Meet Our Team
2nd Act is a recovery-friendly workplace that fosters support, wellbeing and growth of individuals in recovery through a focus on harm reduction, prevention, and evidence-based practices. The majority of our staff, board and committees are either in recovery from a Substance Use Disorder or have lived experience with addiction either as a family member or close friend of someone with a Substance Use Disorder.
Executive Director
Ana Bess Moyer Bell, MA RDT
she/her
Ana Bess Moyer Bell, MA, RDT is the Executive Director for 2nd Act. She is a master's level clinician, drama therapist, and commissioned playwright. She specializes in treating: trauma, grief, and addiction. She has practiced and taught drama therapy nationally and internationally. She is on the advisory board at the Rhode Island Department of Health that created the medical regulations for the nation's first legal harm reduction centers. She is currently a senior advisor to RI Governor Daniel J. McKee on substance use, harm reduction, and recovery.
Chief Operations Officer
Karen Snyder
she/her
Karen Snyder is the Chief Operations Officer for 2nd Act. She grew up in Wooster, OH. In 2002, she received a B.A. in Theater from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA. Karen lived in Boston, MA for 14 years where she first worked with Improbable Players. After moving back to Ohio in 2017, she recognized the need for prevention and recovery theater due to the opioid epidemic and started the Cleveland chapter of Improbable Players in May 2018.
Program Manager
Ryan Beard
he/him
Ryan Beard is the Program Manager for 2nd Act. He began teaching drama and improvisational theater to youth a decade ago. He graduated from Arizona State University in 2012 with a degree in Theater Education and Communications. He has taught drama in schools and youth theaters to students from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds in Arizona, Washington and Massachusetts. He has worked as both a drama teacher and a high school technical theater director.
Development Consultant
Rebecca Harris
she/her
Becca Harris is a Development Consultant with 2nd Act. After a knee injury ended Becca's hopes of going pro (in culinary arts), Becca studied Event Planning and Hospitality Management at Southern New Hampshire University. After graduating, Becca began her non-profit career, working for various non-profits in the Greater Boston area before taking on her current role as an Implementation Consultant at Anthology, helping non-profits adopt new management tools. She also consults for non-profits on management and development, and has been a consultant with 2nd Act for 4 years.
Ohio Associate Director
Colleen Longshaw Jackson
she/her
Colleen Longshaw Jackson is the Associate Director for 2nd Act. She is currently the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for the City of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Colleen holds a BFA and MFA in acting from Kent State University and is a proud member of Actors Equity Association. Jackson is a Certified Trauma Professional, a certification she uses in conjunction with her theatre work to create inclusive and mindful artistic spaces.
Creative Production Manager
Cameron Torres
he/him
Cam Torres is an actor, playwright, director, and Arts Administrator. He has worked in theater and the arts in the Boston and Providence area for 10+ years. He played Sam in the first production of Four Legs to Stand On with COAAST in 2015, and then moved into directing and administrative roles with the organization. He was the artistic director for Deana’s Educational Theatre, an educational program about dating violence.
Development & Communications Coordinator
Ava Mascena
she/her
Ava Mascena is the Development and Communications Coordinator for 2nd Act. Ava graduated from Rhode Island College in 2017 with a BA in Theater and a concentration in musical theater performance. Ava first started working for COAAST (now 2nd Act) in 2019 as a Stage Manager, and joined the 2nd Act team in July of 2022. Along with working in theater as a stage manager, actor, singer and box office manager, she is a skilled potter and teaches pottery classes for children at Mudstone Studios in Warren.
Outreach Coordinator
Morgan Shumway
she/her
Morgan Shumway is the Outreach Coordinator for 2nd Act. She identifies as a healing arts advocate, performer, and cares about social and environmental justice. Morgan graduated from Miami University of Ohio, in 2019, with a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance. Morgan has been a Soprano Chorister for the choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Cleveland, Ohio, and has been with Improbable Players, and now 2nd Act, since January of 2020.
EJ Harris is the Grants Manager at 2nd Act. He's newly returned to the Greater Boston Area after stops in New Haven, Milwaukee, and Youngstown, OH. He studied theology and classics at Providence College, and met his wife, Catherine, while accidentally making fun of her shoes during a debate round. They became partners in debate, then in life, then in competitive axe throwing, a sport they continue to pursue. He has worked in law, politics, IT, non-profit development and a comics shop, but considers grant writing his best job yet.
Grants Manager
EJ Harris
he/him
Resident Drama Therapist
Amy Larson Lazier, RDT
she/her
Amy Larson Lazier, MA, RDT is the Resident Drama Therapist for 2nd Act. She earned her MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lesley University specializing in Drama Therapy. Amy is a part of the drama therapy department at 2nd Act; creating and running groups, focused on supporting people in recovery while they do their work to support others within the recovery community. Amy utilizes her role as a drama therapist to support actors, directors, and other members of 2nd Act.
