Board Members
Jean Sicurella
Co-Founder, Board of Directors and advisory Board
All through my childhood, my mother was always fighting social injustices and was a role model for what it meant to serve others. Through my mother’s example, helping others in crisis became a big part of my identity.
My husband and I have four biological children of our own and in 2009, we felt called to take in a teenager from Mexico who was alone in the United States. I remember thinking, that although it would be difficult, I would want someone to help me if I were in that situation. Through hard work and determination, he graduated from Arlington High School and Stonehill College and currently holds a full-time job serving people experiencing homelessness.
I co-founded Misión de Caridad to tackle the injustices at the Mexico/US border and address the root causes of migration. Seeing vulnerable women alone and at risk, along with children unable to attend school and trapped in extreme poverty, I felt compelled to act. I understood the desperation and fear of having nowhere to turn and no resources, so I embarked on a mission to find a solution that could offer hope and support.
My background as a sales executive, paired with my entrepreneurial spirit as a former business owner and nonprofit founder of a preschool, has equipped me to effectively lead Misión de Caridad. Outside of my professional life, I enjoy spending time with my family and staying active through running, biking, general fitness, and practicing karate—where I have achieved a 5th-degree black belt in Kenpo Karate.
Ray Young
chairman of the Board of Advisors and Directors
Ray Young is a seasoned business and technology executive with over 25 years of experience. He has held executive positions at Uplight, Accenture, and Cloud Sherpas, where his focus has been on operationalizing growth and building scale in VC-backed global technology firms.
Currently a partner at Momentum Partners, Ray collaborates with VC and private equity firms to help early-stage and VC-backed firms achieve the next level of organic and M&A-driven growth, as well as scale. Originally from Canada, he now resides in Reading, MA, with his wife and three children. Ray enjoys cooking with friends, and the outdoors, and is a severe petrolhead.
Here at Misión De Caridad, Ray Young brings his experience working in high-growth companies to the organization's mission. His expertise in business and technology, coupled with his passion for empowering women and children, makes him a valuable asset to the Misión de Caridad’s endeavors.
Dr. Joseph Lee
Board of Directors and advisory Board
When I was just eight years old, my family migrated from Korea to the United States with just a few hundred dollars to our name. We chose to settle in Queens, NY – and I couldn’t be more blessed with the people we came to know. Our community was loving and caring. They supported my family and I tremendously, making us feel valued and wanted. I was fortunate to be exposed to people who have such an encouraging and caring attitude towards immigrants. Not all who come to the United States are gifted with this – and we know that from things we’ve been hearing in the news. The attitude of the people from my community and Queens was a crucial part of my childhood because it formed who I am today. I want to give back to communities and take care of them – the way it was done for my family and me.
Because of their love and support, I was able to not only attend but graduate from Harvard School of Dental Medicine. I work as a dentist at my own dental practice in Wellesley, and frequently do pro-bono work for those who need it. Do you see the ripple effect caring people can create? In the past, I’ve participated in four dental trips to the Honduras and Bolivia. Because of the vast amount of time spent in these countries, I have a special place in my heart for those from South and Central America. We all know about the tens of thousands of refugees desiring a better life that attempt to travel to the United States in order to attain it. But, it’s not always pretty – or even humane.
Misión de Caridad offers me a way to channel my passion and energy to support those in distress. I know I can’t fix the whole problem, but I can certainly start on one part of it. Misión de Caridad lets me do just that.
Chuck Olson
Advisory Board
Chuck has spent his career developing technology for use in schools. Starting with Bank Street College of Education in the early '80s, Chuck has been involved with building digital products for most of the large educational publishers and many smaller firms.
Over the years Chuck has supported and advised a number of organizations seeking to advance human flourishing through education, humanitarian aid, and sharing the Christian faith. Currently, Chuck serves on the boards of VHS Learning and Christians for Social Action.
