Leadership Team
Elisabeth D. Babcock, MCRP, PhD
President and CEO
Elisabeth D. Babcock (Beth) is the President and CEO of the Crittenton Women’s Union (CWU). In this role, she oversees the $11 million organization and drives its research and innovation strategy to consistently deliver new programmatic and public policy approaches expediting pathways out of poverty. CWU provides groundbreaking economic mobility mentoring, housing, education and workforce development programs, performs applied research, and conducts public advocacy initiatives designed to eliminate obstacles to economic self-sufficiency.
Her academic and professional work focuses on the strategic leadership of mission-driven organizations. Two of her most recent articles have appeared in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), “Your Nonprofit Construction Manager: Complex Solutions Need Dedicated Project Managers,” ( Download PDF ) summer 2009, and “Achieving Breakthrough Performance,” ( Download PDF ) summer 2008, named top SSIR article of the year.
Prior to joining CWU in 2006, Beth was the President and CEO of Hearth, a nonprofit organization that she developed into a nationally-recognized model of supported housing, advocacy and research for homeless elders. Before joining Hearth, she was the Vice President of Strategy for Northeast Health Systems, a $285 million-dollar vertically-integrated health care system.
Beth received a master's degree in city and regional planning, with a concentration in health and human services policy and planning, from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and holds a PhD in nonprofit strategy from Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She has taught nonprofit strategy at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
Charles Carter, Jr., PhD, LICSW
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Charles Carter (Chuck) oversees all CWU direct service programs, assisting approximately 1,500 low-income individuals annually, including women and their families, teens, and young adults. He also directs the delivery of clinical/behavioral health services and supervises CWU’s Human Resources and Research and Innovation Departments.
Chuck enjoys almost 20 years of experience in Boston-area nonprofit social services.
Before joining CWU in 2007, he served as the Director of the Massachusetts Child Welfare Institute. For the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership, he held the positions of Metro Boston Regional Director and Northeast Regional Director.
From 1997-2002, he was the Director of Network Services for the Home of Little Wanderers where he supervised seven clinical programs. Previous to that, he fulfilled increasingly responsible roles as a clinician/social worker/manager with Wediko Children’s Services.
Chuck obtained his master’s degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his PhD in social work from Boston College.
RICHARD GAIR, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
Richard Gair joined CWU as its Chief Financial Officer in 2011. Richard leads the five-member Finance Team and manages the organization's accounting and contract operations, budgeting process, and overall financial strategy. In addition, he oversees CWU's Information Technology systems.
Prior to becoming CWU’s finance head, Richard served as CFO of Revinet, an online ad network optimizer. He began his career at Arthur Andersen and later held positions at The Boston Globe and boston.com, moving from controller–subsidiaries at the Globe to director of finance and administration and advancing to vice president and general manager at boston.com.
Richard is a certified public accountant and received his BS from Boston College. He has also studied at the graduate level in computer science at Harvard University and taken leadership trainings at Duke University and Dartmouth College. Richard volunteers his services as treasurer of the board of directors of Dwight Derby House in Medfield, Mass..
Ruthie Liberman, MPA
Vice President of Public Policy
As Vice President of Public Policy, Ruthie Liberman directs CWU’s advocacy efforts to shape public policy and achieve social change that will help lift low-income families out of poverty and into the middle class.
Ruthie assumed her current position in 2008, after having administered many of CWU’s programs from 1996 through 2003, and again from 2005-2008. Her hands-on experience invaluably informs her current public policy work. Before joining CWU, Ruthie worked at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and ran a pediatric and family AIDS program at Dimock Community Health Center for six years.
Her previous public policy experience includes serving as the Director of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles and a Senate Fellowship in the California Legislature. Ruthie received her bachelor’s degree from Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. and a master’s degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Deborah Connolly Youngblood, PhD
Vice President of Research and Innovation
Deborah Connolly Youngblood supervises all CWU research and evaluation projects and supports the organization’s new program development and public advocacy.
Deborah joined Crittenton Women's Union in 2007 after spending 10 years conducting community-based research on issues related to low-income families. Her work includes a study of adolescent girls being raised by grandmothers, a study of youth alumni of a residential treatment facility, a study of the relationships between social service providers and clients, and a study of independent living skills programs for foster youth. Deborah is the author of Homeless Mothers: Face to Face with Women and Poverty (Connolly, University of Minnesota Press, 2000) as well as several articles. Her current research at CWU explores best practices for promoting economic independence for homeless and very low-income women and their families.
Deborah holds a doctorate in cultural anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Aisha Francis-Samuels, PhD
Vice President of Institutional Advancement
Aisha Francis-Samuels provides strategic leadership to generate private philanthropic support for CWU’s programs. Her team is also responsible for marketing and communications efforts to raise awareness about CWU and the challenges low-income women face.
Before joining the CWU leadership team in 2010, Aisha was director of major gifts and donor relations at the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation where she established philanthropic partnerships to support education and community outreach programs. Prior to that, she served as foundation relations officer at Boston Medical Center securing critical corporate and foundation grant funding for women and children’s health programs.
In addition to her expertise in resource development, Aisha brings a longstanding personal and academic interest in the advancement of women and social justice. She holds both a doctorate and master’s degree in English literature from Vanderbilt University, where she served as a lecturer in women's studies and taught various literature courses. Aisha holds a BA from Fisk University where she also taught African- American literature and culture.
Cynthia R. H. King, PHR
Vice President of Human Resources
Cynthia (Cindy) R. H. King supervises CWU’s recruitment, training, staff development, performance management, and benefits program, with a strong commitment to fostering a high level of employee satisfaction.
Cindy brings expertise in recruitment strategies, corporate training, organizational change management, benefits programs, contract negotiation and regulatory compliance to her work at CWU. Prior to joining CWU in 2008, she served as Human Resources Officer at Parkland Medical in Southern New Hampshire, an 84-bed for-profit community hospital with 600 employees, and as Director of Human Resources for the City of Peabody for 11 years.
Cindy has a B.S in social work and an MPA, both from Suffolk University. She also holds a Professional Human Resources Certification.
