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Mick Blume

Work: Mick is the Development & Community Impact Director for the Keene Family YMCA. His focus is to help sustain the Y’s programming and operations through fundraising while ensuring the Y is making and supporting meaningful impact in our community.

MYC: Mick joined MYC in 2023

Connection to Mission: Throughout my career working with youth, I’ve witnessed some of the brightest young minds struggle with the pressures of substance use. I believe that living a healthy life can unlock so many doors, helping kids reach their full potential and achieve their dreams. If I can play a role in offering them positive activities that keep them engaged and away from harmful choices, I’m all in.

Fun Facts / Free Time: I was part of orchestra and band in middle & high school, played baseball through college, and have 2 World Series Rings from my time working for the Red Sox Foundation from 2013 through 2022.

Greg Amend

Work: Assistant Principal at Keene High School

MYC: 2 years supporting.

Passion: Promoting youth healthy lifestyles is one way we can support youth mental health. I volunteer with the MYC because of the opportunities it provides so many youth. It’s a blessing to our community.

Fun Facts / Free Time: I’m bad at writing fun facts. Fun fact 2: I’m still bad at it.

CJ Vinas

What I do: I work for Keene Youth Services, we provide a variety of prevention and intervention programs for the youth in Cheshire County. We run a state-accredited Juvenile Court Diversion program as well as providing alternative to suspension programming in schools around the
county around vaping. We also run the youth intervention program which helps connect area families to other resources when they’re faced with behavioral challenges in their youth.

Years with MYC: This is my second

Connection to our mission: At KYS, we work with a lot of youth caught up in substance misuse, I appreciate the upstream and prevention approach that MYC provides. I also minored in addiction in undergrad and it’s a huge passion of mine, so I want to be involved in community efforts around substance use. KYS and MYC also partner for our substance use prevention program, the Monadnock Prevention Program. In the MPP, we provide nicotine, alcohol and cannabis education to middle school aged youth in Keene and Swanzey.

Fun Facts / Free Time: I really enjoy being outside! I backpack and hike with my cat, bike the rail trail, and also enjoy cooking!

Alyssa Bender-Jesse

I am the City of Keene Youth Services Manager. I run an accredited Juvenile Court Diversion Program for Cheshire County towns and the Keene and Jaffrey-Peterborough District Courts. We also offer support services around delinquency, substance use, and youth empowerment. Our mission is that through intervention and prevention programs, we can empower youth to make responsible decisions while holding them accountable for their actions. I have been working with the Monadnock Youth Coalition for about 3 years and got involved with the Coalition to continue strengthening prevention and support services in our community. The Coalition brings an empowering youth-led approach to sensitive topics allowing for more engagement. KYS and MYC have partnered in a variety of different programming to ensure we are supporting the needs of youth in our community. In my free time, I love to ski and be active. I have run the DeMar Half Marathon 3 times now! I love animals and currently have 2 dogs, 2 chickens, and 2 guinea pigs!

Marissa Mannion-King

Marissa Mannion-King serves as the Youth Wellness Coordinator at the Center for Population Health at Cheshire Medical Center. In this role Marissa oversees the Wellpowered School Program, a program that connects over 25 schools to wellness resources, signature programs, policy support, and grant opportunities. Marissa also sits on multiple regional coalitions and committees focused on youth wellness and prevention. Prior to this role, Marissa has held various positions including Fitness and Wellness Director, Personal and Group Exercise Trainer, and Recreation Coordinator. Driven by a commitment to helping others and a love of learning, Marissa completed her Master’s Degree in Public Health with a specialization in Epidemiology. Leveraging this expertise, she has enhanced existing and new programs and developed new ideas, emphasizing evidence-based decision-making, utilizing data to inform program selection and implementation, and refining engagement strategies to cater to the evolving needs of the youth demographic in our region.

Anena Hansen

Born and raised in the Monadnock region, Anena Hansen lived the starving artist life in a quarter of the US states before running away to Kenya. During her decade in Nairobi, she bluffed her way into a corporate sales job and eventually found her niche coaching female entrepreneurs. She also adopted a baby, got sober, and once fell down a flight of stairs in front of a regiment of South Sudanese soldiers. Now happily settled back into her Peterborough hometown, Anena is a women’s coach, a workshop facilitator, and the project manager for Trauma Responsive Monadnock. She hasn’t fallen down the stairs in front of anyone…yet.