Sarah Cloud | Chair Sarah is a consultant to Beth Israel Deaconess in Plymouth, author of the Mama Paca children's book series on the disease of addiction, and the founder of Illuminate You Counseling. Utilizing her MBA and an MSW, she has been instrumental in creating and contributing to numerous successful community collaborations to improve services and programs for a range of substance use and health services. Sarah has been a key partner in the development of the Boston Bulldogs South Shore chapter.
Marcia Fowler | Treasurer Marcia Fowler, former Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, and retired CEO of Bournewood Health Systems which provides inpatient and outpatient psychiatric and chemical dependency treatment for adults and adolescents. Marcia has extensive background and expertise in clinical programs and human service management in both the public and private sectors, including more than 18 years of service with DMH.
A lawyer and a clinician, Marcia is a committed advocate for adults, children, adolescents and families whose lives are affected by serious mental illness, emotional disturbance and chemical dependency. Her work in the human services sector includes experience in direct care and supervisory roles with agencies and organizations such as the Department of Developmental Disabilities, Fernald State School, New England Home for Little Wanderers, Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, the Foundation for Children with AIDS, and Polaris Healthcare Services. In 2018, upon completion of the Tokyo Marathon, Marcia joined the World Marathon Majors 6 Star Finishers Hall of Fame.
Jim Sullivan | Clerk Jim is an attorney and the managing director of Sullivan Properties, a Boston-based commercial real estate company that has developed several commercial buildings in downtown Boston and the surrounding areas. Earlier in his career, through the Massachusetts Committee For Public Counsel, Jim provided legal representation for those unable to afford an attorney in criminal, delinquency, youthful offender, child welfare and mental health cases. More recently Jim helped to fund and establish a new program at Saint Francis House to help transition the homeless to self sufficiency.
Bruce Apotheker| Director Bruce Apotheker is retired Commander of the Community Services Bureau and Civil Rights Officer for the Newton Police Department. A results driven leader, Bruce has a proven track record forging partnerships with government, schools, business organizations and citizens of the community. A graduate of Boston College, Bruce brings his expertise in building relationships, communications and problem-solving to the Boston Bulldogs. He is involved with Newton Cares, Newton Partnership, the Newton Mayor's Crime Commission and the Newton Human Rights Commission.
Catharina Armstrong,MD | Director Catharina Armstrong MD/MPH is Associate Director of the Newton-Wellesley Hospital Substance Use Services. Dr. Armstrong graduated from University College Dublin School of Medicine. She completed Internal Medicine residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Armstrong was awarded a Masters in Public Health from Harvard Medical School in 2015.
She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Addiction Medicine and is an Assistant Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. Her clinical and research interests are in prevention and management strategies to support high risk groups with infectious diseases, particularly co-infection with Hepatitis B and C and HIV.
Julio Cortes del Olmo | Director Julio is the principal immigration attorney at Del Olmo Law PC in Brookline, MA. Julio has been representing asylum seekers, minors, juveniles, LGBTQ and other vulnerable immigrants since 2013. He serves as liaison with the Boston Immigration Court on the New England chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and volunteers with pro-immigrant nonprofits, including the PAIR Project, KIND, and Immigration Equality.
Michael Ferullo | Founder | Emeritus Director Michael Ferullo is the founder of the Boston Bulldogs Running Club. The “Coach” as he is known to members of the Club, is a clinical social worker with a Masters Degree from the Boston College School of Social Work, spent many years working with staff and students in public and private school systems and treats individuals and families with a specialty in treating addictions in his private practice in Brookline MA.
In the course of his recovery some 40 years ago, Michael found solace and wellness in running. He has been a runner ever since and is dedicated to the idea that through self-leadership and community, and through a commitment to wellness we can all find the “kind-hearted warrior within”. “Coach” Mike has been recognized by the New England Patriots as a “Difference Maker” and by the Celtics as a “Hero Among us” and received the Community Champion Award from the Italian Home for Children.
Thomas Heins | Director Thomas has been in the sound control industry since 2001, holding roles ranging from Project Manager to Director. He currently works at QuietStar Industries, the Northeast’s leading provider of turn-key sound-control solutions. Thomas lives in Belmont with his wife Dana and Puppy Molly Malone.
Thomas has been running with the Boston Bulldogs, Chestnut Hill Chapter, since September 2022.
Shelley Isaacson | Director A marketing professional with experience in the public and private sectors, Shelley has an MBA from Boston University and brings her extensive strategic planning, program management and marketing skills to the Bulldogs.
Coleman Mark | Director Coleman Mark is a Partner in the Boston office of Bain & Company, a leading global strategy consulting firm that provides advice to public, private, and non-profit organizations. He joined Bain in 2000 and works in the Retail and Private Equity practice areas. Coleman brings deep expertise in strategy development and organizational management to the Bulldogs Board.
