Denise has held the position of President and CEO of Springfield School Volunteers since 2006 but began her career at SSV during her senior year at Western New England College in 1992 when she took a part-time job managing after-school tutorial sessions for students being served by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Program.
Shortly after graduation, Denise was hired as the Coordinator of that program and was then responsible for annually writing the grant proposal and developing and managing the budget as well as overseeing all aspects of the program, which helped to ensure educational stability for homeless youth.
In 1999 Denise was hired as the Manager of Volunteer Programs for SSV. In this role, she served as the liaison to 17 schools, coordinated the annual staff planning process, worked with SPS academic directors to develop and implement volunteer programs and trainings, and co-edited the Annual Report.
While she was a participant in the Human Service Forum’s Emerging Leaders Institute, designed to prepare people for leadership positions in nonprofit organizations, Denise competed in a regional search process and was selected as the fifth President and CEO of SSV in June of 2006.
In 2007 Denise was named to Business West magazine’s inaugural Forty Under 40. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Western New England University. Denise currently serves on the boards of the Human Service Forum and Wayfinders, and as the Board President for Pathlight and MHA.