Chuck and his wife Janet live in Lexington, MA with an ever-changing group of family members as their four, young adult children navigate college, grad school, and starting careers. Chuck and Janet worship at Covenant Church in Arlington, MA.
Julie Macrae
Advisory Board
Julie lives in Boston along with her husband Doug and their two Boston Terriers. She is also a grandmother of three and loves spending time with them when she is not traveling. Education is very important and she has invested in family and friends continuing education over the years. She also has started a scholarship fund at her alma mater.
She is on the Board of Agape AIDS Orphan Care which cares for children living with AIDS in Hyderabad, India. She is also on the Board of Home Improvement Ministries which "equips individuals and churches to experience God’s design in marriage and family.”
Julie is also a restaurant investor and a wine enthusiast who just completed the first level with the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Danny Tao
Advisory Board
Danny is passionate about building diverse, thriving communities. He has worked toward this goal in the private, social, government, education, and faith-based sectors for almost three decades.
Since 2012, Danny has served as the Director of Development at Boston Trinity Academy, an independent school with a mission of providing an academically demanding, Christian education to any promising student regardless of their racial or socioeconomic background. He and his team have raised over $20 million, making Boston Trinity one of the most diverse schools in the country.
Danny lives in Cambridge with his wife and two children and is active in his local church, Pentecostal Tabernacle.
Paul Mantell
Advisory Board
Paul is a Senior Human Resources leader with significant accomplishments in highly competitive, low-margin, low-resourced industries. These accomplishments include program implementation in human capital management that positively impact revenue, reduce expenses and improve bottom-line performance.
Strong collaborative leader with expertise in both for-profit and non-profit industries with an emphasis on leadership development, succession planning, recruiting, employee relations, management assessment and selection, executive coaching, and change management.
Paul has been a senior leader with the YMCA for over 15 years until his retirement in 2024.
Andrew Noh
Advisory Board
Andrew Noh is a Palliative Care and Hospice Nurse Practitioner, currently working at the Bedford VA Medical Center in the role of both inpatient hospice and community palliative care. He has been practicing for 8 years in this role and will continue in this role for the foreseeable future.
He has been happily married to Jean Noh for 22 years (in April 2023) and has 3 children, Katie (19), Jennie (16), and Mikey (14), and a dog, Hershey (8).
Andrew started with Misión de Caridad to provide his expertise to assist with the medical needs of the community back in May 2021 and has been going back twice a year since. Last year, his family joined him for the first time to visit the Casa Esperanza (CE) community, and will come again this year, 2023, with the hope to visit yearly.
Frank Guerra
Advisory Board
Frank Guerra spent 47 years teaching and coaching in public and private schools. A native of northern New Jersey and metropolitan New York City, he first came to New England as a prep school student at Phillips Exeter Academy, graduating in 1969. He went on to attend Harvard University graduating in 1973, and subsequently launched his teaching career the following fall.
He has spent the bulk of his working life teaching and coaching in New England prep schools including Salisbury School, Middlesex School, and for twenty-one years at The Roxbury Latin School in Boston. In 2006, he left Roxbury Latin to become the Assistant Headmaster and Director of Admission at Boston Trinity Academy and was named Headmaster in 2010.
Frank and his wife Becky, who also worked at Boston Trinity as Dean of the Middle School. The couple have five adult children ages 46 to 34 and four grandchildren. Frank and Becky are now retired and living on Cape Cod where they are active in the church, in the community, and in providing a haven for others in their home.
Linda Kilburn-Peterson
Advisory Board
Currently based outside of Boston, Linda enjoys helping people and organizations realize their full potential. She has had professional roles as a strategy consultant with McKinsey and Company and as the Chief Administrative Officer of FSG, a nonprofit consulting firm advising philanthropic funders on their giving strategies.
As a volunteer Linda has consulted to church leadership teams on issues of strategy and people processes. She works part-time with Misión de Caridad’s US Operations team.
Linda has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. She, her husband Chris and their two children have also lived in Singapore and Philadelphia.