2Life leadership
LEADERSHIP | 2LIFE COMMUNITIES

Our leadership: dedicated, innovative, mission-driven

2Life Communities is led by a highly skilled group of thoughtful, seasoned professionals who make every decision with the well-being of Massachusetts' older adults in mind.

Front Row Leaders

As a mission-driven organization, every member of the 2Life team has an opportunity to make a difference for those we serve. We are particularly proud of management practices that empower every person to be a leader -- whether by providing exceptional service to residents, contributing innovative ideas, or spreading the word about 2Life's mission. In this rotating segment, we highlight people from throughout our organization who lead by example and exemplify the mission of 2Life Communities. You can view all of our Front Row Leaders here.

Corporate leadership

Amy Schectman

Amy Schectman

Saul and Gitta Kurlat Chief Executive Officer of 2Life Communities
Amy is that rare leader who uses both sides of her brain to the fullest, combining an analytical approach to problem-solving with a creative spark that leads to breakthrough solutions. Undergirding it all is her deep commitment to social justice — a commitment that has guided Amy through decades of work in the public and nonprofit sectors to advance affordable housing, economic development, and...
Lizbeth Heyer, 2Life Communities President

Lizbeth Heyer

President
Ensuring everyone has a safe, affordable home is Lizabeth’s life’s work. She has more than 35 years of nonprofit and public sector experience in affordable housing development, planning, policy, and advocacy. Since joining 2Life Communities in 2014, Lizbeth has led our growth and innovation initiatives, including developing and modernizing more than 1,000 subsidized apartments; launching Opus, our...
Susan Appelbaum

Susan Appelbaum

Chief Development Officer
Susan is a well-known and well-respected figure in the regional non-profit world. With more than 30 years of non-profit fundraising, communications, and management experience both inside and outside the Jewish community, she has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in creating and running successful advancement departments. Key to her effectiveness are the many relationships she has forged with...
Sandy Bielawa Director of Communications

Sandy Bielawa

Director of Communications
Over her decades-long career, Sandy has helped individuals, teams, and organizations dedicated to solving important problems tell the story of who they are, what they understand about the world, and why it matters, inspiring others to take action. Her experience includes working with rapidly growing start-ups and Fortune 100 companies alike on corporate and executive branding, strategic messaging...
Matt Brett General Counsel

Matt Brett

General Counsel
Matt Brett has nearly 20 years of experience as a commercial real estate attorney. Matt began his law career at Sidley Austin Brown & Wood (now known as Sidley Austin) representing lenders in connection with the origination and securitization of commercial mortgage loans before moving to Schiff Hardin (now known as ArentFox Schiff) where he maintained a comprehensive real estate practice. Prior to...
Sharon Adams Brooks

Sharon Adams Brooks

Opus Sales and Marketing
Telling the world about 2Life Communities’ unique approach to aging in community and our Opus prototype for middle-market older adults is what motivates Sharon every day. She is responsible for leading the Opus marketing and sales efforts and for implementing our sales protocols to help drive continued growth as we expand beyond affordable housing into market-rate communities serving middle-income...
Audrey Broner

Audrey Broner

Director of Evaluation
Audrey comes to 2Life with more than 30 years of program administration and evaluation experience. She believes that accurate data is essential to measure the impact of 2Life’s programs and services. Audrey led the acquisition, customization and implementation of 2Life’s resident database, which informs staff’s practices and program development. She is fully committed to supporting data informed...
Peter Casparriello

Peter Casparriello

Portfolio Director of Maintenance
Peter's philosophy centers on the belief that clear communication is the cornerstone of successful collaboration, encompassing the vital aspects of resolving challenges and ensuring individuals feel heard, acknowledged, and valued. He firmly believes that by fostering open dialogue and understanding, even the most intricate challenges can be overcome. With an impressive career spanning over 30...
Deborah Cutler, LICSW

