MRC Staff

Allan Arnaboldi, M.Ed. is director of support programs for the Men's Resource Center for Change. He taught preschoolers through third-graders at the University of Massachusetts, the Greenfield (Mass.) Center School (a private elementary school), and the Fort River School (an Amherst, Mass. public school) for 20 years before joining the MRC. He oversees the MRC's support groups and fathering programs, and supervises the organization's school and youth programs and conducts workshops and trainings for parents and direct care staff working with families. Allan also trains new support group facilitators, coordinates resource and referral requests from the community and colleagues, and is a lead facilitator in MRC weekly support groups.

Paul J. Collins, Jr., B.A., youth educator and outreach coordinator, facilitates the MRC's Young Men of Color Group at its offices in Amherst, Mass. and other youth groups in middle and high schools in Springfield and Holyoke and elsewhere throughout western Massachusetts. He holds a B.A. in Education from the University Without Walls at the University of Massachusetts and is currently a graduate student in the UMass Social Justice Education program. Paul was head teacher and assistant site coordinator for two after-school programs for elementary and middle school youth. Paul also has worked as a counselor/educator for teens in two residential programs, and co-taught a Mentoring Youth of Color course at UMass.

Gretchen Craig is the MRC's development coordinator. A graduate of the University of Southern California with a major in gender studies, she worked for several years with youth agencies in Los Angeles before returning to her native Northampton.

Michael Dover, Ph.D. is the MRC's web manager. He served as co-executive director with Rob Okun from September 2003 through December 2004 and associate director through June 2005, was a member of the MRC board of directors for seven years (chair for four years), and a regular volunteer in the MRC office. His volunteer activities included facilitating in the support groups, serving on the Anti-Racism and Development committees, and helping with strategic planning, technology planning, grant proposals, and miscellaneous other tasks. He is also a contributor to Voice Male and has served as the magazine's copy editor. Michael is a retired environmental scientist, having worked for more than 20 years in research, education, and policy analysis for government and nonprofit organizations.

Jan Eidelson is Partner Services Coordinator for Moving Forward's domestic violence program, providing individual and group support for the partners and ex-partners of our Moving Forward clients. Jan has been working with survivors of domestic violence since 1987 as a hotline counselor, legal advocate and counseling program coordinator in battered women's shelters. Before joining the MRC in 2001, she worked as a Hotline and Group Counselor for NELCWIT (New England Learning Center for Women In Transition) in Greenfield, Mass., and as a Program Coordinator for the Laurel House in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Jan has a B.S. in Individual and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University.

Sara Elinoff Acker, LICSW, has worked extensively with battered women and female survivors of sexual abuse since 1985. After many years in the battered women's movement, Sara received her MSW from the University of Connecticut. Formerly MOVE co-director and partner services director, Sara is now clinical supervisor of Moving Forward. Sara has previously provided clinical supervision to college-based victim support programs, including Hampshire College and UMass. She has led workshops on sexual violence, gender issues, and domestic violence throughout New England, and currently maintains a private counseling practice.

Scott Girard is the Hampden County coordinator for Moving Forward. He also works as a liaison for the Domestic Violence Intervention Project in the Ware and Hadley District Courts. He began his affiliation with MOVE in 1990 as a client and continued in the follow-up program, of which he was a founding member, for several years. Scott and his partner Nancy have spoken to many local groups and on radio and television about their experiences with domestic violence. They have also appeared on Oprah, CBS's 48 Hours and on Public Television's The 90s. Scott has been working full-time for the MRC since May of 2001. He serves both as a group leader in Moving Forward domestic violence groups and as an anger management educator.

Steve Jefferson, Ed.D., is a lecturer and director of the undergraduate program in Sports Management at the University of Massachusetts. He also works as a Certified Batterers' Intervention Counselor and group leader for Moving Forward. He received his doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts. Steve has worked extensively in the fields of education and corrections: as a high school Dean of Students, as institutional school principal at the North Central Correctional Institution, as a director of the Crime and Justice Foundation, and as consultant to the Robert F. Kennedy Secure Treatment Program.

Joy Kaubin, LCSW and Certified Batterers' Intervention Counselor, is Moving Forward's anger management coordinator and a group leader in the domestic violence program. Joy ran the Human Resource Center's batterer intervention program in Athol for three years (until the MRC took it over in July of 2000) and prior to that worked for NELCWIT and Safe Passage, providing administrative support, counseling, and legal advocacy to battered women, as well as for the Traprock Peace Center in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Joy received her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania in 1976 and worked in mental health before moving to New England.

Rob Okun, M.Ed., is executive director of the Men's Resource Center for Change. He has been active with the MRC in various capacities since 1992, including co-directing the Men Overcoming Violence program, where he was a group leader for many years. A certified batterers' intervention counselor, Rob received his Master's degree in men's studies and counseling from Lesley University. He has led workshops and made presentations throughout New England on fathering issues, men and domestic abuse, and male socialization. His commentaries on men and fathering are broadcast on public radio. Rob is editor of the MRC's quarterly magazine Voice Male.

Steve Trudel began counseling batterers in San Francisco nearly two decades ago and, beginning in 1989, was among the first Batterers' Intervention Counselors in the Men Overcoming Violence (now Moving Forward) program. He received his degree in Human Services from the University of Massachusetts and has worked for many years both in community mental health and the shelter movement. Steve has led workshops and made presentations on issues related to batterers' treatment at social work conferences and at colleges and universities throughout the region. Steve currently serves as both the Intake Coordinator and the court liaison for Moving Forward.

Emeritus
Steven Botkin, Ed.D. (Executive Director Emeritus) is the founder (1982) and was Executive Director of the MRC until early 2004. He received his doctoral degree from the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts in 1988 for research focused on gender consciousness among college men. He has taught courses and led workshops throughout the U.S. on men and masculinity, rape, sexual harassment, homophobia, and men's leadership. Steven is currently serving in an advisory capacity during the transition to new leadership, and directs Men's Resources International, an educational and consulting organization to help develop and grow men's programs worldwide.

Peter Jessop, Board Chair
President, Integrity Development and Construction
Amherst

Charles Bodhi, Clerk/Treasurer
Director of Employer Services
Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, Springfield

Gustavo Acosta
Program Manager
Avanza! Holyoke Taskforce for Excellence in Latino Education
Holyoke Community College

Jenny Daniell
Attorney
Leverett and Amherst

Tom Gardner
Assistant Professor
Communication Department
Westfield State College

Yoko Kato
Owner, Fashions by Yoko
Florence

Gail Kielson
Project Coordinator, Rural North Hill-
 town Project, Everywoman's Center
Therapist and Founding Member, Paloma House therapy collective, Northampton

Jonathan Klate
Acupuncturist in private practice and Founder/Director, "The Realisy Project," Amherst

Tom Schuyt
Volunteer MRC Facilitator
Montague