Debra McLaughlin, Managing Partner of The Kunnusta Group, is the Consultant to the
Commission. She has nearly 20 years of experience working in the afterschool and
out of school time field both in the public and private sectors.
Most recently, she was the Managing Director for Boston's After-School for All Partnership,
the largest public/private partnership that invested over $26 million in the city's
afterschool sector. Prior to that she directed a number of afterschool and youth
development initiatives to serve for at-risk children and youth in high-risk neighborhoods
for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
She staffed the Commonwealth's 15 member interagency task force dedicated to coordinating
state agency services and policy that served children and youth when they were not
in school. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational
Communications from Ohio University.
The Kunnusta Group is based in Boston and New York City. It specializes in promoting
public/private partnership models and practices to affect social change in the areas
of afterschool, community development, youth development, arts, and education.