Avery Hazell Future Interior Designer Avery is a senior at MV Regional High School. She shares her time between sports, work and opportunities that help guide me to my future plans. She is involved with several volunteer work and community service. Since the island is very strongly community based Avery believes that it’s important to get involved. Avery plans to attend a four-year college, major in interior design and minor in business. Avery served as a delegate to the 2013 & 2014 Youth Leadership Summit for Sustainable Development. She is a member of MVYLI’s College Prep & Field Trip Program with Ed Merkel. She participated in MVYLI’s Beach Clean-Up Project. Avery was born on Bequia, a small island in the Caribbean. She moved to the Vineyard when she was 4 years old. Traveling and seeing the world is very important to Avery. There are so many places to visit and a wide range of cultures she hopes to embrace. Beka El-Deiry Island Window Design Beka El-Deiry is an interior designer and successful small business owner. Founded in 2000, Island Window Design has over 1,000 Island homes in its 14 years. Featured in Vineyard Style magazine (Fall 2014). The unique "Mobile Design Van" allows Beka to arrive at her clients home with all the tools needed to dress their windows and interiors. Beka is a champion for the environment, using green design and energy solutions and encouraging her clients to create Vineyard lawns. Born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard, Beka was Pat Gregory’s student at West Tisbury School. Upon graduation from MV Regional High School, she attended the New England School of Photography. Travel and sailing brought her to the Caribbean during the 90’s. Returning to the Vineyard, she worked with a local interior designer for three years, then started her own business. Beka is mother to Luke and Isabella, wife of Joe El-Deiry and aunt to Avery, who she nominated to MVYLI.
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Avery Hazell
Future Interior Designer
Avery is a senior at MV Regional High
School. She shares her time between sports,
work and opportunities that help guide me to my future plans. She is involved with
several volunteer work and community
service. Since the island is very strongly
community based Avery believes that it’s important to get involved. Avery plans to
attend a four-year college, major in interior
design and minor in business. Avery served as a delegate to the 2013 & 2014 Youth
Leadership Summit for Sustainable
Development. She is a member of MVYLI’s College Prep & Field Trip Program with Ed
Merkel. She participated in MVYLI’s
Beach Clean-Up Project. Avery was born
on Bequia, a small island in the Caribbean. She moved to the Vineyard when she was 4
years old. Traveling and seeing the world is
very important to Avery. There are so many places to visit and a wide range of cultures
she hopes to embrace.
Beka El-Deiry
Island Window Design
Beka El-Deiry is an interior designer and
successful small business owner. Founded in 2000, Island Window Design has over
1,000 Island homes in its 14 years. Featured
in Vineyard Style magazine (Fall 2014). The unique "Mobile Design Van" allows Beka to
arrive at her clients home with all the tools
needed to dress their windows and interiors.
Beka is a champion for the environment, using green design and energy solutions
and encouraging her clients to create
Vineyard lawns. Born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard, Beka was Pat Gregory’s
student at West Tisbury School. Upon
graduation from MV Regional High School, she attended the New England School of
Photography. Travel and sailing brought her
to the Caribbean during the 90’s. Returning
to the Vineyard, she worked with a local interior designer for three years, then started
her own business. Beka is mother to Luke
and Isabella, wife of Joe El-Deiry and aunt to Avery, who she nominated to MVYLI.
Benjamin Nadelstein
Ben is a sophomore at MVRHS where he is his class
representative. Ben has big dreams for becoming an
entertainer. He sings with the Minnesingers and
plays instruments: violin, piano, baritone horn and
trumpet. Ben loves comedy and acting. Last summer
he attended the Long Lake Camp for the Arts in
upstate New York where he learned more about
acting, improvisation and writing. He landed the lead
part in MVRHS’s play, In the Woods. Ben has a red
belt in karate and plays tennis.
Ben plans to attend a four-college and major in
television production, acting, performing. Ben loves
his friends, family and his island. Ben is Jewish and
has been through Hebrew School, had a Bar Mitzvah;
and helps teach at the Hebrew School. His dream for
the world is to spread happiness and melodies
everywhere.
Ben served as a youth delegate to MVYLI’s 2014
Youth Leadership Summit. He loved it and learned
so much about leadership and island sustainability.
He enjoyed visiting the hydroponic farms at Thimble
Farm during MVYLI’s Sustainable Vineyard Tour.
A highlight for Ben was meeting youth from cultures
around the world. Ben is a member of MVYLI’s
Mentor Program. He is producing a video on the
youth and their mentors with footage from MVYLI’s
Job Shadow Day Reception on January 30, 2015.