Debbi Cutler, LICSW

Director of Health and Aging Programs
Debbi has more than 30 years of professional experience providing social work services and supervision to clinicians working with older adults, as well as experience in program management in affordable, supportive housing. Debbi came to 2Life from Brigham and Women’s Hospital where she was a social work manager. Prior to that, she was the director of behavioral health at Hearth, Inc., an...
Karen Edlund

Karen Edlund

Chief of Business Strategy
Karen has more than 20 years of experience working at the intersection of finance, affordable housing, and real estate. This expertise is an invaluable resource in her role as chief of business strategy for 2Life Communities. Karen has significant experience in tax credit housing and investment finance. She is a past president of the Boston chapter of Financial Executives International, a board...
Rabbi Giulia Fleishman

Rabbi Giulia Fleishman

Director of Spiritual Care
For Rabbi Giulia, discovering new and ancient ways to support the individual and communal spiritual lives of those she serves continually grounds and inspires her work. She is especially talented at facilitating life-giving and authentic encounters for people to tap into their personal sense of meaning and connection in the world. Amongst other programs, this is evidenced by the B’nei Mitzvah...
Sarah Glassman

Sarah Glassman

Chief of Property Management
Ensuring everyone has quality housing they can afford has been a personal mission for Sarah throughout her career. Prior to joining 2Life Communities, Sarah worked for Edgemere Consulting assisting housing authorities with programmatic and operational assessments, strategic planning, rental assistance demonstration (RAD) applications and other assistance leveraging her deep technical knowledge...
Andrew Goshert

Andrew Goshert

Deputy Chief, Nahanton Campus
With more than 15 years of progressive leadership experience within the healthcare and retirement living sectors, Andrew is dedicated to enhancing community culture through relationships founded on respect, trust, and inclusivity. This focus on a hospitality-first model of care has been the standard Andrew follows to organize and lead clinical and ancillary staff teams to provide the highest level...
Benn Grover

Benn Grover

Chief Marketing Officer
For nearly two decades, Benn has led strategic marketing and communications efforts for some of the most influential mission-driven organizations in their respective fields. His past leadership experience includes Health Care Without Harm, one of the most storied organizations working at the intersection of climate change and health care; the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention...
Allison Daskal Hausman

Allison Daskal Hausman

Director of Brand Communications
Throughout her career, Allison has focused on communications strategy and storytelling as a means to initiate and support social change. Prior to joining 2Life Communities in 2021, Allison created and produced The Pledge Podcast to share inspiring stories of women's political engagement. She previously served as director of communications and engagement at Education Resource Strategies (ERS)...
Edgard Hunt

Edgard Hunt

Director of Dining Services
For Edgard, seeing people gather around food is an essential part of the joy of living in community. He brings to 2Life Communities more than a decade of culinary and hospitality experience working alongside some of New England's most celebrated chefs and restaurateurs. Edgard received his degree in hotel management and food & beverage management from Johnson & Wales University. Edgard combines...
Stacy Khalil

Stacy Khalil

Director of Fitness
Stacy Khalil’s goal is to keep seniors in her care active and engaged as she serves as the Director of Fitness at 2Life Communities. Before her work at 2Life, she was a Fitness therapist at Hebrew Senior Life. Stacy is a certified Senior Fitness Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), a certified Tai Chi instructor through Tai Chi for Arthritis Foundation, a FLEX...
Elijah Image

Elijah Lapson

Chief Technology Officer
While technology has changed considerably over the past quarter century, Elijah’s goal of tapping the power of information to help others has not. Over more than 25 years managing enterprise systems, he has provided expert leadership to information technology teams. At 2Life Communities, Elijah applied his expertise to help meet the challenge of the pandemic, including a mobile device lending...
Diane Leeming

Diane Leeming

Director of Accounting
Diane understands the crucial role finance plays in supporting our mission at 2Life Communities. With more than 30 years of experience in accounting and finance, including decades working in senior living and affordable housing, she helps ensure our financial strength. A member of the 2Life Communities team since 1996, Diane’s excellent communications and leadership skills have helped strengthen...
Emily Levine

