Our Staff

Phenice became the Director of the Charlestown Coalition in April of 2023. She oversees the Charlestown Family Support Circle, a program designed to identify and intervene with at-risk youth and their families as well as improve the connection among Charlestown service providers to support local youth and families. Phenice came to the Charlestown Coalition from Youth Villages-Germaine Lawrence Campus in Arlington, where she was a Clinical Supervisor and Family Clinician working with at risk youth, adolescents, young children and their families. She also worked at the Department of Children and Family Services in Los Angeles, CA. Phenice received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Southern California.

Mswati is originally from upstate New York and currently lives in Chelsea with his wife and two sons. He has worked with youth in the Boston area for almost 20 years. Mswati would describe himself as being very driven, and a hardworking person who loves mentoring, motivating and inspiring young people. As the parent of 2 boys over the age of 18, Mswati understands the many challenges that youth growing up in an urban environment face today - especially youth of color. Through education, the arts, music, poetry, sports, film, theatre, civic engagement, social justice, and even the outdoors, Mswati has been able to expose these young people to a world that many of them had no idea existed, or was even accessible. He believes that education, and finding your passion, is the great equalizer when it comes to lifting one out of poverty, or any situation for that matter. That is his main goal at the Charlestown Coalition - To educate and empower Charlestown’s youth.

Mel is a Macro Social Worker devoted to social justice, intersectional feminism and contributing to a more equitable future for the LGBTQIA+ community. She was born and raised in Boston, but shares that the people of South End are what truly raised her. She credits her experience as an adolescent in youth work and development to be the core of who she is and who she strives to be. As the Community Resource Specialist, she will assist in coordinating the local resources through collaboration with partner organizations within Charlestown. In addition to resource coordination, Mel will be utilizing her experience in government policy to source grant funding and inform local legislation through community partnerships. Mel graduated from Wheelock College with a Bachelors of Social Work and Juvenile Justice and earned a Masters of Social Work at Bridgewater State University.