Staff

The Chief Executive Officer, Frank Ramirez manages the program’s contracts and grants supervises The Adult Education Coordinator, and leads program development and evaluation activities. Originally from Nicaragua, he is bilingual in Spanish and English and has an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University and two Bachelor of Science degrees. His career includes government, the administration of a literacy center in Attleboro, MA, healthcare, and human services. He has been with EBCC for 10 years.

Frank sits on the Board of Directors of the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center and has been on the Board of Directors of several non-profit institutions in Massachusetts, Florida, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. He is a current member of the Children Health Access Coalition – Health Care for All and has been a member of the National Association of Community Health Center, the Oklahoma Primary Care Association, and Branford County Community Health Network in New Hampshire. He was awarded by Morton Comprehensive Health Services and by the Oklahoma Primary Care Association. Was awarded as former Vice-President of the Merrimack Valley American Heart Association Chapter - Massachusetts, and awarded as a previous Board member of the New Hampshire Community Health Network, CHAN.

Marcella Maffeo-Robinson, Director of Adult Education, manages the ESOL department. Marcella has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts. Her duties include teaching the ESOL Latina I, two citizenship classes, and an evening basic English course. She is responsible for recruiting, administering pre/post-tests, developing curriculum, and maintaining student files. Marcella has 20 years of ESOL experience in both the US and Mexico. She received a special intensive Spanish certificate in Mexico where she studied core university classes in Spanish.

Luisa Chew, Director of Immigration Services, Luisa immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala in 1983. She attended the Guatemalan Commercial Institute where she earned the degree of Bilingual Secretary. In 1980 attended the San Carlos University of Guatemala, where she studied Psychology. She worked in human resources before coming to EBCC. She started as a receptionist and in 2003 she was given the position of Immigration Counselor, and in 2009 she was promoted to Immigration Coordinator. Luisa has been accredited by the Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Cotyia Ransom-Gomes, Cotyia is EBCC’s Accountant & Payroll Administrator. She maintains general ledger, prepares deposits, accounts payable, and accounts receivable transactions. In addition, she prepares monthly financial reports for the CEO and Board of Directors, plus assist with the annual audit. Cotyia has brought an extensive experience in bookkeeping, starting at EBCC as a part-time consultant providing bookkeeping services. She became a regular staff member of EBCC in June of 2024. Cotyia helped us to convert from a desk top accounting system to QuickBooks Online interconnecting different platforms, increasing accounting transaction efficiency. She also implemented a more accurate inventory control system. She is working to obtain a BS Degree in Accounting.

Ayanna Taffe is our new Coordinator of the Aspiring Youth program, and the Part-time ESL Techer Level III, Ayanna Tafe. Ayanna is responsible for the daily operation of the Youth center coordinating, developing, and implementing programs that integrate the resources, learning, and computer technology, into program activities. Ayanna possesses a master’s degree in teaching Secondary English, and Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University. During college, her coursework included five university level courses completed and passed in French at the Faculté des Lettres de Sorbonne Université. Ayanna has been and English Teacher at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School where she taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade English, and developed a curriculum for the entirety of the middle school English program. As an English Teacher for Hope High School she taught two English classes to 12th grade students for their third and their fourth quarters. She developed a curriculum and lesson plans. She has previously taught as an English Teacher and Translator at New Bridges for Haitian Success where she taught a biweekly English class. She developed lessons to prepare students for IELTS, and English naturalization exam. In addition, she assisted in translating documents from Haitian Creole and from French to English