Coleman runs with the Bulldogs from The Res at Cleveland Circle and has been an active club member since 2019. He also serves on the Board of the Brookline Basketball Association and coaches middle school basketball. Coleman graduated from the University of Michigan and from Harvard Business School. He lives in Brookline with his wife, two teenagers, and two poorly-behaved dogs.
Anna McKeown | Director Anna McKeown is the Executive Director of Dreamfar High School Marathon and a small group literacy teacher in Newton. Ultimately, it was the confluence of her life experiences in combination with marathon running that became the catalysts for her graduate studies at Springfield College. With this in mind, she seeks to create opportunities for connectedness by identifying communities of teens with fewer opportunities to participate in after school activities, those where there may be misperceptions of what it means to be an athlete, and to eliminate barriers to sport.
Having experienced the transformational power of running, Anna continues to train for distance events as an individual, and as a mentor. Since 2010 she has completed 16 marathons including three Boston time qualifiers, and two Boston Marathons with Dreamfar seniors. As an active member of the running community in her Hyde Park neighborhood, she is working with local stakeholders to identify pathways to improve access to wellness activities and lifetime sport for youth attending those high schools as a way to build community.
Ximena Sanchez-Samper, MD| Director A board-certified addiction psychiatrist at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Dr. Sanchez-Samper trained at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and completed her addictions fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2004. Dr. Sanchez-Samper is a former instructor at Harvard Medical School and enjoys lecturing nationwide on substance use disorder identification, diagnosis, and treatment.
After working with adolescents and young adults (and their families) with substance use disorders at Children’s Hospital Boston for many years, she transferred to McLean Hospital where she was the medical director at one of one of their residential programs. She is currently Chief Medical Officer at Charles River Recovery.
Ted Wayman | Director Ted is a reporter for WCVB Channel 5's award winning NewsCenter 5 team. He is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has covered an array of stories in the Boston market for two decades. From the hunt for Whitey Bulger, the John F. Kennedy Jr. plane crash, the September 11 attacks, to the many Boston professional sports team championship runs, Ted has covered it all.
Ted is a Boston University graduate with a degree in Journalism. He lives in the Boston area with his family. In 2022, WCVB profiled Ted for his time in recovery; he is incredibly passionate about helping others stay clean and sober. Ted just celebrated 33 years of continuous sobriety.
STAFF
Jim Keane | Executive Director Jim has decades of experience passionately leading non-profit organizations. His personal, academic and professional focus has centered on the importance of creating community. He holds a BA from Iona College, an MA in administration from Emmanuel College, an MDiv from Yale, and a PhD in social ethics and theology from Marquette University. The founder of several service organizations, Jim also served for years as Board Chair of the NGO International Partners in Mission and chaired the Alumni Advancement Committee for Yale Divinity School. He is currently a delegate to the Yale University Board of Governors. Jim's achievements speak volumes about his capacity to drive transformative change -- his innovative thinking, collaborative approach, and dedication to our mission align perfectly with our goals for the future. A work-out and wellness enthusiast, he is a former high school cross-country coach and distance runner who completed the Boston Marathon three times. Jim and his wife Eileen have been married for 32 years and are the proud parents of three grown children.
Meaghan Langlois | Director of Programs and Outreach Meaghan has served in a variety of leadership capacities with the Boston Bulldogs - Leadership Coordinator, Quincy Chapter Leader, Marathon Team Captain and Boston Bulldog Leader and is currently serving as the first official Director of Programs and Outreach for the Club! She has been with the Boston Bulldogs from the beginning, joining just after the Bulldogs formed. She and Coach Mike Ferullo quickly formed a bond and Meaghan found something to keep her motivated, sober, and inspire others to do the same. According to Meaghan "there is nothing like watching the members finding their true potential!" Meaghan is the go-to for many Boston Bulldogs, helped get the Full Circle and Leadership Programs off the ground and is a pillar of the Bulldogs community.
AMBASSADORS
Ambassadors are supporters of the Boston Bulldogs Running Club mission who represent and promote the Boston Bulldogs in their communities, provide advice and guidance to the Club's leadership, and support the Club’s strategic objectives.
Jack Fultz Jack Fultz won the 1976 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:20:19. The temperature was nearly 100 degrees at the noon start time. Fultz qualified for three consecutive United States Olympic Trials marathons in 1972, 1976, and 1980 and set his personal best marathon of 2:11:17 at the 1978 Boston Marathon. Jack recently retired after 27 years as adjunct instructor of Sport Psychology at Tufts University.
Presently he is a fitness consultant, personal coach, and is Training Advisor and consultant to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Marathon and Running Programs.
