Who's Pictured?

The individuals pictured on the piece come from four categories we found were most important in the Worcester community: Those working in Healthcare (Blue), those doing Community Oriented work (Orange), people who give their lives to a certain cause through their Activism (Green) and those involved in the beautification and aesthetics of and in the city (Violet). A number next to the name indicates the year of graduation for Holy Cross alumni.

Click on the linked, underlined words in their descriptions to learn more about and/or to support their causes!

Annette Rafferty

Annette was born and raised in Worcester, MA and spent time in the central Mass area teaching in Springfield, MA, Newport, RI, and Holyoke, MA. She became a Sister of St. Joseph while pursuing teaching. In the early 1970s, Annette's life changed tremendously when she was asked by the Director of the Urban Ministry Commission to head up a task force to respond to the "new homeless" which consisted of women and children. Annette was passionate about helping these women and children, but when the urban ministry decided not to proceed with a shelter Annette resigned. She knew more action needed to be taken. On June 7th, 1976, Annette started Abby's House with a group of women who were passionate about helping the homeless and starting a shelter. She eventually decided to leave the sisterhood so that she could dedicate her life's work toward the cause. Abby's House offers women shelters, housing, and advocacy for the women to stay until they can get educated, find jobs, and be able to put their names into Worcester housing so the women can live independently. Be sure to shop at the Abby's House Thrift Store as all proceeds go directly to supporting the mission of Abby's House!

Charles "Chick" Weiss

First learning of him through the Weiss Summer Research Program, which was named after him because of the tremendous amount of community work he has done, Chick Weiss was someone who we found to be fully ingrained in the Worcester community. Originally born and raised in Pennsylvania, he is someone who has really made Worcester his home. During his tenure at the college beginning in 1975, he has held many positions mainly teaching in the Psychology department. We found that the exhaustive list on the Holy Cross website perfectly states his involvement in the city: "Chick was Co-founder, past Chair of the Board of Trustees and Co-chair of the first Capital Campaign of the Nativity School of Worcester, an all-scholarship middle school for economically disadvantaged boys. He served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Central and Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Red Cross, was a member of its Capital Campaign and Strategic Planning Steering Committees and is a seven-gallon blood donor... Chick is past Chair of the Board of Directors of Children’s Friend in Worcester and was Co-chair of its 150th Anniversary Capital Campaign. He served on the planning committee of the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center, is a corporator of the Ecotarium and Music Worcester and past member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and Chair of its Non-Profit Support Center’s Advisory Committee. He is an elected Member of the American Antiquarian Society." Throughout our process, Chick has been an important mentor and is beloved by the whole Holy Cross community. We also love getting coffee at New Tradition Cafe which is owned by his son, Joe Weiss. Joe is part of the band Four Year Strong, which is a band that we chose to include in our soundtrack for the documentary as well.

Ché Anderson '11

Ché was someone who was pointed to us on countless occasions throughout the process. Most known for his work, in collaboration with other art enthusiasts, to introduce the world renowned mural festival known as POW! WOW! to the city, we felt that Ché was vital to include as he helped add the pop of color and energy Worcester needed to attract visitors and create a sense of unity and community in the city. Hailing from New York City, Ché Anderson has developed a passion for Worcester through his time in the city. He attended Holy Cross from 2007-2011 where he majored in Political Science and was a publicist for the BSU. When deciding what to do after college, he realized there was a better chance to have an impact in a community by staying in Worcester. After graduating from the College of the Holy Cross, he spent time as the Assistant Director of Student Activities at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Heath Sciences University. In 2014, Anderson was hired by Ed Augustus (the Worcester City Manager) to work at City Hall. He spent seven years there with his main job being the Deputy Cultural Development Officer for the city. Recently, Anderson was hired at UMass Medical School as the Assistant Vice Chancellor of the City and of Community Relations. He continues to stay involved in Worcester through community programs such as Working for Worcester, collaborates with City Hall and leads a food related podcast called Food & Convo.

