Strategic Advisory Group

Jason Alves grew up in Cambridge. Today he is the Executive Director of the East Cambridge Business Association, which represents over 150 businesses in East Cambridge and Inman Square. He has held prior roles in Cambridge working for former Mayor Kenneth Reeves, and former Vice Mayor and City Councillor Timothy Toomey.

Tony Clark is the Co-Founder and Co-President of the My Brother’s Keeper, Cambridge Taskforce. He holds degrees from Morehouse College, New York University, and The City University of New York and a Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life.  Tony is a seasoned educator and moderator, who previously held posts at New York University, The City University of New York, Columbia University, and Johns Hopkins University. He currently serves on the English faculty of Bunker Hill Community College, as a tenured professor.  His work for the United States Department of Education along with other appointments has allowed him to work closely with over 25 school districts across the United States, focusing on education reform. Tony is an avid reader, a podcaster, and is currently working on his debut book to be released in 2022.  

Esther Hanig is a longtime resident of the Port. She served on the C2 committee that worked for over a year and a half to come up with recommendations to meet the current and future needs of Central Square. Esther also served on the Volpe planning committee and worked to represent the needs of her neighborhood. She is currently a member of the city’s Central Square Advisory Committee, as the neighborhood representative for the Port. She has been active in her community, previously serving on the boards of the Cambridge YWCA and Tutoring Plus. Esther is a long time advocate for affordable housing and is a member of the CNAHS (Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Housing Services) Board. Currently retired, her last professional position was as the Executive Director of Union Square Main Streets in Somerville where she worked to strengthen local businesses and protect the very unique character of the Square and engaged in long term neighborhood planning with the city, community and local businesses.

George Metzger is a principle at Cambridge based HMFH Architects. He has held leadership roles in a number of community non-profits such as CCTV, Central Square BID, and CASPAR; and served on many boards and commissions such as the Mayors Commission for Central Square, Ending Homelessness Now,Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood board (founding member).George was a neighborhood representative on the Charles Square Advisory Committee in the late 1980s, served on the ordinance drafting committee for the Mid Cambridge Neighborhood Conservation Commission, was a founding member of the Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Assoc. board. He has participated in several rezoning efforts such as the Central Square Overlay District and the recent Affordable Housing Overlay District.

Miriam Ortiz currently serves as Director of Education & Training Director at Just A Start where she leads student-centered workforce development programs for residents of Cambridge and the Metro-North area. Miriam’s work in the nonprofit sector has focused on working with underserved populations, including mixed-status immigrant families, adult learners, and young parents. Miriam serves on the Massachusetts Future of Work Commission and is a member of the steering committee for RISE, the City of Cambridge’s guaranteed income pilot. Miriam holds a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College, a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, and a Master of Public Policy from Tufts' Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Department.

Cheryl Patterson Munroe is a leader in ACT, the Alliance of Cambridge Tenants, which helps tenants in public housing or who use public housing vouchers advocate for themselves on housing issues in the community that effect them. Cheryl feels strongly about the importance of transparency and communication for any publicly facing organization. Cheryl is a long long time Cambridge resident. She lives at Newtowne Court and works in Kendall Square.

Allan Sadun was the co-chair of A Better Cambridge, a grassroots volunteer group that advocates for housing affordability and access in pursuit of a more diverse, sustainable, and vibrant Cambridge. He is passionate about the intersecting roles that government and public policy can play in improving lives and providing opportunities. Allan works as an engineer and holds a Master in Electrical Engineering and an Bachelor of Science in Physics and Electrical Engineering from MIT. He is a renter and lives near Inman Square.

Elena Sokolow-Kaufman is the Managing Director of Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition. She has spent the last 15 years working in the nonprofit sector in Greater Boston, in roles ranging from fundraiser to grant administrator to organizer and advocate. Most recently, she was the Senior Manager of Government Affairs for the Mass Mentoring Partnership, a statewide organization providing resources to youth mentoring programs across Massachusetts, where she led field organizing and direct advocacy to secure critical funds for mentoring organizations. Elena earned a BA in Psychology from Barnard College at Columbia University and her MPA from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Bloomington. She lives in Arlington, MA and enjoys spending time outside with her family, reading fiction and watching the Great British Baking Show.

Mark Tang is the Vice President of Development for Novaya Real Estate Ventures and is responsible for managing Novaya’s permitting and development strategy and efforts. Prior to joining Novaya, Mark was a real estate partner in the Boston office of DLA Piper LLP (US), where he advised a full spectrum of clients on real estate matters such as acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, land use, development and permitting, all within the retail, healthcare, education, commercial office, residential, and other mixed-use building sectors. Mark had prior roles at Turner Construction Company, where he oversaw various phases of construction at Northeastern University, Logan International Airport, Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital. He graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.

Richard Thal has been active in the community development movement since the late 1970s.  He became Executive Director of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation in 1994 and served in that role until his retirement in October 2020. During his tenure, the JPNDC grew to become one of the largest and most successful community-based development organizations in the region. In addition to completing more than $300 million in development projects, JPNDC launched a series of economic development and community organizing initiatives that gained national attention, including a major career ladders initiative in the health care sector and a multi-year anti-gentrification campaign.

Ben Turpin was a Community Planner at the USDOT’s Volpe Center in Kendall Square, where he has worked on transportation planning, community and stakeholder engagement, and capacity building.  Prior to Volpe, Ben practiced as a landscape architect at Stimson Studio, a landscape architecture firm in Cambridge, 3north, an interdisciplinary design studio in Richmond, Virginia, and Yosemite National Park. As a designer, he focused primarily on public space and park design, urban development, campus and institutional planning, and community engagement. He is especially interested in the overlap of policy, equity, and design as well as the integration of ecological systems into the public realm. Ben holds a Master in City Planning from MIT and a Bachelors of Landscape Architecture from Virginia Tech.

Nicola Williams is a long term Cambridge resident and owner of The Williams Agency, a mission-driven marketing and business strategy consulting firm that works for nonprofits and small businesses. Her business experience spans 26 years, is culturally connected to the communities it serves, and is built upon values of community, diversity, localism, and respect for the environment. The Williams Agency services include strategic planning, brand development, campaign management, marketing communications, public relations, outreach, market research, and event planning.  Nicola is also the Facilitator of the Cambridge-Somerville Black Business Network and serves on the boards of the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts (SBN), the Community Arts Center, Harvard Square Neighborhood Association, Cambridge Carnival International and others. She serves on the Advisory Board of Cambridge Local First and was recently appointed to the Harvard Square Advisory Committee. Prior to The Williams Agency, Nicola served as an Associate Director of the Cambridge Business Development, a non-profit agency whose mission was to assist businesses through start-up, development, and growth in Cambridge.