Friends Welcome Two (More!) New Board Members

The Friends of CLC are very excited to welcome two (more!) new members.  

Holly Klose joins the board after ten years of working as a career counselor, primarily working with adults looking to make a transition in their work. Adept at helping people understand their strengths, weaknesses, and work goals, she found it rewarding to support people along their journeys.

Originally from New Hampshire, Holly has lived in Boston for 20 years. At various points, she’s tried to live in many different cities – from Seattle to Austin to Denver – but always found New England was calling her home. Now, she splits her time between here and Berlin, where her husband works part time.

A lot of Holly’s volunteer work has focused on adult education, including beginning computer classes through local hospitals and career counseling. She loves the work, especially seeing how motivated adults are to learn, juggling so many responsibilities from families to jobs. She feels inspired by that level of dedication and commitment and enjoys bringing her skills in tech-based applications, communications, and fundraising to the CLC.

Holly’s experience and energy are a truly valuable addition to the Friends of the CLC. From new fundraising events to piloting new systems, Holly is already bringing her creative and innovative spirit to our group.

Julia Miller found out about the Friends of the Community Learning Center from a posting online.  She had recently moved back to the Boston area, where she grew up, and was looking to get involved in the community in some way.  The CLC Friends was the kind of organization she was looking for. Julia left Boston for college where she majored in English and volunteered at a local library to read with kids, which is where she first became interested in literacy.  She also worked at the Writing Center, helping other students with writing skills.

After college, Julia joined Teach for America and was a kindergarten teacher in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Rocky Mount was where she first encountered children who had not been exposed to literacy at all. Though it was challenging, she was fascinated by how kids learn to read and the neuroscience behind those processes.

Since then, Julia has been working at a pediatric hospital on grant-funded educational programming, where she works with diverse students on health literacy and mentorship programs. She enjoys developing curriculum that weaves literacy and social-emotional learning into STEM and using research-based practices to improve pathways to careers in STEM.

Julia really believes in the work of the Community Learning Center.  She’s on the Communications team and works on the website, the Friends’ blog, and the newsletter.   She calls what the Friends do an “amplification of good work,” with the purpose of bringing in more funding for classes, scholarships, and supports for teachers.  Her creativity, writing, technical skills, energy – and her enthusiasm! – are a wonderful addition to the Friends of CLC.