Kevin McGrath
Librarian
Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School
Kevin McGrath is the Librarian for the MV Regional
High School. For the last 18 years, he has been
running school libraries and transforming them to
library learning commons, with a focus on project-
based learning. Kevin recently helped create an
"innovation lab" in the MVRHS library that is used to
film and edit video. Kevin runs a web design
company: NoWallsWeb.com.
As the co-founder the educational design studio the
Office of Ingenuity, Kevin has led workshops at
national conferences and consulted for school
districts throughout New England. In 1999, Kevin
co-created PrimaryResearch.org, through which he
continues to support local history teaching and
learning in schools, libraries, and historical
societies. He enjoys painting and has published
several children’s books and calendars featuring his
illustrations: http://mvzoo.com ]mvzoo.com.
Kevin grew up on the North Shore of Boston, and has
a BA from University of Vermont and a MS from
Simmons College.
“We are in the midst of transforming our high school
library into a Global Learning Center to support 21st
century learning,” says Kevin. “MVYLI’s programs
fit in well with our focus on collaborative problem-
solving and project-based learning.”
MVYLI’s Mentor Program Martha’s Vineyard Youth Leadership Initiative
www.mvyli.org
Elijah LaRue
Elijah LaRue is a junior at the Martha’s Vineyard
Regional High School. He was born in Elizabeth,
New Jersey to Tasha Harrison. He has never met his birth mom or birth brothers and sisters. One day he
hopes to meet them. Right after his birth Elijah was
adopted by Susan Wade and David LaRue. Since they live on Martha’s Vineyard, the Vineyard is
Elijah’s home. He lives with two siblings, one who
is adopted; the other one is his mother’s stepson.
After kindergarten Elijah was home schooled till the fourth grade. He then attended ________________
When he entered my freshman year at MVRHS, he
was chosen to become a part of Young Brothers to Men (YBTM), a group of young men who help out in
our community. They help younger boys with their
schoolwork and sports. Last spring Elijah helped coach a Babe Ruth Baseball team. Since his
sophomore year, Elijah has been a star track athlete
in discus. This year he also played football for the
first time in four years. As a team they did community service for the Island Food Pantry at
Thanksgiving. In 2013 Elijah was elected to serve on
Governor Patrick’s Statewide Youth Council. For the next two years he will represent Duke’s County.
Elijah was nominated by Jacob Lawrence to serve on
the Martha’s Vineyard Youth Leadership Initiative.
Elijah’s dream for his life is to go to college to get
my degree in sports management or business
management. Some colleges and prep schools have approached him for discus.
Norman Hall
Hall International LLC
Norman Hall is a successful businessman, with 30
years experience in international investment banking,
pension fund consulting, and private equity experience. He has trusted relationships and
operational expertise in the music, film and television
production and distribution industries.
In 1998, Norman and his team launched an
entertainment company “StarRise Entertainment”
with casting agent/producer Reuben Cannon, co-producing “Dancing in September”, an HBO release.
He and Cannon negotiated and arranged the
distribution deal with Lions Gate under StarRise, which Cannon later utilized when he joined Tyler
Perry Movies as a co-producer. In 2013, Norman co-
founded MV Soul Concepts, LLC and is responsible
for handling On-Island logistics and operations for the MV Summer Madness Music Festival and
Conference. Norman founded Hall International
Partners BV (HIP) in The Netherlands in 1990 establishing the world’s first peer-to-peer trading
platform as a boutique investment-banking firm,
executing trades in international securities globally. Headquartered in Amsterdam with offices in San
Francisco and Hong Kong, he oversaw monthly
securities trading volume of $250 million.
Norman and his family live in Vineyard Haven. As a
child his family spent their summers in Oak Bluffs.
Norman’s son Evan Hall was in MVYLI’s first Youth Leadership Summit in 2010. Evan graduates
from Berkelee College in May 2015. Norman serves
on MVYLI’s Advisory Council.
Martha’s Vineyard Youth Leadership Initiative
www.mvyli.org
Kelsey Moreis
Future Psychologist
Kelsey is a senior at MVRHS where she is a
member of the Environmental Club and
Engineering Club. She enjoys solving puzzles and that is basically engineering in a nutshell. Kelsey is
interested in pursuing a combination of advertising
and psychology, perhaps organizational psychology or organizational dynamics. She is currently taking
a portfolio course to learn about how to stage
presentations for customers with her art and jewelry. She attended the MECA Portfolio
Conference and was encouraged by the college
advisors from Maine College of Art (MECA) who
really liked her style. In the summer Kelsey works at Beadnicks where she creates her art jewelry: six
bracelets in silver with a nature theme. Kelsey has
lived on the island her whole life. Her father’s family is from the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah.