Dawn Clark

Born in Lowell, Massachussets, Dawn originally came to Worcester for a job opportunity at the Worcester Community Action Council. Spending 12 years there, she decided to stay in the city and make it her home. Obstacles in our lives should not stop us from achieving our goals and Dawn Clark is a perfect example of that. Dawn is an advocate for disability rights and is currently working as the Coordinator of Disability Rights Projects in the Human Rights and Accessibility Office for the city of Worcester. Since 2011, she has done many things , most recently helping lead tours of City Hall and she overseeing a group of volunteers with disabilities that provides training on disability etiquette. Throughout our various encounters with Dawn on Zoom, she has been smiling and spoke optimistically about the outlook of people who are disabled. She hopes her inclusion in the project could influence those who have a bit of trepidation about coming into the city as they may not feel welcomed because of their disability to take the risk as the city has much to offer and her office is always working hard to make ever aspect of city life more accessible.

Elizabeth "Liz" Wambui '09

Liz was someone who we were pointed to talk to many times as she is a great example of a Holy Cross students working in the city. She was raised in Worcester and graduated from Holy Cross in 2009. Following her time on the hill, she began working in Boston but decided to return to Worcester as she wanted to contribute to the community that she was raised in. She spent time at Easterseals and the American Red Cross before moving to the Nativity School which is a scholarship based middle school for underprivileged boys in the city. Liz worked as the fundraising director for the advancement office at Nativity. She recently moved to Fontaine Brothers to work as the director of diversity, inclusion, and impact. Liz is the first person to serve in this role at Fontaine. Liz stays involved in the community outside of her day job at Fontaine Brothers where she is on boards at the Bancroft School, Worcester Historical Museum, the SHINE initiative, and the YWCA.

Ernest "Ernie" Floyd '84

Originally from Roxbury, Massachusetts, Ernie had many colleges to pick from as he was being scouted to play Division 1 basketball all around the country. Choosing Holy Cross because of its proximity to his hometown, he did not think much of the city it was located in. When he got to know Worcester, however, he developed a love for the city. Graduating Holy Cross in 1984, the 6'9" Ernie Floyd was drafted to the Milwaukee Bucks. He then played basketball professionally overseas in Europe, but found himself drawn back to his second home in Worcester. Ernie wanted to be involved with the youth of the city: he had the vision to empower young people through media. He created Pride Productions Inc. in 1994 which sought to work with the youth and provide them with a variety of services and programs to aid in their educational, cultural and community development. Early on, he even started Youth Unity, a talk show that aired in Central Massachusetts on Charter TV3. Throughout the years, they have continued to expand and grow to involve more and more youth. In 2012, he started Unity Radio, through Pride Productions, which is a radio station that serves to talk about a number of community events and initiatives across the city. Be sure to tune in at WUTY 97.9FM! Although he towered over us during our first meeting with him, Ernie is a real life "gentle giant" who has a positive aura, gentle heart and a real passion for this city.

Fred Taylor

Considering the events that have transpired in 2020, we felt it necessary to highlight an important voice and movement that was and still is very prevalent in the city. As the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Worcester Branch President, Fred works hard to address the issues of systematic racism in the Worcester Police Department, police in schools, and the lack of diversity in political representation. Him and his organization members work to not only change unfair laws put in place, but also strive to empower the people to speak up when there is injustice. Fred was newly elected as head of the NAACP Worcester in early 2021. He is also a business representative for the Carpenters Union Local 336 where he advocates for equity for Black, brown, and other undeserved communities. Fred is somebody who we felt was attacking the important talking points in Worcester in the present but also looking toward the future of the city to ensure that the issues are not forgotten about.

Grace Sliowski

After graduating from Columbia University in New York City, Grace decided to return to where she was born and raised: the city of Worcester. She comes from a family of activists and her father, Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, is another person we have have been in contact with during our project. Environmental and food justice are two issues that are most important to Grace. Growing up in the Main South area, Grace was especially aware of the crucial problems that needed to be addressed in the Worcester community. She spent time as the coordinator for the YouthGrow program from 2012-2017 which works to employ low-income teens on urban farms. Grace co-founded the Central Mass Youth Jobs Coalition which is compiled of organizations that educate and advocate for quality youth jobs. She has also spent time on the board of the Worcester nonprofit Stone Soup, the Community Center for Nonviolent Solutions, the Youth Jobs Task Force, and the Youth Worker's Alliance. Nowadays, Grace oversees all three of the Regional Environmental Council's programs which includes 62 community gardens. The REC is able to support gardens at 20 schools in Worcester as well as opportunities for upwards of 2,000 students.

