Spark Newton’s September Board Meeting brought two new members to the board. They bring very different strengths but the same commitment to our community. One has spent years building places where Newton families gather. The other has spent more than a decade helping mission-driven organizations make every dollar count.
Marina Berga: Financial strength behind the mission
Marina joins the board as our new Assistant Treasurer. Most recently, she was Senior Accountant at Family ACCESS of Newton, where she provided strategic financial leadership for a $4M operating budget. Marina holds a Master of Science in Finance from Brandeis University and has more than a decade of nonprofit and financial accounting experience. She specializes in budget analysis, financial forecasting, and process automation, skills that will help Spark Newton plan wisely and put more resources toward arts and culture across the city.
Cedar Pruitt: Community builder, author, and poet
If you’ve cooled off at the Albemarle pools or watched your kids run through the splash pad, you’ve already seen Cedar’s work. As President & Founder of Friends of Albemarle, Cedar led a $20M capital improvement project that brought Newton its only outdoor pools and splash pad.
Cedar is also a lifelong poet and a published author of lyrical nonfiction for children. Cedar’s newest picture book, What Marcel Found: The Incredible Discovery of the Lascaux Cave Paintings, launches October 13 from Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster. It’s a story about how art can change the way we see the world, which fits right in at Spark Newton.
Meet Our Executive Board
Chair: Gloria Gavris
Vice Chair: Emily O’Neil (newly elected)
Treasurer: Mark Ravera (newly elected)
Assistant Treasurer: Marina Berga (newly elected)
Clerk: Janet Porcaro (newly elected)
Please join us in welcoming Cedar and Marina, congratulating our newly elected officers, and wishing Cedar a wonderful book launch!