Strategies for Children is excited to welcome two new members to its board of directors: Paul Brodeur and Mariana Korsunsky. They will both serve three-year terms that began on July 1st.
“It’s always exciting to have new board members because it means welcoming new, insightful leaders to our organization,” Sally C. Fuller, the chair of Strategies’ board says.
Brodeur is a policy professional who has held a number of government positions, including:
• Mayor of Melrose, Mass, 2019-2023
• State Representative, Democrat, 32nd Middlesex – Represented the communities of Melrose, Wakefield, and part of Malden, 2011-2019, and
• a member of Melrose’s Board of Alderman, 2002-2011
He earned a bachelor’s degree in government and law from Lafayette College and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School.
As he explained to his constituents when he decided to step down as mayor, public service has been his focus for decades:
“My family moved to Warwick Road in Melrose in 1969, and I became a kindergarten student at the Roosevelt School that fall. It was the beginning of a life-long love affair with this incredible city. I first ran for the Board of Aldermen in 2001. This was before my kids were here, before I owned a home, and well before my dad passed away. Despite being pretty inexperienced, I was able to take office in January 2002 because of the faith that so many people demonstrated in me. There is no more gratifying and humbling experience.”
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Korsunsky is a litigator and a director at the law firm Goulston & Storrs, which, for decades, rented office space to Strategies for Children, providing us with our first home. She follows in the footsteps of Kitt Sawitsky, who served as Goulston & Storrs’ co-managing director for nine years. Sawitsky is also a long-time Strategies board member.
Korsunsky earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a law degree from Boston College Law School. She also speaks French and Russian.
In between college and law school, Korsunsky worked as a program coordinator for Wide Horizons For Children, an international child welfare organization that works with families before a crisis can strike to protect children from becoming orphans. The organization also helps build families through adoption, which is work that Korsunsky did.
“We can prevent a child from becoming an orphan by providing integrated services to preserve and strengthen their family,” Wide Horizons explains on its website.
At Goulston & Storrs, Korsunsky has a broad base of clients, and she handles cases involving “complex commercial, leasing, land use, real estate, shareholder, and professional liability disputes.” She also “counsels landlords and tenants, real estate developers, commercial and nonprofit entities, and medical and educational institutions.”
Fuller, Strategies’ board chair, is excited about the board’s growth, explaining:
“Paul and Mariana bring their professional experience and their personal commitment to the work of building a stronger early childhood system, which promises to prepare children for lifelong success and help families and the entire state of Massachusetts grow stronger.”