John Vo '09

John Vo was one of the nicest and most genuine people we have talked to. Arriving to our first Zoom meeting smiling from cheek to cheek, John was happy to support us as Holy Cross students looking to create something new and innovative and improve community engagement. John double majored in philosophy and art and after graduating from Holy Cross in 2009, they received a Fulbright scholarship in Vietnam. They started the Nine Dot Gallery in 2015 along with two of their brothers which facilitated community growth as it held art shows and was a studio space for artists. Vo is very involved in the Worcester Community as they are an Executive Board Member of the South East Asian Coalition of Central Massachussets and work with Art Reach as a visiting artist. They were even the studio manager at the Millard Art Center at Holy Cross. While out and about in the city, we ran into them at the Community Block Party held by El Salón, ArtsWorcester and the JMAC. We have even seen some of their work at the Sprinkler Factory at an art show held there. John is also making a collaborative mural, with their brother Tommy Vo, for POW! WOW! Worcester 2021 so be sure to check out their work in Main South (On 54 Beacon Street) this fall!

Judy Freedman (Formerly Judy Freedman-Fask)

The Deaf studies program at Holy Cross would not be what it is without Judy Freedman. Working at Holy Cross from 1994 to 2012, Judy has been invested in the Holy Cross community and remains to be involved to this day. Judy spent time developing and instituting the Deaf Studies program at the College as the director of the Deaf Studies program. Since departing from the College, Judy works as a Transition Rehabilitation Specialist at the Worcester Public Schools where she identifies and develops partnerships with community organizations that encourage youth participation and feedback to improve agency accessibility and programming, including Work Force Career Centers. The way she stays connected with the Holy Cross community is by partnering with the Community Based Learning (CBL) office to have students volunteer in programs related to her work. Judy is also extremely involved with the Deaf community as she is a certified ASL interpreter since 1985. She specializes in areas of emergency, medical, mental health, substance abuse, rape kit training, theater, education, and DeafBlind. Judy spends time mentoring interpreting students as well. Andrew can attest to her unwavering passion for Worcester and the Deaf community through personal connections with his Deaf parents.

Maricelis "Mari" Gonzalez

Continuing the mission and goal set out by her parents in 1991, Mari Gonzalez was someone we felt deserved more recognition for her tremendous work in the Middle Main neighborhood. El Buen Samaritano works to create a space for the community to gather and receive necessities such as food, clothing and medical supplies. Mari emphasizes that she does not turn anyone away when serving the community. It is also a space for the youth to be able to have a place to gather in an after-school-like environment. Mari works hard to work with her members and even went as far as to do a weekly Facebook Livestream every Friday throughout the pandemic. Mari hopes to continue to expand the project set out by her parents to further get the youth involved and to become more of a hub for her community to gather, learn and grow. One important aspect of her life is fostering children. Growing up with foster siblings herself and adopting one of her own, she sees the importance of giving a home and a better life to kids. Mari hopes to improve the lives of those in foster care in Worcester by either creating a space where they are together more with those who can relate to their experience or normalizing it in more in schools. Mari is the Liason for Hopewell Inc. in Worcester which is an organization that provides comprehensive foster care services. Mari serves as the co-chair for the Worcester parent action group and is associated with Working for Worcester as well as apart of the WooSox Wepa Advisory Committee which oversees the "Los Wepas de Worcester" nights at Polar Park.

Matilde "Mattie" Castiel

When it comes to healthcare in Worcester, Mattie was at the crux of the community during the 2020 pandemic. Dr. Castiel is a Cuban immigrant who has ingrained herself into the Worcester community. We were amazed by Mattie's involvement in the city where she spreads her time across many different jobs and programs including the Hector Reyes House. We loved the connection between the Hector Reyes House and Café Reyes as the house serves as a model for residential substance abuse treatment for Latino men and Café Reyes is a restaurant where they are able to work at. She has been at the forefront of the battle against homelessness and drug addiction in Worcester and also spent time as the Executive Director and Medical Director of Latin American Health Alliance. She also worked as a physician at St. Louis Regional Medical Center, Family Health Center of Worcester, and UMass Memorial Medical Center. She is currently on the board of directors at Greater Worcester Community Foundation and United Way of Central Massachussets. As of 2015, Dr. Castiel became the Commissioner of Health and Human Services of Worcester where she still works today. Mattie and her office work tirelessly to get people vaccinated in the city especially the youth.

