The Center is fortunate to have many dedicated individuals on our staff and Board of Directors. Staff John Ratka, Executive Director A retired Navy Command Master Chief, John has been with the agency since 1999. In the time John has been on staff, he has shown us the "can-do" spirit of the Navy. He is an integral person in the overall operation of the agency and adds greatly to the morale of the Center's residents and volunteers. John lives with his wife and two sons in Salem, N.H. Tom Mele, Director of Social Work Services Tom Mele joined the staff as a Residential Case Manager in August of 2004. He recently earned his Master of Social Work Degree (MSW) in May of 2004, from The Boston College, Graduate School of Social Work, where he was selected an “Outstanding Graduate Student of 2004.” Tom holds two additional Master’s Degrees, an MA from St. Thomas in Seattle, WA and a ThM from Princeton. He has more than twenty-seven years of experience in human services.  Tom served 14 years in the United States Navy, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander. His duty stations included, NAS Barber’s Point, HI, MCB Camp LeJuene, NC, LPH-2 Iwo Jima, PHIBRON 8, Bierut, Lebanon, MCAGCC Twenty-nine Palms, CA, MCB Camp S.D. Butler, Okinawa, Japan, NAS Corpus Christi, NSF Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territories, Navy Post-graduate School, Princeton, Princeton, NJ, and NAWS China Lake, Ridgecrest, CA. Support Staff John Blumquist, Residential Staff Levington Lopez, Residential Staff  Casey McNall, Office Assistant Shawna Ramsay, Work-study Staff Mike Rodgers, Work-study Staff Matt Schmid, Facilities Manager Michael Stevens, Part-time Staff Bill Sullivan, Residential Staff Richard Yarde, Mansion Resident Manager Donna Warner, Residential Staff Staff Affiliates Bill Davis, MSW, Bedford VA Medical Center  Chief Sumner Ellis, Volunteer Rich Lavesque, VVA National Service Officer Shara Puglisi, MSW, Homelessness Coordinator/VASH,  Bedford VA Medical Center  Karen Pyrez, CWT Program, Haverhill, MA Brett Serkez, Computer Consultant Sal Tagliamonte, MA, Boston Vet Center  Jon N. Vespa, Webmaster, Single Step Web Management Board of Directors The Board of Directors meets on the second Wednesday of the month (September through June). The meetings take place at 6:30 p.m. at the agency's offices at 10 Reed Street in Haverhill.  John Champion, President Consultant Ken Smith, Vice President President, Pentucket Bank Gerry LaCroix, Treasurer Retired Teacher/Disabilities Advocate Maureen Wheatley, Secretary Real Estate Pat Paradis VFW Ladies Auxiliary Richard Kelley Attorney Kristy LaCroix Disabilities Advocate Thomas DiPietro Retired Businessman Arthur Tate Superintendent, Haverhill Public Schools Mary Ann Solis Registered Nurse Services | History | People | Support/Volunteer News You Can Use | Calendar of Events VNOC in the News | Contact Us | Home 65 Cedar Street Haverhill, Massachusetts 01830 Tel: 978-521-9668 Fax: 978-521-9672 E-mail: vneoc@northeastveterans.org Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM evenings by appointment

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