New Futures Policy + Advocacy Conference: Speaking Up for What Matters

Michele Merritt leads New Futures with a clear mission: creating real, lasting change for New Hampshire's children and families. As President, she sets the organization's strategic direction alongside its Board of Directors, and drives its work forward by building partnerships, securing resources, and fostering innovation across every level of the organization. Michele has been with New Futures for 12 years, and her deep, long-standing investment in the organization's mission shows in everything she does.

Prior to becoming President, Michele served as New Futures' Senior Vice President, leading the organization's expansion into health and early childhood policy and providing leadership on access to treatment priorities. She is especially known for her ability to bring people together, connecting New Futures with public and nonprofit partners around shared priorities, from expanding public funding for treatment services to improving access to community-based supports for New Hampshire families. Her leadership reflects what this conference is all about: showing up, building relationships, and speaking up for what matters.

Michele holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master's in Public Administration from Clark University, and a Juris Doctor from Penn State's Dickinson School of Law. In 2022, she was named to the Union Leader's 40 Under 40 list for her contributions to making New Hampshire a better place to work and live.

Jake helps to direct New Futures’ policy and advocacy efforts, providing support and guidance to its Policy, Community Engagement, and Communications teams. He leads the organization’s Substance Use Disorder policy portfolio, and helps to ensure that lawmakers, partners, advocates, and the public are informed and engaged in all of New Futures’ core issues.

Prior to joining New Futures, Jake served as District Director for U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster in New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District. In this role, Jake oversaw the daily operations and strategic planning of Congresswoman Kuster’s New Hampshire offices. He also worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers throughout New Hampshire and across New England, including the Nashua Telegraph, the Cape Cod Times, the Keene Sentinel, and others.  

As a Granite State native, Jake attended Manchester public schools. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Sociology from Boston College and received a Master’s in Educational Studies from Southern New Hampshire University.

Jake currently serves as Secretary (and past President) of the Board of Directors of Temple Adath Yeshurun in Manchester. He has previously served on the boards of the Friends of N.H. Drug Courts, the Moore Center, Best Buddies New Hampshire, and the New Hampshire Press Association. 

In his spare time, Jake enjoys traveling, BC sports, and the music of Bruce Springsteen. He lives in Manchester with his wife, Anna; their twin boys, Evan and Jonah; and their dog, Maizey the Corgi.

Kate Frey is the Vice President of Advocacy at New Futures, where she directs and manages the organization's advocacy efforts and leads its public health and regulation of addictive products portfolios. Her work centers on prevention-focused policy and the regulation of addictive products, including alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and prescription drugs, and she regularly tracks, analyzes, and synthesizes policy, budgetary, and legislative proposals shaping public health in New Hampshire.

Kate also brings deep budget expertise to her role, analyzing state revenue from the sale of addictive products to help ensure adequate funding for substance misuse prevention, treatment, and recovery, and working directly with policymakers and stakeholders to shape spending priorities. Prior to New Futures, Kate had a 20-year career with the State of New Hampshire, including roles as Executive Director of the NH Commission on the Status of Women and Legislative Liaison/Policy Administrator in the Division of Public Health Services.

Kate holds a degree in Social Science from St. Bonaventure University. In her free time, she enjoys paddleboarding in the summer, skiing in the winter, and spending time with her husband and two daughters.

Martha McLeod is the Vice President of Community Engagement. In this role, she leads New Futures' efforts to recruit, train, engage, empower and mobile grassroots individuals and organizations in support of policy issues. 

Prior to this, Martha served New Futures as the community engagement coordinator for the NH Alliance for Healthy Aging (AHA). In her role as VP, she continues to work to engage, train, and mobilize older adults in advocacy efforts to improve healthy aging in New Hampshire.

Martha came to New Futures after a 30-year career in community and public health, which included serving as the Executive Director of a rural health network, as a nutrition consultant in the Division of Public Health Services at the NH Department of Health and Human Services, and working directly with young parents providing nutrition education in a community food program. Most recently, she has worked as a consultant providing project management, grant writing, and other services to not for profit organizations and a government agency.