She has two older brothers and a big extended
family on the Vineyard. Kelsey first participated in
MVYLI’s Beach Clean Up Project where she enjoyed learning about creativity and leadership.
She joined MVYLI’s College Field Trip to Boston.
She is excited about college and her future.
MVYLI Mentor Program
Martha’s Vineyard Youth Leadership Initiative
www.mvyli.org
Grace Burton-Sundman Organizational Psychology
Future Executive-Career Coach
Grace grew up on Martha’s Vineyard where she attended MVRHS and received a scholarship for
her community service. At St. Lawrence University
she majored in industrial and organizational psychology. Grace first utilized her industrial and
organizational psychology background to help
restructure a local advertising agency in Rwanda.
She facilitated workshops, introduced effective forms of communication, and fostered creativity
among all departments. Grace was then named
Project Manager for Visa, with an international financial literacy campaign in Kenya, Rwanda and
South Africa and the launch of Visa’s mobile
money, mVisa in Rwanda. Grace then worked with local designers and partnered with a New York-
based company to produce Kigali Fashion Week in
November 2013. With the team she taught skills
from proper finishing techniques to tailoring and sourcing quality materials, then effective social
marketing, strong business plans and official “look
books.” Kigali Fashion Week became the largest privately held function in Kigali, hosting over 700
spectators and reporters from CNN, BBC and The
Guardian. While in Rwanda Grace her love for
industrial and organizational psychology and helping others discover their passions, their talents
and their ability to achieve their dreams. A
sentiment she credits to the encouraging, compassionate community she grew up on Martha’s
Vineyard. In the summer of 2014 Grace returned to
to the Island to prepare for grad school, where she plans to complete her MBA and continue on her
path to becoming an executive and career coach.
Kristine Hopkins
Future Designer
Kristine Hopkins is a senior at MV Regional High
School. She aspires to do well in school and wants
to help others. Kristine is exploring a career in interior design or working with a magazine.
Kristine is a photo editor for the High School View,
and works on the MVRHS Yearbook Committee.
Last summer Kristine attended a graphic design
program at Savannah College of Art and Design. Last fall she participated in MVYLI’s College Prep
& Field Trip Program, visiting colleges in the
Boston area. She realized she wanted to explore a career that incorporates design and business.
Kristine served as a youth delegate for MVYLI’s
2013 & 2014 Youth Leadership Summits for
Sustainable Development. She joined the Business
& Entrepreneurship Group with Kassandra Castillo Cruz. Kristine participated in the 4th Annual Walter
Cronkite Awards Ceremony. As a MVYLI year-
round program, Kristine was involved with the MVYLI Multicultural Project. Kristine’s team is
currently producing a video to share with Vineyard
middle school students. An excerpt of Kristine’s essay is below. MV Times: Why is Multiculturism
Important to You on Martha’s Vineyard?
MVYLI Mentor Program
www.mvyli.org
Leslie Hurd Tully
Hurd Publishing
Leslie Hurd Tully is a publisher of international
entertainment, hospitality, dining and wedding magazines for two decades. She launched her
career in the early 1990s with Dining Out on
Martha’s Vineyard, deemed the “bible” to dining
out on the island. Leslie then branched out with dining and entertainment guides for Nantucket and
Cape Cod. Next came destination wedding
magazines for Martha’s Vineyard, Bermuda, U.S. Virgin Islands. Leslie also worked with acclaimed
producer Earl Lestz, former President of the Studio
Group at Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles. Lestz is presently the Master Planning Director of
Plymouth Rock Studios, a new film and television
studio being developed in Plymouth, MA. Leslie
was hand selected to publish Plymouth Rock
Studios Magazine, which told the story of the idea
for the studio and detailed the plans for its future.
Leslie carves out time for causes near and dear to
her heart. A staunch advocate against bullying,
Leslie is an active volunteer and fundraiser for the non-profit The Dream Believe Know It Foundation,
a nationally recognized anti-bullying program. And,
a passionate animal lover, Leslie works tirelessly
with Pets With Wings, a charity that finds families for homeless cats and dogs.
Leslie makes her in home on Martha’s Vineyard where she is married to Steve Tully, a well-
seasoned and widely popular jazz/blues musician.
The couple is parents to four children.
!