Michael F. Collins '77

After graduating from Holy Cross in 1977, Chancellor Collins moved on to Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts where he graduated from their school of medicine. Michael Collins is a tenured professor of Population and Quantitive Health Studies and Medicine. He was appointed Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical School after serving in an interim capacity from June 2007 to September 2008. In June 2007, he was also appointed Senior Vice President for Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts where he spearheaded two system-wide life sciences strategic planning processes and helps to guide the strategic direction of the University's life and health sciences portfolio. Being recognized on countless occasions and even being the guest speaker at the 2021 Holy Cross graduation, Dr. Michael Collins accepted our invitation to a meeting with the intention of helping out some Holy Cross students but soon found himself getting more and more involved with the project. Our favorite story that Michael Collins told us was that he goes to the Veterans Center every year in Worcester to give out Thanksgiving turkeys to veterans. It was a heartwarming story that showed how Chancellor Collins continued to be involved in the Worcester community while being Chancellor of the medical school. Collins currently sits on the boards of UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc., Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, the Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts, and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Richard "Richie" Gonzalez

Richie Gonzalez was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1972 and his early life was not easy as he struggled living in a dysfunctional home flooded with alcohol and violence. After the death of his father in 1974, Richie moved with his family including four siblings back to Puerto Rico. At the age of seven, his mother abandoned them, leading him to a life of drug use, mental illness, crime, institutionalization and imprisonment—in and out for twenty-six years. In 2001, Richie began a spiritual approach to his search for healing and sanity through the unconditional love he found in Christianity. This approach revealed that the core of his brokenness and addiction was self-centeredness. He discovered that the love and hope he sought was only attainable by giving it to others. In November 2010, he decided to begin feeding the homeless and help addicts have access to recovery meanwhile, him, his wife and their four kids were homeless. He began with only a card table, sandwiches and the will to help those in need. Net of Compassion was then born. The non-profit organization, working in the Main South area, strives to serve men and women struggling with poverty, substance use disorder, prostitution, homelessness and those living with mental illness by giving clothing, food pantry items, toiletries, encouragement and referrals to other services. After hearing his story in the our first meeting, we knew immediately that Richie was perfect for the project. He is a true superhero that Holy Cross students can look up to as an inspiration to support and fight for something they believe in. Net of Compassion is always looking for volunteers to help out with the services they offer or you can donate to directly to support Richie's mission!

Rush Frazier

After growing up in Worcester, graduating from Doherty Memorial High School and spending some time at UMass Amherst, Rush had moved to Savannah, Georgia to discover themself through writing, exploring and meeting new people. After living in the South for 10 years (split between Georgia and Tennessee), they came back to Worcester. Spending years of organizing and writing/reading and performing poetry, they felt the need to return to the city not only to fight issues alongside their family and community, but also to be that voice and person for LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC children to look up to as they felt like there was not many people they could look up to when growing up here. Currently, they are the Central and East Massachussets Field Coordinator at Neighbor 2 Neighbor, an organization that strives to empower and organize people to fight against injustices in income inequality, environmental degradation, and racism. They are also the president of 508Pride, an organization that works to build community and also provide political education in Worcester in a more direct, issue-based way. We heard of Rush through various people for their poetry, but their activism through organizing and dedication for the LGBTQ+ community here was what made us want to promote them as we believe that everyone should be able to love themselves for who they are.

Vanessa Calixto

Ambition. Opportunity. Passion. These are three words we found best describe Vanessa Calixto and all that she does in the city of Worcester. Working for the advancement of youth through giving them opportunities, Vanessa is involved in a variety of projects. She currently works at City Hall which allows her to push her ideas to the people who can actually make the change. El Salón, which she founded in 2019, works to organize intentional and inclusive spaces for BIPOC artists and creatives, most recently, having a show at the JMAC in April 2021 and a community Block Party with the JMAC and ArtsWorcester on June 12th. They help set up a variety of exciting events that shows off the impressive performance and traditional art that comes from the city. Our favorite thing about these events are that they are open to the public and there is a real family atmosphere that gets created and you feel welcomed right as you enter the door. She was also an assistant coordinator at the Latino Educational Institute which strives to improve the lives of Latin Americans in the Worcester area through educational opportunities. She currently sits on the board of directors for Main Idea as well as ArtsWorcester which both promote the arts in the city.