Juliette Goldstein A certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Juliette is a graduate of Miami University with a BS in Finance and Accounting. Juliette has an MBA from the University of Chicago and began her career at Bank of America in the High Yield Origination group. More recently Juliette has devoted herself to her strength and conditioning business working principally with individuals over 40 and individuals with traumatic brain injury, chronic injuries that prevent full range of motion, developmentally delayed adults, and those new to weight training. She has also provided guidance to a number of non profits in the Chicago area including PACTT Learning Center (2015) - as a Pro Bono Board Consultant and Rogers Park Montessori School as Diversity Committee Chair, and Board Member.
Lori Griffiths A graduate of NYU in 1972 with a BS in Education, Lori taught school in NYC and organized community outreach to strengthen school-child-home partnerships. She later developed an aftercare program for Levine Chapels, a large funeral home in Brookline where she developed an expansive bereavement program to reach to families who have suffered loss, including self help groups for widows , encouraging those who were suffering from the sadness of grief to reach to others for support and friendship.
With her late wife, Lori raised four children in Brookline. The Bulldogs have brought love, support and hope to her family. "My love for the club runs deep."
Michael Papile Michael is a Managing Director at Covington Associates LLC, a specialty investment banking firm based in Boston. He has an undergraduate degree from Villanova University and an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Italian Home for Children and most recently served as Board Chair. In his work at Covington he has advised numerous behavioral health organizations including several that treat substance use disorders. Michael is a casual runner and while it does not come easy to him, the therapeutic benefits of running have had a profound impact on his well being.
Sarah Perry Sarah has over 30 years of experience in leading mission-based organizations and consulting to companies and nonprofits in the areas of strategic planning, donor relations and development, organizational growth, capacity building, outcomes measurement, grant writing, and board governance, among others. Sarah chairs the Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse Council at Newton Wellesley Hospital, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Boston Athenaeum, the Anti-Defamation League of NE, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), and on numerous Advisory Boards. Sarah has a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. She has been a proud Bulldog member for over 3 years and an avid runner for over 40.
Becca Pizzi is an American marathon runner from Belmont, Massachusetts. She is the first American woman to complete the World Marathon Challenge, a series of seven marathons on seven continents in seven consecutive days, for which she holds the current record. She finished each race well ahead of all the other four women runners, and ahead of nine of the eleven men competitors.
Becca started running at age six with her father, ran her first race that year and her first Boston Marathon at age seventeen. She had run it fifteen times by 2015, as well as 45 marathons in 27 states. After college, she started the Belmont Track Club.
John Ratey, MD iAssociate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an internationally recognized expert in Neuropsychiatry, Dr. Ratey has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles, and 11 books published in 17 languages, including the groundbreaking ADHD “Driven to Distraction” series with Ned Hallowell, MD. With the publication of "Spark:The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain", Dr. Ratey has established himself as one of the world's foremost authorities on the brain-fitness connection. His most recent book, “Go Wild”, explores how we can achieve optimal physical and mental health by getting in touch with our caveman roots, and how we can “re-wild” our lives. His non-profit, Sparking Life, promotes exercise in the treatment of mental health problems.
Bill Rodgers William Henry Rodgers is an American Olympian and former record holder in the marathon. Rodgers is best known for his four victories in both the Boston Marathon, including three straight (1978-1980) and the New York City Marathon between 1976 and 1980.
Steve Whalen Managing Partner and Founder of City Realty, an innovative, community-focused real estate services company serving greater Boston since 2004. City Realty is committed to being a thoughtful partner in the community, preserving the strengths of a neighborhood while investing in its future. City Group's outreach efforts include a comprehensive children’s enrichment program called “City Kids.” The program gives hundreds of laptop computers and backpacks to local schools and their students each year, sponsors skateboarding and arts events, playground cleanings and restorations, a summer jobs program, and field trips to expose local teens to experiences they may not otherwise have.
Paul White Paul is currently Co-chair for the mental health program and Program Chair for the alcohol and drug counseling programs in the Cambridge College graduate School of Psychology and Counseling. He also teaches several courses in the program. As a licensed mental health counselor and certified addictions recovery coach Paul has years of experience working with individuals and families in schools, community and non-profit agencies. He brings expertise in working with a wide range of populations and deep knowledge of substance use disorder.
Lisa Yarussi Lisa is a results-oriented human resources leader with proven success in organizational change, performance management, employee engagement and effective communication strategies. Passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and building partnerships that influence people and culture. Committed to developing talent and ensuring all voices are heard as diversity of thought drives innovation and success. Committed to the mission of the Bulldogs as the struggle with addiction has impacted family and friends. A fan of the Coach and his impactful message in guiding us all through our own wellness journeys.