Lila Norris
Lila is a freshman at MV Regional High School. She is an outstanding student and takes all honors
classes. Lila is an active member of MVYLI’s
Mentor Program. Her dream is to learn several languages and travel. During her sophomore year
Lila wants to learn German and travel to Austria to
visit her family’s foreign exchange student. She also wants to become fluent in Spanish and travel to
Spanish speaking countries.
Lila is on the MVRHS Cross Country team. She
absolutely loves running races and has greatly
enjoyed cross-country this year in high school. This winter she is running on the indoor track and
field. In the spring she is excited about outdoor
track. Lila is an accomplished horsewoman. Last summer she worked at the Pond View Farm
Summer Camp teaching young riders and loved it.
For three years Lila has been honorary member of
MVYLI (thanks to her elder sister Lucy). She was
inspired by how young people in MVYLI learned how to find their path in life. Lila’s dream for the
world is to be a part of securing peace in countries
all over the world.
MVYLI’s Mentor Program
www.mvyli.org
Maisie Jarrell
Maisie Jarrell likes to make a positive impact on
people’s lives. She especially loves children. She
has great respect for her mother who provides respite care for little babies in foster care families.
She has a wide range of interests – from medicine
to the Peace Corps. She is also curious about event planning. For her first MVYLI mentor experience
Maisie explored the world of event planning. Her
most memorable event was her father and Scarlett’s
wedding where she was a flower girl. It was very well organized event for 300 people. The level of
detail to the decorations created a memorable
atmosphere. Maisie wants to help people bring their ideas into special memories.
Maisie was a youth delegate to MVYLI’s 2014
Youth Leadership Summit for Sustainable Development. A Junior at Martha’s Vineyard
Regional High School, Maisie takes all honors
classes and is consistently on the Honor Roll. She
has participated on the Cross Country and La Cross Teams and now plays tennis at the Youth Tennis
Center. She participated in the Peer Outreach – to
learn how to help people who are helping others. In the summer, Maisie worked at Suka’s in
Edgartown, and Art Cliff Diner. She likes the fast
paced environment. Maisie loves to travel, often to
New York City and New Jersey, and California and even Paris. She likes learning about other cultures,
outside of her comfort zone. Maisie is exploring
her options before applying to colleges next year.
Lucie Dougherty-Soares
Lucie likes to make an impact and help those in need,
and transform lives. She is exploring the idea of
becoming a sociologist. A MVRHS Junior, Lucie
takes all honors classes, and is consistently on the Honor Roll. Lucie has been a team player for
MVRHS Girl’s Lacrosse team; a member of MVRHS
Minnesingers and regular dance student since pre-K, where she competed in statewide dance competitions.
Lucie was elected by the West Tisbury faculty to
represent her school as an 8th grade service
ambassador with Governor Patrick’s Project 351, which opened her eyes to the idea of community
service, helping others, and making an impact on the
world. Lucie served as a youth delegate for MVYLI’s 2013 Youth Leadership Summit and as a
MVYLI Visioneer helped plan the 2014 Summit.
Lucie participated in the College Prep Program, hosted by Dr. James Wolff at Boston University’s
Department of International Health. For MVYLI’s
Job Shadow Day, she was matched with Barbara
MacDonald, Executive Director at the South East Neighborhood Housing in Boston where she saw her
work with pre-school, young adolescents and senior
citizens. Like Barbara Macdonald, Lucie is a renaissance young woman. Lucie plans to go to a 4-
year college and is open to new ideas and
opportunities. Lucie worked on the MVYLI’s Multicultural Sustainability Project, speaking with
MV middle school students. ““Like my mother, I’ve
lived on Martha’s Vineyard my whole life,” she says.
“Multiculturalism is especially meaningful and relevant to me as my father being an immigrant to
USA, (from another island, Santo Antão, Cape
Verde) I was exposed to my Cape Verdean cultural language, customs and family. It has always been
important and necessary to recognize and celebrate
that part of my own heritage. When I was 12, I was
fortunate to visit my father’s homeland.”
Jennifer Neary
CONNECT, MV Community Services
Jennifer E. Neary joined the Martha’s Vineyard
Community Services agency, specifically as a
Domestic Violence/Rape Crisis Counselor for CONNECT to end violence in July of 2011. Jennifer
re-located from Virginia to the Island at that time,
looking forward to being closer to family on the Island and in Rhode Island. Jennifer became
CONNECT’s Program Director in July of 2013.
Jennifer has been working in the human services field
for the past 9 years. Jennifer’s last employer was Cornerstone Youth Services, Inc. where she worked
as an Intake Supervisor, Intensive In-Home
Counselor and Mental Health Support Counselor. Jennifer was also working as a volunteer