Martha was elected to the NH General Court as a state representative for two terms and served on the Commerce and Finance Committees. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences and her Masters in Occupational Education with a concentration in Adult Education from the University of New Hampshire.

After raising her family in the seacoast community of Portsmouth, Martha returned to her native north country home in Franconia where she enjoys hiking and skiing. She and her husband have two grown daughters and four grandchildren.

Rebecca manages the organization’s policy efforts, providing expertise and management in early childhood, children’s behavioral health, healthy aging, and health care policy, among other issue areas. Her role includes tracking critical legislation and ensuring that lawmakers, advocates, and the public are well-informed about New Futures’ core issues.

Prior to entering into this role, Rebecca worked in private practice focusing on civil litigation and family law.  Her experience working directly with clients lead her to seek out policy work to help improve the lives of New Hampshire families on a greater scale. Rebecca received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Southern New Hampshire University in 2008 and her Juris Doctor from the University of New Hampshire School of Law in 2011. 

As a life-long resident, Rebecca has a deep love for New Hampshire and is eager for the opportunity to use her legal skills to help advance policies that will positively impact her home state. In her free time, Rebecca can be found exploring the White Mountains with her family and two dogs.

As Vice President of Communications at New Futures, Sammi Chickering leads the charge in helping New Hampshire policymakers, advocates, and communities understand what's at stake, and why it matters. She oversees the Communications team and all organizational and policy communications, shaping how New Futures shows up across its website, in the press, and on social media, with a focus on the organization's early childhood, public health, and regulation of addictive products portfolios.

Sammi got the bug for this work at her first nonprofit job as , where she helped bring a complex policy issue to life through storytelling, social media, and even a podcast. Prior to ROC USA, Sammi worked in collegiate athletics communications for eight years with stops at Norwich University, Anna Maria College, and New England College.

Sammi holds both a Bachelor of Science in sport management and a Master of Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University. A New Hampshire native, Sammi lives in Concord with her husband and son. In her free time she enjoys exploring the state, reading, and serving as the volunteer website administrator for the New Boston Rail Trail.

As New Futures’ Senior Policy Director for Children’s Behavioral Health, Emma works to support and strengthen a comprehensive and integrated System of Care for children and youth. In addition, her role includes growing and developing New Futures’ legal fellowship program.

Before coming to New Futures, Emma practiced estate planning and family law. She enjoyed working with families to solve problems that they were facing. In her role as an attorney, Emma frequently helped clients navigate social services outside of the court system, and she worked to simplify this complex system for families in need. Emma also serves on the board of the Humane Society for Greater Nashua, where she has learned more about how non-profits advocate for community members on a broader scale.

Emma graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Law from Plymouth State University and graduated with her Juris Doctor from the University of New Hampshire School of Law. Emma is originally from Connecticut, but she fell in love with New Hampshire while she attended school and decided to stay permanently. In her free time, Emma enjoys baking, reading, and spending time with her family and two dogs.

Trina serves as the Early Care and Education Policy Director at New Futures. She leads and supports state policy to expand access and affordability to quality early learning opportunities for all New Hampshire children.

Trina previously served as Chief Attorney for the New England Region of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, where she coordinated with national enforcement leaders to develop agency policy and public information initiatives. She also has previous experience as a Law Clerk for the New Hampshire Superior Court. Trina earned a JD from Boston College Law School and a master’s degree in education law from UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law. She is currently pursuing a Master of Social Work at the University of Illinois.

Born in the Western United States and raised in the Midwest, Trina has called New Hampshire home for over 20 years. She enjoys photography and exploring the outdoors, spending her free time camping, hiking, and fishing. She is also an avid traveler – she’s visited more than 40 states in the U.S. and five continents!

As the Health Care Policy Director at New Futures, Sam Burgess leads and supports policy efforts to increase access to affordable health care for all New Hampshire residents.