Emily Levine

Chief of Advocacy
Emily brings an extensive background in legislative policy and advocacy to her position as Chief of Advocacy. Having served as 2Life’s Chief of Staff for five years before being promoted to Chief of Advocacy, she has transitioned to focusing full time on leveraging the success of our aging in community model in service to scaling its potential. She oversees the development and implementation of...
Benjamin Mahnke

Benjamin Mahnke

Chief Financial Officer
Ben has more than 20 years of experience working in roles that integrate finance, nonprofit strategy, and operations. He served as the senior Finance officer for several large nonprofits, including Facing History and Ourselves and Jumpstart for Young Children. Ben often had the additional responsibilities of the roles of Chief Operating Officer and Acting Executive Director at prior organizations...
Molly McKenna

Molly McKenna

Director of Program Development
Molly first began her work at 2Life as a Social Work intern and has used her collaborative and analytical skills to engage colleagues and residents in developing and sustaining resident-centric programs and services. She is a licensed Macro Social Worker with 10 years of experience in the field of aging. Beginning her career as a case manager and caregiver specialist at Springwell, one of Eastern...
Denise McQuaide

Denise McQuaide

Strategic Advisor
Denise has more than 35 years of experience in health care, senior living operations, and community health services. She is known for driving change that benefits residents, focusing on entrepreneurial endeavors that combine care and housing while promoting wellness. Her experience brings 2Life an added dimension in care navigation, health and wellness programming, and clinical expertise...
Jim Montague

Jim Montague

Chief Human Resources Officer
Jim believes it is the diversity of his experience that helps him to bring innovative solutions to workforce challenges and that has enhanced his ability to understand the needs of multiple constituencies at the same time. He has held a broad range of Human Resources and Organizational Development roles in a variety of industries, companies, institutions, and organizations including MassGeneral...
Joseph O'Toolle III, CFM

Joseph O'Toole III, CFM

Director of Facilities
Making each of our residents feel at home is at the core of our mission and Joseph plays a key role in helping us keep our campuses at their best. He oversees every aspect of facilities maintenance and repair, from managing our maintenance supervisors to developing standards of operation to contributing his expertise to renovation and construction projects. With six campuses across the Boston area...
Jill Ouellette

Jill Ouellette

Director of Compliance and Operations Support
Jill began her work in affordable housing while in college and has since dedicated her career to the field. She holds the Certified Property Manager, CPM ® designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management and focuses on Compliance within the Property Management field. We’re fortunate that Jill finds the challenge of managing the tax credit paperwork for the lease-up of 2Life’s new...
Gina Plata

Gina Plata

Chief of Community Life
Gina’s ability to collaborate with others to find innovative solutions to complex social problems is what makes her such an effective, cross-cultural leader. She brings to 2Life Communities more than 20 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations, social service agencies and linguistically, ethnically and culturally diverse communities. Her extensive skillset includes organizational...
Matt Quinn

Matt Quinn

Senior Director, Real Estate and Corporate Finance
Matt has spent his career working with affordable housing developers, management companies, and investors. As a result, he is a true expert in how to navigate the areas of federal and state regulatory agencies, low-income housing tax credit rules for new housing developments, and the ever-changing reporting rules under GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). Matt is a CPA with over 20...
Laura Taylor

Laura Taylor

Portfolio Director
For over 35 years, Laura has been committed to providing affordable housing and advocating for programs that help support and empower residents. Early in her career, Laura worked for several private affordable housing agencies in senior positions responsible for property management operations, maintenance, and capital improvements. She also served as General Counsel, representing the management...
Zoe Weinrobe

Zoe Weinrobe

Chief of Real Estate
Zoe has devoted herself to the field of affordable housing finance and development for nearly two decades. Since joining 2Life Communities in 2016, she has overseen completed development projects totaling more than $100 million, projects in development totaling over $200 million, and a number of potential prospects to realize our long-term growth strategy. Prior to 2Life, Zoe served as vice...

