IMPACT Staff

Meg Stone (she/her) is the Executive Director of IMPACT and the Project Director of Ability:IMPACT. Meg has led IMPACT since 2005 and in that time she has led the development of abuse prevention and safety training programs for schools, homeless shelters, rape crisis centers, disability service agencies and domestic violence organizations. Meg’s writing about abuse-related issues has been published in the Washington Post, Ms., WBUR’s Cognoscenti, the Huffington Post, and the Patriot Ledger. Meg loves musicals and knows the words to a surprising number of show tunes.

Shay Orent (she/her) is a Training Manager at IMPACT and Lead Instructor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Gender & Women’s Studies from a small women’s college, and is thrilled to be using her degree to help people question and confront the power structures that hold us back. She particularly enjoys helping young people build skills that will lead them towards healthier relationships/sexual encounters through IMPACT’s teen self-defense classes. Prior to IMPACT, she was a volleyball coach and a volunteer rape crisis counselor. She enjoys traveling to places where she can practice her Spanish, teaching her cat silly tricks, and proving herself in ping pong matches.

Jeanine Woods (she/her) is the Disability Justice Initiatives Manager at IMPACT. She teaches the Peer IMPACT program as well as Safety & Self-Advocacy, Abuse Reporting & Response, Healthy Relationships & Sexuality Education, and Internet Safety. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She has previously worked and volunteered in community organizations, healthcare organizations, classrooms, and as a government employee. Jeanine is committed to improving the lives of people with disabilities through education and helping connect them to resources. Jeanine has presented as Jane Doe Prevention speaker in 2017 and co-hosted Triangle’s 42nd Annual Gala in 2013.

Josh Alba (he/him) is the Community Engagement Manager at IMPACT. Josh started as a per diem Suited Instructor in 2018, becoming a full-time Program Coordinator in 2022 before moving into his current position. He’s a long-time community organizer on several issues including education, reproductive and economic justice issues. He enjoys working with IMPACT students and encouraging them to take space, prioritize their safety, and stand up for what they believe in.

B Whitney (they/them) is a Program Coordinator and Lead Instructor at IMPACT. B comes to IMPACT after 30 years in professional theater and arts education. B has directed, devised, performed, puppeteered, production managed, and taught at a variety of theaters, educational institutions, and just random places around the world. B is thrilled to be part of the team at IMPACT to continue their practice of teaching and learning for the empowerment of every individual. Also, B loves making fantastical creatures out of paper and cardboard and will pounce on any opportunity to share photos/videos of small animals doing cute things and cute animals doing small things.

Alicia Ortiz (pronounced a.LEE.cee.a) (she/her) is a Program Coordinator and Lead Instructor at IMPACT. With a sociology and community organizing background, Alicia has led campaigns for queer and transgender equality, workers’ rights, immigration reform, reproductive justice, and racial equity. She loves facilitating conversations on healthy relationships, sex education, assertiveness, and boundaries. Alicia is also a professional singer who uses music as a vehicle for uplifting people and inspiring social action. She encourages everyone to access their inner voice, literally and figuratively.

Katiana Gordon (she/her) is a Youth Educator at IMPACT. She teaches the Peer IMPACT program at the Henderson K-12 Inclusion School and the yearlong Ability:IMPACT program at both the Henderson and CASH. Previously with the Peer IMPACT program, Katiana was a Peer Trainer and Peer Leader teaching 5th grade students and training new Peer Leaders. She graduated in 2017 from the Henderson K-12 Inclusion school with a certificate of completion, and in 2020 she completed the Transition Program at the Henderson as well. She has presented at both the National Sexual Assault Conference and The Massachusetts Council for Exceptional Children Conference. She loves to write, dance, and shop.

Amanda Reyome (she/her) is a per diem Lead Instructor at IMPACT. In her daily work, she specializes in Trauma Recovery Mental Health Counseling. Amanda trained at Boston College and did her pre-masters Clinical experience at the Mental Health Association of Greater Lowell. She now sees individuals of all ages at Mattapan Community Health Center and helps them process through experiences of trauma and improve overall mental health. She began involvement with IMPACT in 2016 after attending a workshop at the JRI Trauma Conference and feeling very motivated and driven by the idea of healing trauma even more deeply by building a sense of safety and power within our own bodies.

William Lau (he/him) has been a per diem suited instructor since 2022. He studied counseling psychology at Johnson and Wales University in Providence and has worked as a volleyball coach for Boston Latin Academy and Fisher College. He enjoys getting to witness and be a part of each student’s journey in our classes and the progress they make by the end of class.

Aaron Grossman (he/him) is a per diem Suited Instructor at IMPACT. In addition to his work with IMPACT, he leads the Boston chapter of the Pink Pistols – an organization that advocates for self defense rights within sexual minority communities – and runs a design and engineering consultancy. He cherishes all these roles for the opportunity to help people learn to overcome problems.

Lindsay Orchowski (she/her) is a per diem Lead Instructor at IMPACT. She is a clinical psychologist and a researcher in the Medical School at Brown University. Her work focuses on supporting survivors of trauma and developing evidence-based sexual assault prevention approaches. She believes that empowerment self-defense is a way that we can foster both personal and societal change.

Autumn Buhl (she/her) is a per diem Lead Instructor at IMPACT. She began working with IMPACT in 2023 as a way to engage further with her passion for trauma sensitive movement and sexual violence prevention. At her day job she uses her training as a Certified Peer Specialist and Trauma Center-Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator to support young adults struggling with trauma and mental health concerns. When she isn’t working, Autumn enjoys beachcombing, taking circus classes, and curling up for a nap with her cat.

Alexander Nakhnikian (they/them) is a Program Coordinator and Suited Instructor at IMPACT. They graduated from Indiana University with doctorates in neuroscience and cognitive science and spent several years as a scientific professional before joining the IMPACT team. They are a life-long martial artist with extensive experience teaching self-defense, de-escalation, and dynamic decision making in trauma-informed spaces. In addition, Alexander is a long-time grassroots organizer and transformative justice practitioner with a focus on empowering communities through non-hierarchical skill sharing including violence prevention, internet safety, and privacy. When they aren’t teaching, they work as a freelance statistical programmer and data analysis consultant. They also love to cook – especially Sichuan food and their ancestral Armenian cooking – as well as play with their cats and their friends’ dachshund.