Sam brings a law degree from Cornell Law School along with legal experience to his role. Prior to joining New Futures, Sam worked as a Federal Law Clerk with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Most recently, he served as the Assistant Attorney General with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

When he’s not working to improve health care policy, Sam can likely be found outdoors. His hobbies include hiking, skiing, biking, sitting on the beach, playing board games, and watching New England sports teams through the highs and the lows. Sam lives in Concord with his wife, their two boys, and their dog Poppy.

Peter Ntourntourekas serves as Training Manager at New Futures, where he leads the work of engaging, mobilizing, and training individuals and organizations advocating for a healthier New Hampshire. He brings a grounded, people-first approach to advocacy training, helping everyday advocates, from first-timers to seasoned voices, build the skills and confidence to take meaningful action on the issues they care about.

Peter holds a BA in English from Plymouth State University. His path to advocacy work is shaped by a range of experience, including hands-on volunteer work with Get Out the Vote efforts, campaign canvassing, and community organizing at events like Pride, giving him a firsthand understanding of what it takes to mobilize people around a cause.

Outside of work, Peter is an amateur guitar player, a longtime tabletop gamer, and an aspiring cook who grew up in family restaurants and sees cooking as a way to share culture and show love.

As Communications Director at New Futures, Michaela develops strategic campaigns that educate and mobilize Granite Staters on issues impacting healthy aging and health care access, turning policy that can feel dense into stories people actually connect with. She manages print and development communications, oversees social media, and maintains the organization's website, always looking for ways to make complicated issues feel human and approachable. For Michaela, communications that drive action is about finding the story underneath the policy.

Michaela holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Colby College. Born and raised in the Monadnock region, she has a deep love for New Hampshire and the well-being of its residents. In her free time, she enjoys exploring playgrounds with her husband and two kids, training for obstacle-course races, and volunteering as a Family Heart Ambassador for the Family Heart Foundation, a nonprofit organization saving generations of families from heart disease through timely identification and improved care of familial hypercholesterolemia and elevated lipoprotein(a).

Lauren Martin supports New Futures’ community engagement team as a community engagement coordinator. Her work focuses on the issue area of early childhood care and education.

Lauren has a master’s degree in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and a bachelor’s degree in Pre-Veterinary Science with a minor in Psychology from UMass Amherst. Complimenting her academics, Lauren served as Animal Advocacy Intern at the MSPCA in Boston, where she worked on animal welfare policy initiatives. She also has previous experience as a substitute teacher in Amherst, NH.

Originally from Massachusetts, Lauren now calls the Granite State home. She enjoys spending her free time reading, knitting, hiking, and volunteering at the Animal Rescue League of NH, where she cares for cats. She also serves as Secretary of the Executive Committee for the New Hampshire Afterschool Network, the statewide organization dedicated to strengthening afterschool and summer learning opportunities. She centers her time around her family, friends, and her pets: four cats, a dog, and two guinea pigs.

Sarah Cain is New Futures’ community engagement coordinator focusing on the issue areas of public health and regulation of addictive products. In this role, she engages, mobilizes, and trains individuals and organizations to advocate for state policies that support New Hampshire’s public health system and prevention-based state regulations.

Sarah earned a Bachelor of Arts from Stonehill College in 2024, majoring in Gender and Sexuality with minors in Communication and American Studies. During her internship at Raising Multicultural Kids, a nonprofit organization in Easton, Massachusetts, she developed lesson plans to teach children about gender diversity. On campus, she also advocated for mandatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) courses and for the creation of supportive spaces for queer and BIPOC students through the college’s Center for Gender Equity and through leading the Hip-hop and Step Team.

Growing up as a Girl Scout, Sarah often volunteered in her local community at homeless shelters and schools, which developed her passion for supporting her community. In her free time, she can be found dancing, exploring music of all genres, gaming, or enjoying the outdoors through swimming or paddleboarding.

Wendy Chase is a Community Engagement Coordinator at New Futures, where she focuses on children’s behavioral health and health care access.

A seventh-generation Granite Stater, Wendy grew up on North Beach in Hampton, NH. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability’s , where she later returned as a group leader and policy facilitator.

Wendy served two terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, where she was a member of the Judiciary Committee. In 2021, she was honored by the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities with the award for her dedicated legislative support and sponsorship of supported decision-making as an alternative to guardianship. She is also a member of the Disability Rights Center’s Supported Decision-Making Task Force.