Community executive directors

Veronica Baez

Veronica Baez

Executive Director, Shirley Meadows
As a Property Manager with over 10 years of experience working in Human Services, Veronica is inspired daily by the joy and enthusiasm residents bring to the community. She is a powerful force in the workplace and uses her positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to succeed. Veronica started her career in the field as a Resident Service Coordinator and remains passionate about...
Betsy Closs

Betsy Closs

Executive Director, Shillman House
Betsy has dedicated her professional career to helping people live their own lives in the manner that work bests for them. As executive director of Shillman House since 2017, she has actively pursued that mission every day. Prior to joining 2Life Communities, Betsy served in a variety of roles supporting people with disabilities. She directed the Disability Inclusion Initiative at Combined Jewish...
Cindy Katzeff

Cindy Katzeff

Executive Director, Brown Family House
For Cindy, finding creative ways to meet our residents’ needs and desires is a joyous pursuit. She has a talent for overcoming formidable challenges, which she demonstrated by orchestrating the move-in at the Brown Family House when it opened in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. ARM Certified (Accredited Residential Manager), Cindy joined 2Life Communities in 2014, bringing experience in both...
Isaac Kimbugwe, Executive Director, Brighton Campus

Isaac Kimbugwe

Executive Director, Brighton Campus
Isaac is passionate about affordable housing and is constantly seeking ways to improve resident quality of life. His career in property management has been influenced and formatted by the need for innovative management practices that ensure long-term asset viability, guarantee resident satisfaction, and the attainment of stakeholder goals. Prior to joining 2Life Communities, Isaac worked at third...
Myra Marshall

Myra Marshall

Executive Director, Golda Meir House
For Myra, creating an inclusive culture that celebrates the diverse backgrounds of residents and staff is a priority. Her leadership in this area led to Golda Meir House receiving in 2014 an Exemplary Elderly Property Award from the New England Affordable Housing Management Association. Myra has a passion for working with older adults and a strong commitment to building a warm, engaging, and...

Board of Directors

Laura Efron
Board Chair

Laura Efron is a long-time community volunteer with a business background in the long-term care and affordable housing industries. She and her husband Bruce own and manage a real estate business focusing on providing housing to low-income Boston residents. Laura has been involved with 2Life Communities for over a decade.

In addition to volunteering at 2Life Communities, Laura has chaired her temple's Sisterhood, her town’s Hadassah chapter, and the Weston Council on Aging. For decades, Laura has been a friendly visitor to isolated individuals and has always been a strong supporter of seniors in her community.

Laura graduated from Bentley University in 1988 with degrees in Accounting and Management, and from Simmons College in 1991 with a Master's in Healthcare Administration. Laura and Bruce have two adult sons, Brent and Justin, and reside in Newton.
 

Treasurer
Norman Posner

Clerk
David Zaltas

Members
Michael Alperin
Donald Bloch
Lynne Elfland
Melissa Fish-Crane
Howard Furman
Robert Gifford
Stacy Goodman
Merle Grandberg
Harvey Greenberg
Donna Kalikow
Bernard Kaplan
Wendy Kraft
Rick Levin
Noah Maslan
Jeff Sacks
Adam Scott
Bill Shaevel
Barry Shrage
Harold Stahler
David Trietsch
Harold Tubman

Saul and Gitta Kurlat Chief Executive Officer, 2Life Communities
Amy Schectman

President, 2Life Communities
Lizbeth Heyer

Emeritus
Lenore Asher*
Mickey Cail*
Irwin Chafetz
Joan Cutler*
Ellen Feingold
Clifton Helman*
Robert Helman
Rudolph Kass*
Mildred Guberman Kravetz*
Norman Leventhal*
Paul Rosenberg*
Irma Schretter
Melvin Scovell
Marc Slotnick*
Stephen P. Snyder
Alan Solomont
Peter Ulin*
Elaine Werby*
George Wolfe*
 

* of blessed memory