Meet Our Team
Co-Founders & Leadership Team
Advisory Board Team
Internship Team
Co-Founder Bios
Megan Allen
Co-founder
Chief of Momentum of The Sphere
Owner of Community Classroom
Dr. Megan Allen is the project manager for The Sphere Northampton, making sure all the pieces fall in place, deadlines are met, and the team has what they need to succeed. She keeps things moving forward strategically, thoughtfully, and awesomely.
Megan is the founder and owner/operator of the Community Classroom, a tutoring center in Florence with a team of 25+ certified teachers. An education nerd, she is a National Board Certified Teacher who has worked in several roles in education, including an elementary and special education teacher in Tampa, the Educator in Residence at University of Central Florida, and as the Director of the Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership at Mount Holyoke College. Megan most recently worked as the Director of Partnerships for the National Network of State Teachers of the Year, the professional home for all state teachers of the year (another nerdy fact: she was the Florida 2010 State Teacher of the Year).
Megan is a mom to a spunky four-year-old (Cora), the stepmom to 4 Flynn stepkids, a struggling runner, a striving yogi, a gardener who likes dirt under her nails, a lover of “dad” jokes, 90s rap music, Motown, thunderstorms, bad puns, and The Far Side. She believes firmly in women-supporting women and the power of community, which is why she is so passionate about The Sphere.
Christina Webster
Co-Founder
Chief of Wellness of the Sphere
Owner of Priceless Picnics
Christina Webster is The Chief of Wellness and a Co-Founder for The Sphere Northampton.
Christina graduated, with honors, from Elms College with both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Elementary Education. Even as a new teacher working in local public schools, she took on leadership roles in each of the districts she worked in. She was nominated in 2019 by a parent and colleague for the Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award before ultimately deciding to leave public education when the timing felt right.
She now finds herself working as an independent contractor and private tutor for herself and The Community Classroom. Her passion for working with kids hasn’t changed. She still spends a lot of hours dedicated to creating fun and engaging lessons for the students she works with. Her ultimate goal is to motivate students to “just try their best” and increase their autonomy and self-confidence. Many of the skills she utilizes as an educator can be transferred to collaborating in smart ways to effectively support entrepreneurs who are open to continuing to grow as well.
Through her connections in Northampton, she became part of The Sphere and the initial photography passion project featuring local women entrepreneurs. The Sphere has now become a research-based set of solutions for local women and nonbinary entrepreneurs. She loves supporting small, local businesses and, as the Sphere’s event planner, she is able to do exactly that! Have you been to one of our quarterly Salons? She’s the one who makes sure all the pieces fall into place perfectly! The experience gained with the Sphere has been extremely valuable as she hopes to use it, and her new connections, in order to branch off into her own event consulting business.
Advisory Board Member Bios
Theresa Anoje
Sphere Advisory Board Member
Founder, REMOTELY GOOD
Theresa Anoje is the Founder and Managing Editor of Remotely Good, a job site that promotes remote and hybrid roles with organizations and businesses that do good. She has been involved with the Sphere since their 1st salon in April 2023. She was born and raised in Western MA and is a Cornell University alum. She has always had a passion for politics, activism, having an impact on our community, and making a difference in the world.
Before founding Remotely Good, she has worked with organizations like Black Futures Lab, GetThru, Teach for America, and Care2. In her spare time, she loves keeping up with politics, cooking, comedy, and exploring new places around New England.
Dev Boulay
Sphere Advisory Board Member
Owner of A2Z Science & Learning Store
Dev Boulay (she/her) is co-owner of A2Z Science & Learning Toy Store in downtown Northampton. She has a passion for art, music, toys and graphic novels. Dev loves engaging with the community through fun events and is excited to be a part of the Sphere! She lives in Florence, Ma with her husband and 2 children. Dev is not only serving on the Sphere’s Advisory Board but is the chair of the Fun Committee, organizing social events for local business owners to bond and let their hair down.
Dee Dice
Sphere Advisory board member
Owner of Constant growth marketing
Dee Dice (she/her) is a serial entrepreneur and an independent business consultant. She started selling cross country skis during college and since then has had several businesses including a fruit and produce market, a catering business, landscape business, a catalog business and a seasonal Christmas tree and holiday shop. Currently she works with a variety of agencies, providing them with organizational development, offering one to one consulting to their clients and presenting a variety of workshops. She is certified with Constant Contact the email service provider and also with LIVEPLAN a Business planning software. But one of the things that delights her the most is helping entrepreneurs plant the seeds to grow their businesses.