In addition to her role at New Futures, Wendy serves on the Board of Directors for Lakes Region Mental Health Center and ABLE NH. She recently completed her second term as a civics and policy facilitator for the NH Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) at Manchester Community College.

Wendy is the mother of a grown son, a daughter-in-law, and proud grandmother to two beautiful granddaughters. Her daughter, Erin, passed away in 2018 due to long-term complications from childhood cancer. Diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma at two and a half, Erin became physically disabled at age three following the removal of her right hip and radiation to her lower spine.

Motivated by her daughter’s life and legacy, Wendy is committed to advocacy that improves the lives of children and families across New Hampshire.

Dr. Steven Chapman is a general pediatrician at Dartmouth Health Children's and a member of New Futures' Board of Directors. He serves as Medical Director of both the Northern New England Advocacy Collaborative (NNEAC) and the Boyle Residency Program, and has dedicated his career to pediatric primary care, with a special focus on oral health, recovery-friendly pediatric care, and adolescent substance misuse prevention.

Dr. Chapman demonstrates his commitment to advocacy by co-hosting the annual Pediatric Residents Advocacy Day, where he helps cultivate the next generation of health and wellness policy advocates among his residents. His work was further recognized when he received New Futures' Jennifer Wierwille Norton Advocacy in Action Award in 2022 for his exceptional efforts to support the health of children and families throughout New Hampshire.

Dr. Chapman will moderate the Advocate Panel, bringing his own experience as a physician, researcher, and advocate to guide a conversation on why speaking up for New Hampshire's kids and families matters.

Since losing her son Matthew in 2021, Katie Lyon-Pingree has become a powerful advocate for strengthening New Hampshire's children's mental health system. She has courageously shared her family's story with lawmakers and at public events, speaking about how wraparound services and crisis supports like the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline could have been transformational for Matthew had they been available when he needed them. Katie's advocacy work earned her New Futures' Jennifer Wierwille Norton Advocacy in Action Award in 2025. She continues to advocate as an extension of caring for her son, working to ensure other families have access to the support they need.

Katie joins the Advocate Panel to share her story and how it transformed her into a voice for change in New Hampshire's children's mental health system.

Laquisha is a passionate advocate for child care access in New Hampshire. When she first moved to the Lakes Region for a fresh start with her daughter, she didn't expect child care to become her family's biggest obstacle. She first connected with New Futures through a community listening session, where her insights on child care challenges facing New Hampshire families stood out. Since then, she has become an active voice across the state, testifying at the NH State House to support child care legislation and participating in our Family Advocacy Cohort Training. Laquisha has even shared her perspective on child care policy in an appearance on WMUR.

Laquisha joins the Advocate Panel to share more about her journey into advocacy and why speaking up for other families matters so much to her.

For Lori Raymond, advocating for older adults and people with disabilities is deeply personal, a passion she traces back to her grandmother and her own experience growing up in foster care. Lori first connected with New Futures through an advocacy training, and has since testified, written opinion pieces, and been featured on social media to advocate for healthy aging and health care access for Granite Staters. She’s even brought colleagues and peers along with her, helping launch an Advocacy Steering Committee to build a broader culture of advocacy at her own workplace.

Lori joins the Advocate Panel as a trail leader to share her journey into advocacy and how she’s paved the way for others to join her.

Andy DeMeo is the founder of Granite Goodness, a solutions-focused newsletter bringing optimistic, local storytelling to New England. After a decade working in climate policy, carbon accounting, sustainable finance, and food systems, Andy grew convinced that our biggest problem isn't a lack of solutions, but stories. Inspired by globally focused solutions journalists like Fix The News and The Progress Network, he founded Granite Goodness to spotlight the people and ideas solving New England's hardest problems — in his beloved corner of the world.

His work has earned him Stay Work Play NH's Young Person of the Year Award, UNH's Alumni Sustainability Award, and Catapult Seacoast's 10 to Watch Award in 2025, and Union Leader's 40 Under 40 Award in 2026. Last year, he co-hosted TEDx Portsmouth 2025, New England's largest TEDx event.

