Todd Fry recently joined the Deshpande Foundation as Executive Director for the Merrimack Valley Sandbox. Todd comes to the Foundation after a distinguished career at the Boston Center for Community Justice, and as a teacher and social entrepreneur for 20 years in Greater Boston. His career spans work with youth and adults in prep school and in prison, in business and in City Hall. He taught at Milton Academy, a base from which he began developing community programs in 1987 with Youth Outreach Weekends, service retreats focused on homelessness and poverty. That program became the nucleus of The City School, a center for youth leadership development that he founded in 1994 and which still serves hundreds of Boston youth each year. At The City School he founded The Prison Empowerment Project, which connected area teens with workshops run by men and women in prison. Todd led staff development at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Boston's lead economic development agency from 2001-2004. During those years he also ran a book group for incarcerated boys at a DYS facility. Todd joined BCCJ staff in 2005 as Director of Leadership Development, and then held the role of Executive Director at BCCJ from 2007 to 2010 during a time of significant growth and transition. He first served on staff with BCCJ youth programs in 1989, and graduated from LeadBoston in 1994. Todd chairs the USA Advisory Board for the Rwanda Youth Healing Center, a grassroots NGO in Rwanda that helps young people with emotional healing from the genocide and leadership development. Todd grew up in Ohio, holds a bachelors degree in Communication Education from Northwestern University, and lives in Roxbury today.

(On May 2  he is part of a panel discussion at MIT  in rm 4-237 where he will be speaking about the sandbox initiative. Click here to register for the event)


1. What motivated you as a school teacher to move into community service?

I was interested in learning about current challenges and helping young people wrap their minds around those problems.  Combining “the book and the street” was a great way to stimulate critical thinking and a hunger to learn.

The Sandbox approach is dynamic and full of potential.  Working from the grassroots up makes a lot of sense to me, sort of like the experiential education I’ve been working with for many years.  The Deshpande Foundation has great momentum, and I was thrilled with the opportunity to make a contribution along with their talented team.

I’m looking to improve the quality of life by catalyzing lots of leaders and entrepreneurs in Lowell and Lawrence – people who know the local context and have the confidence and connections to make important contributions to both cities.

We aren’t operating with a detailed plan.  We are co-creating with the community.  But our first stages have focused on engaging students at the area colleges, and we will do more to engage young people as we begin programs for adults and eventually businesses as well.

Thanks for your interest.  Thanks . I look forward to meeting some of you on May 2 at the TIE-SE /IITSINE event. You can also  join us for our first showcase of student projects on May 5 at Merrimack College.  http://www.eventbrite.com/event/981590965

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