We would also like to shoutout some other awesome individuals that do amazing things for the city of Worcester:

Anh Vu Sawyer

Anh Vu Sawyer is a Vietnamese immigrant who left in 1975 after the Fall of Saigon. Over the years, she has worked around the United States but has found herself in the city of Worcester as the Executive Director of the SouthEast Asian Coalition of Massachussets (SEACMA). The SEACMA is an organization we are supporting in our fund because of the magnificent work they do for the SouthEast Asian residents in the city. Anh works to help her community overcome challenges that they face. They are doing this in a way to not only acclimate them to life in the United States, but also to preserve their culture and help them become more ingrained in the community for being themselves.

Tim Garvin

Tim currently is the President and CEO of United Way of Central Massachusetts. He also participates in POW! WOW! Worcester, helps out Working for Worcester, sits as the president of the Board of Directors for Main Idea, and volunteers for a multitude of programs around the city that we cannot keep track of! Always busy, Tim makes sure to make the time for all of the organizations and programs he wants to support, sacrificing much of his own time for them. We think it should be noted that we had asked him if he wanted to be one of the individuals included but he was adamant that other people deserved it more.

Isabel Gonzalez-Webster

As the Executive Director of Worcester Interfaith, Isabel strives for change in the city of Worcester. The change comes in many areas of people's daily lives including in their work places, in their neighborhoods and schools and it comes in many forms including public safety, education and in drawing attention to how some issues disproportionately affect low-income and minority populations more than others. They work with both community and congregational leaders from many different religions, races and economic backgrounds to accomplish what they do. Started by Frank Kartheiser '72 in 1993, who now spends most of his time at the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker, Isabel, his successor, works tirelessly to ensure that the mission of WI comes to fruition through empowering people to bring change.

Travis Duda

Travis Duda is such an amazing dude. He currently owns Hustle + Worc', a clothing brand here in the city that you could either find at Worcester Wares or online, makes digital graphics for various businesses and events through his design company, Hunchback Graphics, sits on the Board of Directors and is a designer for POW! WOW! Worcester, has a mural with Grhimm Xavier at the Youth Grow Farm on Oread Street, is a producer for the Wootenany Comedy show, and he also co-hosts a Worcester-oriented podcast called SeltzerTime with the magnificent Ricky Nelson. He is a kind man who makes everyone's day a little brighter with his presence and he is a fantastic Pow! Wow! Worcester mural tour guide.

George Annan

George is one of the most humble people we have met. He is an incredible photographer who has worked with a multitude of brands in the New England area and he was also a photographer at POW! WOW! Worcester 2021. He was someone who was mentioned by many people in the city as someone who deserves more recognition because of his work and his kind personality. Check out his Instagram @KoolAidGeorge!

Professor Thomas Doughton

Through our exploration of Worcester we found many links to the Native Americans that used to live on this land in the Nipmuc and Wampanoag tribes. In a Holy Cross Environmental Studies documentary known as Pakachoag: Where the River Bends, we learned that College Hill or Mount Saint James was once known as Pakachoag which was a Nipmuc praying village. Thomas Doughton, one of the narrators in the film, a former tribal historian, a professor at Holy Cross and an enrolled member of the Nipmuc Nation, was someone we found to be very knowledgable about the city and its past and deserved to be highlight for his work.

Scott Schaffer-Duffy '80

We found Scott to be extremely charismatic and passionate about the things he believes in. Founder of the Saints Francis & Thérèse Catholic Worker in Worcester, which is not only where him and his wife live but also provides shelter for the homeless, Scott is a writer (publishing a periodical known as The Catholic Radical) and peace activist in the city. Showing up to a number of protests including the nurse strike at Saint Vincent's Hospital in 2021, Scott truly walks the talk. Learn more about his mission here!

Also, major thanks to Pat Maloney at Saint John's High School for being so kind and open to answering our questions, supporting us from the very beginning and for knowing (possibly) the most about the city and its residents!

Page updated

Report abuse