Jillian Duclos
Sphere Advisory board member
Interim Director of The Downtown Northampton Association
Jillian (she/her) is the interim director for the Downtown Northampton Association, a non-profit that strives to improve the business and cultural strength of Downtown Northampton through investments in programming, beautification, and advocacy. She formerly worked as the vice president of operations at Sylvester’s Restaurant, where she built and managed a team of 40 members and worked alongside the President and CEO to construct and implement efficient business procedures and practices. She is the proud mom of Henri, a cute and spunky toddler.
Becca King
Sphere Advisory board member
Owner, Aurora Small Business Consulting
Becca is the owner and operator of Aurora Small Business Consulting, a data analytics and strategy consultancy serving small local businesses. With nearly 10 years of corporate experience, Becca has brought her focus to enriching local communities by strengthening small businesses. She is a firm believer that data is for everyone and uses it as the foundation for creative and uniquely suited solutions for each project she embarks on.
Serving on the Sphere Advisory Board is a natural extension of Becca’s professional work and personal values. As a champion of women and non-binary individuals, and an advocate for small business as one of the best ways to elevate local communities, her work with the Sphere is an opportunity to advance those objectives. It is her aim to find more ways to spark connectivity and provide resources that enable women and non-binary owned businesses to thrive.
Kathryn Kothe
Sphere Advisory board member
Owner of Cycle Pottery
Kathryn (she/her) is the founder of Cycle Pottery, a community pottery studio & gallery in Florence, MA, founded in 2013. She is the mother of 3 and an avid cyclist who still jumps in bike races from time to time; sociology graduate school turned potter and entrepreneur; co-founded AthleteReg.com (the home of BikeReg.com, RunReg.com, and more!). She was one of the founding Advisory Board members and was excited to put her sociology and interview skills to good use to develop the concept of The Sphere.
Taylor Robbins
Sphere Advisory board member
Business Relationship Manager at UMassFive College Federal Credit Union
Taylor (she/her) is the Business Relationship Manager at UMassFive College Federal Credit Union. She is passionate about giving back to the community, as she serves as a Big Sister at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a Mentor for Entrepreneurship for All, and is an executive board member and social media chair for Women 2 Watch Western MA.
Jill Rodowicz
Sphere Advisory board member
Owner, Become What You Are Coaching
Jill Rodowicz is an emotional resilience & love strategy coach. She is the owner of Become What You Are Coaching. Her personal mission is to help as many women as possible manage their minds and create secure and healthy romantic relationships for themselves. She believes it is more important than ever to invest in our mental health. This is why her training, self-coaching and learning are never finished.
Jill has been an avid rock climber both indoor and outdoor for the last 10 years (ask her about it!), a novice SCUBA diver, carpenter, circus performer and trampoline enthusiast. She is a new member of the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce and frequenter of almost every Sphere event they have had to date. She is so excited to join the Sphere’s Advisory Board. One of the biggest reasons is because she believes they share a common mission… to support women and non-binary folk and help to secure both equity and equality.
Elena Sharnoff
Sphere Advisory board member
Owner, B Strategic Communications
Elena Sharnoff, owner of B Strategic Communications loves helping small to medium businesses and non-profits showcase stories and connect with audiences through well-crafted websites and strategic messaging.
She infuses visual strategy, inspired word-smithing, and technical knowledge into custom-made websites and marketing plans that illuminate the uniqueness of each client’s enterprise. She offers 30 years of expertise in strategic communications, branding, messaging, and content creation, website design & functionality, and audience building.
Christine Cui
sPRING INTERN
Christine Cui is a junior majoring in biochemistry at Smith College. She currently works as a chemistry research assistant in the Jamieson-Suarez Lab, where she and her partner are developing a project to study the kinetics of cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug. Besides research, Christine also teaches piano virtually for the Music Academy of Utah and works as an office assistant for the Student Government Association at Smith.
She is so excited to work with the team at The Sphere Northampton!
Abbie Ellis
sPRING INTERN
Abbie Ellis is currently a senior at Smith College studying quantitative economics and environmental science & policy. She is originally from Londonderry, New Hampshire, and works at Camp Huckins in the summer months when not at school. She is a member of the Smith College soccer team and the treasurer of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Outside of school & soccer, she enjoys going on walks, reading in the sun, and being with friends.