Andy grew up in Londonderry, NH, and now lives on a farm in the Mt. Washington Valley with his wife, two dogs, and twelve chickens.

Liz Canada is the host of the (award-winning!) podcast that dares to ask, how many issues can one state have? 

Liz is not from Canada New Hampshire, but they now live on the Seacoast with their wife (Molly), two stepsons, and dog (Gus). 

Liz is an "Advocacy Director" in their full-time job, which means they help people understand an issue and how to take action in order to make meaningful change. These work skills and activities have led to this podcast - because there are a heck of a lot of issues in New Hampshire, and Liz wants to tackle them all, one at a time. 

Liz used to be a high school English teacher, a college instructor, a college advisor, a family engagement coach, a policy director...though not at once. Hosting this podcast feels like a mashup of all of these jobs, with the added bonus of learning to edit audio. 

Liz will always make time to talk about New Hampshire politics and policy, musical theater, and Severance.

MacKenzie Nicholson is the NH Senior Director of MomsRising. She has used her personal social media presence, including TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, to advocate for policy change supporting NH moms and families, offering a firsthand look at how everyday parents can turn their voice into influence.

For the past 15 years, MacKenzie has worked on state and federal policy affecting families and local communities, often bringing her own kids along in carriers and strollers while she does it. In her role with MomsRising, she focuses on strengthening the systems families rely on most, including child care and maternal health, and has helped advance major initiatives like New Hampshire's MOMnibus efforts and key child care policy wins built through collaboration, persistence, and a lot of listening to parents, providers, and lawmakers.

MacKenzie holds a B.S. in Family Studies with a focus on child advocacy and family policy, along with a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of New Hampshire. She'll join the NH Influencers panel to share how she's grown as a content creator in her personal capacity, separate from her organizational role, and what she's learned about using social media to make policy feel real for other families.

Jim Monahan is the President of The Dupont Group, one of the most respected consulting firms in New Hampshire specializing in government affairs and public relations. Jim has a strong and established public affairs practice that focuses on representing businesses, trade associations and non-profit organizations before state and federal governmental agencies.  This work includes an emphasis on policy development, legislative advocacy and effective communications.

Jim’s professional focus includes energy, transportation and environmental issues.  In addition, he does work in the health care field, with an emphasis on Medicaid policy. Jim also oversees the Dupont Group’s public relations division, White Birch Communications Group.

In recent years, Jim has been the public policy architect of a number of major legislative and regulatory initiatives including environmental and energy campaigns, as well as projects in the Medicaid and behavioral health arenas.

Jim was elected as Merrimack County Treasurer in the Fall of 2008 and served one term. Currently, he serves on the Concord Zoning Board of Adjustment. Jim is well known for providing news media analysis on topics around politics and public policy. Formerly, Jim was a member of the Independent System Operator (ISO) New England Board Advisory Committee, and a contributing editor to the political website Primary Diner.

Jim is a 3-time Ironman (140.2) finisher, is currently on the Board of Directors and has served as President of the Granite State Racing Team and is a founder of the Granite State Endurance Club.

Tom DeRosa is the Principal of Main Street Strategic, a national, full service, project management, issue advocacy, stakeholder engagement and public relations firm headquartered in New Hampshire.

Tom is a veteran of several high-profile campaigns. Most recently, during the 2024 election cycle, Tom served as a key policy advisor to Kelly Ayotte and her successful Gubernatorial candidacy, and he previously served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for the 2016 US Senate re-election effort.

As a registered lobbyist, Tom helps advocate for his client’s interests in the State House and works to navigate clients through the legislative process. Tom has focused on a broad portfolio of issues, including small business and manufacturing, education, healthcare policy, housing, homelessness, and energy policy in the state.

Tom serves on the Governor’s Commission on the Humane Treatment of Animals and is a past board member for 3S Artspace and ARTS4NH.

Tom is a graduate of Saint Anselm College in Manchester and enjoys spending time with his family more often than not on the sideline of a sporting event for one of his boys.