SEL Drama Therapy Consultant
Carrie Watt, LCAT, RDT
she/her
Carrie Watt, LCAT, RDT is a Social-Emotional-Learning Drama Therapy Consultant for 2nd Act. Carrie has been working in the New York City Department of Education since 2014 bringing social-emotional learning tools to students and school communities. Carrie believes in the power of the arts to transform and through a clinical lens as a creative arts therapist offers youth a platform to share their voice and their stories.
Volunteer, Federal Grant Writing and Program Evaluations
Esther Fisk Ramsahai, MPH
she/her
Esther Fisk Ramsahai, MPH obtained her Master of Public Health from Liberty University in 2021, her concentration is in Health Promotion. She became a volunteer for 2nd Act for her practicum in late 2020, supporting us as we worked through the application requirements for a grant through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the U.S Department of Health & Human Services. She continues to volunteer for 2nd Act. She is also the Director of Innovation for OptumRx.
Website Volunteer
Sara Reiling
she/her
Sara Reiling is a website volunteer for 2nd Act. She grew up in Boston, MA and now lives in Washington, DC. Sara graduated from Davidson College in 2018 with a degree in anthropology. She has been volunteering with 2nd Act since November of 2021.
Website Designer
Elero Obaitan
he/him
Elero Obaitan trained as an Agricultural Engineer and upon graduation worked as a graphic artist, content developer and 2D/3D computer-aided designer. A chance encounter with the Python programming language led to an interest in a career in web development. He now works as a front-end developer and UI/UX designer in a mostly freelance and contract capacity.
Outreach & Social Media Intern
Unique Robinson
she/her
Unique Robinson is 2nd Act's Outreach & Social Media intern. She is a senior at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She is from Quincy, MA. Unique is a cat-lover, a Harry Potter expert and big fan of roller coasters. She is a a firm advocate for social justice efforts in minority communities.
Development Intern
Paggy Lin Patel
she/her
Paggy Lin Patel is 2nd Act's Development Intern. She is a senior at the University of Massachusetts of Dartmouth. Her internship is through the Community Based Work Study at the University of Massachusetts of Dartmouth. She grew up in New York and then moved to Massachusetts to make new friends. Her hobbies are gym, movie marathons, and food enthusiasts. She is also into volunteering for her community on campus to reach sustainability goals.
Our Cast
Our Board
Board Chair: Jessica Morrison (Newton, MA): Director of Development, Huntington Theatre Company; former Deputy Director of Development at the American Repertory Theater and Director of Development at Commonwealth Shakespeare. BFA, Boston University.
Board Vice Chair: Olivia Jenkins (Providence, RI): Recovery Housing Inspector with RICARES, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, community organizer, LGBTQ advocate, visual artist, performer.
Board Treasurer: Joe Kelleher (Newton, MA): Program Director, Hamilton House; supervisor for practicum students in the Addiction Counseling Certificate Program at UMass Boston, and business manager, The Gavin Foundation. BA in Psychology, College of the Holy Cross.
Board Clerk: Rachel Morgan (Harvard, MA): Early COAAST Outreach Coordinator; Human Factors Engineer at Eli Lilly and Co.; BS/MS in biomedical engineering; MS in systems engineering (Focus in human factors).
Joaquin Dos Reis (Cleveland Heights, OH): International Customer Service Supervisor, Moen International; former Program Manager of Global Executive Education, Cleveland Clinic.
Jennifer Johns (Twinsburg, OH): Executive Director at Academy of Medicine of Cleveland and Northern Ohio.
Roger Oser (Boston, MA): Principal, Ostiguy Recovery High School, Vice-Chair for the Association for Recovery Schools and Co-Chair of the Boston Youth Service Network. BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from The Citadel.
Khalil Saddiq (Chelsea, MA): Marine Corps veteran, Community Activist, Racial Equity Consultant, Life Coach, currently sits on a committee for the City of Boston to end city homelessness and is a passionate advocate for eliminating homelessness. Cambridge College BA Multidisciplinary Studies focused on early education.
Bradly Widener (Pawtucket, RI): Director of Service & Experience at Trinity Repertory Company, Teaching Artist, Actor, BFA from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).
Taylor Cacciola (Providence, RI): Co-Founder of Namra Consulting, Board Director of Central RI Chamber of Commerce, BA, Marketing + MBA from University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
Kate Kataja (Boston, MA): Board Relations Manager at GBH, former Assistant Director of Development for Trinity Repertory Company, former Artistic Associate at The Wilbury Theatre Group, former resident director at Burbage Theatre Company, BA in Theater from Emerson College, Arts Administration Graduate Certificate from NYU.
Committees
Governance Committee
Finance Committee
Development Committee
Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) Committee
Recovery-Friendly Workplace Committee