Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston (BGCB) has named Alisa R. Drayton as the new executive director of the Yawkey Club of Roxbury. Drayton replaces Andrea Swain, who led the Club for 21 years before being promoted to vice president of development operations at BGCB.
Drayton will build upon the Yawkey Club’s foundation and continue Swain’s work to provide enriching resources, facilities and opportunities to Roxbury’s 300-plus annual members.
“We’re thrilled to have Alisa as executive director of the Yawkey Club. She will help lead our Roxbury youth and continue our mission of providing new opportunities to invest in our community’s urban talent pipeline,” said Nicholas President and CEO Robert Lewis, Jr. “Her years of experience as both a non-profit leader and a Roxbury native make her a perfect fit for this position, and we can’t wait to see her influential impact on the community.”
Drayton is a life-long learner, holding a B.S. degree from Lincoln University, a M.S. degree from the New School for Social Research and a J.D. from Boston College. She joins BGCB after dedicating her life’s work toward providing financial and operational leadership to community development organizations. Specializing in program development and fundraising, Drayton worked for the City of Boston Community Centers in Roxbury where she assisted in facility operations and program planning, serving 200-plus members daily. She later moved to New York City to serve as a resident advisor for the Covenant House’s Rights of Passage Program, providing daily counseling for homeless adolescent families in distress. After her time at the Covenant House, she moved on to become the director of development at East New York Urban Youth Corps — a nonprofit organization providing housing counseling and home repair to New York residents in need of support. There, she established the office of development and managed all fundraising efforts to help hundreds of families find secure housing.
On top of her career in non-profit and community-development leadership, Drayton has a long-time involvement with the Yawkey Club. The Roxbury native attended the Yawkey Club as a child and later served on the Yawkey Club’s Local Advisory Board and as chair of the Alumni Association. She understands the inner workings and has been involved in the strategic planning of the Club, which primes her to lead its 300-plus annual members to new heights and create a lasting impact on the Roxbury community for generations to come.
“I am ecstatic to join and lead the Yawkey Club, a place that I call home and have been involved with since I was a little girl. It’s a place that has shaped my personal and professional growth, having such a profound influence on my life’s journey,” said Drayton. “I can’t wait to begin working to provide amazing enrichment and development opportunities for my community’s youth and beyond.”
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