CORE Leadership Team
CORE Mental Health’s activities are governed by the Steering Committee.
Betty Burkes, Chair
Betty Burkes is a life-long educator and activist. She is a meditation practitioner and currently on the Board of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (BCBS). She has been on the CORE Mental Health Steering Committee since 2016.
Stacy Carruth
Stacy is currently the Director of the Arlington Youth Counseling Center, a licensed outpatient mental health center serving youth ages 3 to 21 (and their families). Prior to this, Stacy was the Planning Director for CORE Mental Health, and provided technical support to community coalitions. As a community health specialist working with community coalitions, she has also led successful legislative advocacy initiatives. Her work in public health has included coordinating research studies in youth substance use at JSI and Alzheimer’s caregivers at Boston Medical Center. Stacy was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Comoros Islands, and received a Masters in Public Health from Boston University. Stacy has been with CORE Mental Health since 2015.
Pietra Check
Pietra Check has been working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health over the past 10 years. At the CDC she has developed partnerships at the local, regional, and national level and worked with the Mexican government to develop materials and training to build capacity for occupational safety and health at Mexican consulates around the U.S. She is currently a DrPH candidate at Tufts University. She has been on the CORE Mental Health Steering Committee since 2017.
Mary DeCourcey
Mary DeCourcey serves as the Director of Community Benefits at Mount Auburn Hospital and has worked at the hospital since 2008. Her work involves overseeing Community Benefit programming for the hospital. This includes engaging the community and collaborating with community organizations and agencies to improve the health and wellbeing of residents. Mary has led many initiatives, including community health education and outreach as well as overseeing the hospital’s community health needs assessments. Creating community partnerships is an integral part of the work. Mary has a Master’s Degree in Health Care Administration from Simmons College and resides in Arlington.
Shameka Gregory
Shameka is a west coast native and has spent her life studying people. She gained an early expertise by navigating the everyday complexities and personality quirks of growing up in a family of 9. She moved to Boston in 2004 to formalize her studies and holds degrees in psychology and clinical social work from Boston University and Boston College. She has been immersed in the human services field since 2008 and roots her work in the power of relationships. Shameka firmly believes that taking time to hear and understand others is the key to addressing every social ill.
Shameka is a licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) and is now the Coordinator of the Domestic and Gender Based Violence Prevention Initiative for the City of Cambridge. Previously she served in different roles at Transition House which is an organization dedicated to ending domestic violence. She spent 9 years serving her community through that organization. Shameka also owns and operates a private practice, Worth in Christ, LLC. Shameka takes every opportunity to learn from the people around her and greets life with practicality and joy. She is devoted to the continued growth, development and healing of her community and herself.
Jill Harvey
Jill Harvey (she/her) serves as the inaugural Chief Equity Officer for the Massachusetts Municipal Association. She previously served as the Director of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Division of Health & Human Services for the Town of Arlington, MA. She received a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and completed the Master of Public Affairs (MPA) program at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. She has been a member of the CORE Steering Committee since 2020 and is the co-founder and immediate past chair of the Massachusetts Municipal DEI Coalition. Jill has served as President of the Mystic Valley Area Branch of the NAACP since 2022, and is a community facilitator with Narrative 4. She is a proud plant parent, and enjoys roller skating, painting and swimming.
Colleen Leger
For the past 20 years, Colleen has worked to support the social and emotional health needs of youth and their families. In 2008, she received a Masters in Public Health from Boston University and subsequently began working for the Town of Arlington. As the Director of the Arlington Youth Health and Safety Coalition, Colleen led a community coalition in their efforts to prevent and reduce substance use and other risky behavior among youth in Arlington. She is currently the Director of Health and Human Services for the Town of Arlington. Colleen has been on the CORE Mental Health Steering Committee since 2012.
Monica Luke
Monica Luke is an independent mental health advocate focusing on financial barriers to accessing mental health care. Activities include legislative advocacy, parity enforcement and creative approaches to expanding payment models and commercial insurance coverage. In addition to being on the CORE Mental Health Steering Committee, she is a consultant with Massachusetts Association for Mental Health and co-chair of the Massachusetts Mental Health Coalition. In 2023, Monica joined Health Law Advocates as a part-time paralegal focusing on parity issues. She recently concluded six years of service on the NAMI Massachusetts Board of Directors and continues in a leadership role at NAMI Greater Boston. Previously, Monica worked in the technology sector for over twenty years, including as a technology executive at IBM.
Takia Myers
Takia is a mother, daughter, sister, and dear friend to many! She believes in the transformative power of each person sharing their unique story on their own terms. She values and prioritizes being in healthy reciprocal relationships with others as well as oneself. Her approach to life is informed by Womanist epistemology, Queer theology, Intersectionality, and Ancestral wisdoms!
Takia earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston as a double major in Business Management & Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her masters degree in Social Work is from Boston College, where she is currently an adjunct professor. Takia is also a registered yoga teacher and mental health therapist who owns a private practice (Nurturing Essence) where she supports clients to embrace their authenticity and helps them to become their preferred version of themselves. In her free time she loves gardening, swimming, yoga, traveling, and occasionally eating coffee madness ice cream! Takia has been a devoted CORE Mental Health Steering Committee member since 2022.
Lorraine Thornhill
Rev. Lorraine Thornhill envisions a world where people are well, cared for, and equipped to thrive. For over 30 years, she has helped individuals and communities transform through her work as a Senior Pastor, coach, counselor, and community leader. She holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Education with a focus on Human Development and Psychology.
She currently serves as Lead Pastor of the Kingdom Empowerment Center and is the Founder/CEO of We Heal Ourselves with Love & Empowerment (WHOLE)—a Cambridge-based initiative addressing the mental health needs of the BIPOC community. She is also the Founder and President of Higher Heights LLC, a coaching and consulting firm focused on leadership development, executive coaching, and team transformation.
Rev. Thornhill is a Certified Practitioner in Systemic Team Coaching, Everything DiSC, and The Five Behaviors of a Team. She holds a postgraduate certificate in psychotherapy and is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coach Federation.
She currently serves on the board of the Cambridge Community Foundation in addition to serving on the Steering Committee of CORE. Rev. Thornhill remains deeply committed to building spaces where people can heal, grow, and lead with purpose.