School and Worcester Technical High School.
  • Bunker Hill Community College, Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, University of Massachusetts – Boston, Roxbury Community College, Williams College and Worcester State University.
  • Northeastern University School of Law, Massachusetts School of Law, Suffolk University Law School, University of Massachusetts School of Law and Western New England University School of Law.
The two in-person kickoff events gave the TCM participants the opportunity to meet each of their team members and to exchange contact information. The keynote speaker at the Worcester kickoff event at the Worcester Courthouse on Oct. 30 was Hon. Arose Nielsen, associate justice, Massachusetts Juvenile Court, and the keynote speaker at the Boston kickoff event on Nov. 7 was Hon. Stacey J. Fortes, chief justice, Massachusetts District Court.

The Nov. 21 Worcester career and networking event at Worcester Law Library featured welcome remarks by TCM Committee member Kanchana Fernando, clerk at the Worcester County Juvenile Court Clerk’s Office, and a keynote address by Hon. Bernadette Stark, associate justice, Worcester County Probate and Family Court.

As part of the Dec. 5 Boston career and networking event at the MBA in Boston, attendees heard from TCM Co-Chair Hon. Angela M. Ordoñez (ret.) and Dr. Natoschia Scruggs, chief access, diversity, and fairness officer, Massachusetts Trial Court.

Dignitaries at both events included representatives of various court departments, state and federal law enforcement entities, educational institutions, private organizations, and law firms.

The Worcester networkers were:

  • Woodrow Adams, assistant chief court officer, Worcester Court Complex
  • Jamie Bennett, Esq., attorney in charge, Worcester County Youth Advocacy Division, Committee for Public Counsel Services
  • Ailene Concepcion, M.S., deputy director, Language Access and Court Records Department
  • Hanh Grilli, probation officer, Worcester District Court
  • Alicia Doherty Hammond, Esq., assistant judicial case manager, Worcester Probate and Family Court
  • Terry McLaughlin, Esq., chief trial counsel and head of Homicide Unit, Office of District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.
  • Hon. Bernadette Stark, associate justice, Worcester County Probate and Family Court
  • Raquel Thomas, Esq., Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF)
  • Kristen Williams, Esq., director, Central West Justice Center
  • Amanda Zuretti, Esq., Bowditch & Dewey LLP
The Boston networkers were:

  • Jason Dickie, regional director of security – Region V, MTC OCM – Security
  • Carmen Z. Gomez, PhD, deputy commissioner for pretrial services, Office of the Commissioner of Probation
  • Lauren Friel, assistant judicial case manager, Barnstable Probate and Family Court
  • Melaine Malcolm, deputy director, Department of Research and Planning, Executive Office of the Trial Court
  • Jacqueline Massua, criminalist III, Boston Police Crime Laboratory
  • Samuel J. Panarella, dean at UMass Law – Dartmouth
  • Alison Pauly, FBI, associate division counsel special agent
  • Hon. Janine Rivers, associate justice, Suffolk County Probate and Family Court
  • Captain Bowen C. Spievack, commanding officer, U.S. Coast Guard Base Cape Cod
  • Raquel Webster, senior litigation attorney, National Grid
If you’re interested in participating next year as an attorney mentor, please contact TCM@MassBar.org.