Cato joined the board of directors at ThinkGive because he believes that showing kindness is a choice we make each day, and that the social emotional skills ThinkGive prioritizes are key to success: in life, in business, and beyond. Cato is committed to giving back to his community and is thrilled to join ThinkGive as a volunteer board member.

Cato is a managing partner at the McWalter Volunteer Insurance agency in Concord, an alumni of the Fenn School and Concord-Carlisle high school, as well as Rollins College in Florida. He lives in Concord with his wife (a life-long Concordian like him), his three children, and Chewie the dog. In his free time, he plays (too much) golf, coaches his children’s baseball, softball and flag football teams, and moonlights as a woodworker and amateur bird watcher.

Penny Austen is co-founder and Executive Director of ThinkGive. A native Canadian, Penny holds a deep belief that she has been the most fundamentally impacted by a handful of kind and compassionate people. She is passionate about elevating the importance of kindness and empowering young people to discover their capacity to affect change through the strong (not soft) skills of kindness and compassion. Skills that can help the world reconnect and heal.

Penny spent two decades working in technology and nonprofit management, then co-founded ThinkGive as a platform to shine the light on character. She received her bachelor’s degree from McGill University and her MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. She lives in Concord, MA, with her husband, three children, and three dogs. When she’s not working, you can find her watching her kids play sports, climbing a mountain, or struggling to stick to meditation practice.

While a student at Holy Cross, Cara internalized the school's mantra, "Men and women for others." After graduation, she went on to complete two years as a volunteer teacher at a middle school for girls in New York City. It didn't take long for Cara to fall in love with education and find real purpose in her mission-driven work with at-risk youth. Since then, Cara has continued in the education field in various capacities – as a teacher, school principal, educational consultant, educational coach, and now board member. Cara is currently the Director of Advancement and Communications at Mission Grammar School in Roxbury, a ThinkGive partner! She holds a Masters in Educational Administration from the University of Notre Dame and is currently a Reform Leaders Fellow through the University's Alliance for Catholic Education. A native of Rhode Island, Cara resides in Dedham with her husband and two children. The beach is her happy place, no matter the season. She also enjoys exploring new restaurants, running, and traveling.

Adam comes from a professional background in pedagogy and non-profit management. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he knows the value of educating young minds to imagine a better tomorrow. Adam worked as a languages teacher for several years in Germany, mostly helping migrants and refugees adapt to a new culture, before attaining his Public Policy Masters and working for several small non-profits there and in the U.S. The thread going through his career is his passion for countering otherization across society and cultures. ThinkGive’s mission of fostering empathy and compassion in youth locally and internationally therefore holds great appeal for him.

Adam supports ThinkGive as a volunteer board member, and he is excited to be joining at a time when the organization is about to move into a new phase of growth and development. An avid hiker and cyclist, the great outdoors is Adam’s happy place. He made the move over the pond to support his wife in her studies at Harvard, and greatly enjoys their new life together in Cambridge, MA.

Jennifer brings over 20 years of marketing, fundraising, and community relations experience to the ThinkGive Board of Directors. A born and raised New Yorker, Jennifer currently lives in Concord, MA, since 2003 with her husband and two teenage children after working in a variety of communications positions across the country (El Paso, San Francisco, and Boston).

Jennifer is passionate about the power of developing social-emotional skills in youth as these skills are paramount to student achievement in school and beyond. ThinkGive combines an engaging curriculum with user-friendly technology so that youth can set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

When not working at the community food pantry coordinating food drives, you can find Jennifer on a tennis court, ski slope, or walking her dogs.

Emily grew up in Acton, Massachusetts where she attended local private school. When she was in Elementary School, she realized her passion for being a helper and working with kids. She went to Roger Williams University in Bristol Rhode Island where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. She has been a teacher in Kindergarten through Third grade in different settings - progressive, traditional, and Montessori. Emily received her Masters of Education with a focus on Children's Right and Voice from University College of Dublin. She has a passion for creating inclusive and equitable curriculum to fit her diverse students. She is currently working on her Masters of Psychology specializing in School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health. In her spare time, she loves to play with her two cats, be at the ocean, and travel.

Desha spent her childhood in Trinidad and Tobago before relocating to Washington, DC to further her education. A proud graduate of Howard University, she earned her BBA in Marketing before dedicating the next 14 years to raising her young family in England.

The doctrine that “it takes a village” has always shaped Desha’s perspective on the value of community. Growing up in a diverse, multicultural society fostered a greater appreciation of varying cultures, the stories they tell, their differences and, above all, their similarities. In a complex world where kindness and compassion are often overlooked, she was encouraged and motivated by the simplicity of ThinkGive’s mission, and embraced the opportunity to have a meaningful impact through helping to grow the organization and spread the program.

The historic town of Concord, MA has been home to Desha, her husband, and their five children since 2009. As a successful Realtor, her background in marketing, and her understanding of the challenges families face through relocation has been instrumental to her career. She’s passionate about her family and community, enjoys traveling, and takes every opportunity to support her children from the sidelines at their sporting and dance events.

Bailey earned a degree in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross and now works in Investment Management. During her time at Holy Cross, she developed a passion for helping sculpt the minds of young people through a tutor/mentor program in which she engaged with local middle school children. Following graduation, Bailey knew that she wanted to search for volunteer opportunities and was introduced to ThinkGive through Net Impact Boston. Bailey firmly believes in ThinkGive's mission of inspiring young people to use kindness to engage with their world, and is excited to be a part of this effort to have an impact on local youth. In her spare time, Bailey can be found running, reading, or training her new puppy.

Christine has been an officer in the Development Office at Emerson Hospital for the past five years, where she has been involved with prospect and donor cultivation and stewardship, corporate relations and sponsorships, grant writing, event management, and volunteer management. She began her non-profit work as Associate Director of the Concord-Carlisle Community Chest, an agency that supports a broad range of human services organizations which advance the well-being of Concord and Carlisle residents.

Earlier in her career, Christine spent many years in the Financial Services industry. She earned her undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Virginia. Christine has volunteered with The Concord Public Schools, Nashoba Brooks School, Fenn School, National Charity League, Holy Family Parish, and Nashawtuc Country Club. She lives in Concord, MA with her family.

Colby is a New England native from Newburyport, Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a major in Environmental Conservation and Sustainability. She is a Marketing Associate and Company Culture Coordinator for a local solar company. She hopes to help mitigate climate change and support environmental justice in the work that she does. She was moved by ThinkGive's mission to facilitate kindness and positive change starting at an early age.

Cate joined the ThinkGive Board of Directors in 2021 because she believes current events like the COVID pandemic have made it more important than ever to teach children how helping others can change lives. Practicing acts of kindness can benefit an individual’s own mental health and sense of well-being by reducing feelings of isolation, providing a sense of purpose and control, and building connections. In turn, the actions themselves can improve the lives of the recipients and build stronger communities. Cate is eager to help ThinkGive make connections with new organizations so that more young people can experience kindness and compassion and share them with others.

Cate earned a BA in Environmental Studies from Brown University. Her past professional experience includes time as a program/policy director for a small nonprofit where she participated in everything from fundraising/grant writing to program development and implementation. She also spent time in a corporate learning group helping to design programs on topics ranging from leadership to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She currently lives in Concord, MA, with her husband, three children, and two rescue dogs. She volunteers with several local nonprofit organizations, and in her free time enjoys walking, biking, and spending time with friends and family.