The Possible Zone

Meet Melanie Getchell, our Director of Administration at TPZ! Melanie has been partnering closely with TPZ's leadership to advance a set of critical executive tasks and to oversee the development of strong, consistent processes/systems for administrative support at TPZ, leading to greater organizational efficacy. She brings over 20 years of experience in office administration, most recently as Senior Manager, Office Administration at Decibel Therapeutics. Previously, she was Senior Executive Coordinator at Infinity Pharmaceuticals and Senior Administrative Associate at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Melanie began her career at Arthur D. Little (a consulting firm) where she was Administrative Assistant and Client Coordinator. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, crafting, jigsaw puzzles, and antiquing as well as spending time with family and friends. Thanks for your support Melanie!

The Possible Zone STEAM team was honored to earn a recent Infosys Foundation USA Infy Makers Award. This special award is comprised of a money grant as well as professional development for up to three TPZ staff in the Making CS Inclusive multi-month program led by Digital Promise. This award has already been put into action and supported the development and teaching of last month’s Deep Dive focused on reinforcement learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. This curriculum embedded reflection points on the ethics of AI and relevant career pathways through fun, immersive workshops that equipped our students with robust future-ready skillsets. This program will be repeated and shared with Boston Public School partners over the next few years, engaging even more students.

Meet Henry Galdamez, our Manager of Development Operations! Henry works with the Development Team to help ensure that we have the right tools, processes, and systems in place to help us reach our fundraising goals. Henry, is an individual who loves seeing the positive aspects even in the most minuscule things in life. One of his passions is contributing to his community, and giving back. Fun fact: the H in his name stands for Helpful, for he enjoys helping others in anything he may! Henry attended UMass Boston for computer science and also earned a Quality Assurance diploma from the Year Up program. He has had internships as a Data Clerk/Analyst at Harvard and MGH. His last job was as a DevOps Coordinator at Jumpstart for Young Children. Glad to have you at TPZ Henry!

Meet Kahmal London, an Educator/Advisor at TPZ! Kahmal was born and raised in Dorchester, MA, and studied Graphic Design while attending Bunker Hill Community College before obtaining a bachelor's degree in Animation from Massachusetts College of Art & Design. Kahmal brings his experience in youth development from managing The Clubhouse Network’s (TCN) Flagship Clubhouse where he supported the development and transition of TCN’s Flagship Clubhouse into Roxbury’s first Best Buy Teen Tech Center in 2018. Kahmal also attended various youth centers and maker spaces as a young person, which contributed to his career goals today, such as being an alum of The Clubhouse Network, Artists for Humanity, and The Boys & Girls Club. Before his time in youth development, Kahmal spent more than seven years in hospitality, and continues to practice and embody a welcoming environment for all people he works with. With a heart for tinkering, sharing, and learning, Kahmal has skills in digital illustration, animation, film/video production, 3D printing design, graphic design, digital embroidery, music production, and virtual reality. His interests include tabletop and virtual gaming, illustrating, traveling, music, film, and spending time with his wife and two children. Thanks for helping our students succeed Kahmal!

Congratulations to the nearly two dozen TPZ students who graduated high school this spring! Several of these teens began attending our program when we were still offering virtual classes at the end of the pandemic shutdown. They were the first students who experienced our new Entrepreneurship program and the state-of-the-art technology and tools at our then-new Innovation Center in Jackson Square. While the students may have learned a lot during their two to three years, the TPZ learned much from them, too. Many of these recent graduates enjoyed the Senior Celebration we hosted this week, and a few tears were shed. All these new alumni received gifts from TPZ, including letterman-style jackets, modeled by grads (from left to right): Isaiah Thomas-Edwards, Vismark Melo, Esperanza Knudson, Bruno Andrade, J’khia Bullock, and Tatiyana Melo. Over the next couple of weeks, you’ll see more posts about some of these newest TPZ alumni and other returning TPZ students. Stay tuned! #highschoolgrad #congratulations #boston

Thank you to the enthusiastic team of TPZ Student Ambassadors and Staff who braved the heat and hosted Hot Dog Night with our neighbors at the Mildred Hailey Apartments on the steaming hot, first evening of summer! As with past years' annual events, the camaraderie between the TPZ and Mildred Hailey communities was evident from the smiles, laughs, and energy! #community #summer

It’s National Week of Making, and at The Possible Zone, our team boasts dozens of innovative, creative makers who inspire through their artistry and ingenuity. LJ Baptiste, TPZ educator/advisor, is a cartoonist who also works as part of the team that makes up Comics in Color, a Boston-based comic collective and now annual festival centered on stories by and about people of color. He reflects on the value of this medium in recognition of National Week of Making in this Insights Blog post. https://lnkd.in/eVzRJdhg #Maker #Youthdevelopment

The Possible Zone recognizes Juneteenth and honors the rich history and signficance of African American freedom and resilience in Boston and across the U.S. For more information about the history of Juneteenth—also known as “Juneteenth Independence Day,” “Freedom Day,” and “Emancipation Day,” visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s page: https://lnkd.in/gqvPZFF.

The Possible Zone (TPZ) is grateful to Citizens Bank for its continued via volunteer service and a recent gift that supports our comprehensive entrepreneurship program. The Eship courses are a gateway for students build durable skills, putting them on a pathway toward economic mobility. TPZ occupies a vital position within the talent development pipeline, helping to shape foundational skillsets that enable students to actively pursue the opportunities that best fit with their goals—whether that means enrolling in two- or four-year degree programs, participating in direct-to-workforce training programs, or taking their own business ideas to the next level and making it their career.

Join us in welcoming Jeremy Martindale, our new part-time Student Experience Ambassador! Jeremy is an alumnus of The Possible Project (now TPZ). During high school, he became a teaching assistant, continuing to help TPP students after he completed the program. Jeremy recently graduated from Bentley University with a Bachelor's Degree in Management and a minor in Sociology. During his college years, he joined the Bentley Entrepreneurship Society, where he participated in a mock Shark Tank to pitch his AI trading tools business, Middleman. He enjoys new innovations and encourages entrepreneurial thinking to push everyone to identify a solution to their everyday problems. Jeremy is also working on an AI trading platform to support traders struggling to manage their trading strategy. He is also interested in recreating the clothing brand he developed while in TPP. With his entrepreneurial background, he hopes to learn from and support all students' inquiries during their TPZ journey! Welcome back to TPZ Jeremy! For information about other positions at TPZ, check out our Careers page on our website, possiblezone.org. #greatplacetowork #youthdevelopment