Eustace Payne Jr., Executive Director & Founder
Eustace Payne Jr. is the founder and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Community Outreach Initiative (MCOI). Mr. Payne is a graduate of Framingham State College with a Bachelors of Art in Sociology. He is currently on the ministerial staff at Bethel AME church in Boston, MA. Recognizing the importance of stability as it pertains to re-entry Mr. Payne is an advocate and a voice in the community educating and assisting churches interested in developing, training and implementing prison ministries. Under the auspices of The Massachusetts Community Outreach Initiative (MCOI) Mr. Payne provides Godly leadership of integrity, maturity, and humility as he reconnects the incarcerated with their families, churches, and communities.
Mr. Payne has 21 years tenure in the Federal and State court system as a probation officer. His experience in the judicial system taught him that the standard Cognitive Behavioral Therapeutic approach although direct, is ineffective in producing results within the target population. Consistent focus on an individual’s dysfunction by the law enforcement community, court system, correctional system, and often times family members leaves an individual in an emotionally vulnerable and abused mental state. Mr. Payne’s experience as a probation officer, as well as his experience as a Department of Social Services Case Manager has equipped him with the unique ability to advocate firmly but effectively for clients with perspective employers, continuing education facilities, churches and communities. Additionally, Mr. Payne is a certified Trainer and Facilitator through Prison Fellowship Ministries and has recently completed the Institute for Nonprofit Management and Leadership Certification program at Boston University School of Management.
LaShaun Shaw, Chief Operating Officer
LaShaun Shaw is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Massachusetts Community Outreach Initiative. LaShaun was born in New Haven Connecticut, she her mother and three siblings moved to Massachusetts when she was four years old. LaShaun has 19 years of experience as the Administrative Manager at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston MA. In her tenure with the MGH Ms. Shaw was responsible for budgets, financials, grants, departmental and organizational compliance, The National Institute of Health (NIH) compliance, Joint Commission Accreditation Health Organization (JCAHO) compliance, community outreach, as well as program and project management. Ms. Shaw’s experience and responsibilities included staff and day-to-day operations management as well as new programs implementation. Ms. Shaw is a graduate of Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, MA with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. Ms. Shaw has a Graduate Certificate in Biblical Studies from Hartford Seminary in Hartford, MA; she is currently pursuing a Masters of Arts in Spirituality with a primary focus on Women’s Leadership also at Hartford Seminary.
Reverend Robert Gray
Reverend Robert Gray was born in Malden, Mass. and is a 1975 graduate of Northeastern University. He attended the A.M.E. Ministerial Training Institute in Springfield, MA. For the full five year program and was chosen as a L.U.C.E. Fellow, receiving a three year fellowship to Harvard Divinity School in 1997. In January 2008, Rev. Gray earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree from National University in San Diego, CA.
Reverend Gray is the assistant pastor at Bethel A.M.E. church in Boston, Mass. under chief pastor and shepherd the Rev. Dr. Ray Hammond. Rev. Gray retired in November 2004 after twenty-six years from the Massachusetts Probation Service, serving as the probation officer in charge of the Brookline District Court Juvenile Probation Department. He currently holds the position of chaplain for the NBA Boston Celtic’s basketball team (2000 until the present), and is a retired assistant chaplain for the Boston Red Sox Major League baseball team (from 1996 until 2007), and retired as assistant chaplain for the New England Patriots football team in the NFL (from 1996 until 2006). Reverend Gray was with the Red Sox, Patriots and the Celtics each time they won a championship in the 21st. century. He is the published author of the young adult novel, The Wings of Courage, has a published short story, Milk of Human Kindness, in the Anthology Journal, EDNA, as well as several other fiction short stories and articles.
Reverend Gray was a widower from 1995 until 2001 at which time he remarried. Reverend Gray has three children and his wife Reverend Sabrina, has five children to create a blended family of eight children.
Aaron J. Nurick, Ph.D
Aaron J. Nurick, Ph.D is Professor of Management and Psychology at Bentley University, Waltham, MA. He received his doctorate in Organizational Psychology from the University of Tennessee in 1978. Dr. Nurick’s teaching and scholarly interests focus on interpersonal behavior in organizational settings. He has published a wide range of articles in scholarly journals, including Human Relations, Human Resource Management, The Academy of Management Learning and Education Journal, and is the author of two books: Participation in Organizational Change: The TVA Experiment (Praeger, 1985) and The Good Enough Manager: The Making of a GEM (Routledge, 2011). He has consulted with organizations on organizational diversity and improving emotional intelligence and interpersonal competence. He was one of the first endowed teaching professors at Bentley and held the Wilder Teaching Professorship for five years. He is a recipient of the Adamian Award of Excellence in Teaching at Bentley University for his courses on organizational behavior and interpersonal relations in management. He served for seven years as Chair of the Management Department. He is a member of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study for Organizations and the Managerial Consultation Division of the Academy of Management. Dr. Nurick also served as President of the Board of the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy and Chairman of the Boston Symphony Association of Volunteers.