Meet Our Team
Co-Founders & Leadership Team
Advisory Board 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.
Amanda Shafii
Co-founder
Chief of partnerships & virtual community of The Sphere
Owner of Copycat
Amanda Shafii (she/her) is The Chief of Partnerships & Virtual Community and is a Co-Founder for The Sphere Northampton. She is the designer of the The Sphere’s brand identity and the lead content creator/designer of its social media & marketing. If you message The Sphere on a social media platform, it is likely Amanda who will be getting back to you!
Amanda holds a degree Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience and has close to a decade of experience as an entrepreneur. Her passion for creativity and the ability to think strategically is a unique asset that has been incorporated into her professional career.
You may already know Amanda from her active roles in the Northampton community. She is the owner of CopyCat, a local Northampton business that provides custom printing & digital design, serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, and enjoys volunteering for local nonprofit events. She believes that a sense of community brings meaning to the work she does, and she especially enjoys working with other women entrepreneurs. Amanda would love to connect with you, so don’t hesitate to reach out to her!
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
Tiffany Chapman
Sphere Advisory Board Member
Owner of Tiffany Chapman photography
Lindsay Barron LaBonte
Sphere Advisory Board member
Owner of Applied Mortgage
Lindsay Barron LaBonte (she/her) and the Applied Mortgage Team are the Northampton, MA branch of HarborOne Mortgage. With over 15 years of industry experience, Lindsay has been individually ranked #1 Loan Originator at a Western MA Mortgage Company (includes Hampshire, Franklin, Hampden and Berkshire Counties) by number of units, for 2019, 2022, and 2021!
Lindsay is also a Scotsman Guild top 1% Woman Loan Originators and featured in Mortgage Banking Magazine’s 2022 Powerful Women of Mortgage Banking. In addition to helping thousands of clients with their homeownership goals, the team has also received over 250 five star reviews and recommendations from happy customers.
Furthermore a core part of the Applied Mortgage mission is to support the community by giving back to over 30 local non-profit organizations through their time, talent, and treasure. Lindsay and her team help clients see the bigger picture and arrange their home ownership situation to better their overall life goals. This includes educating buyers about the home ownership process and beyond.
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.
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.
Jessica Thompson
Sphere Advisory board member
Associate Director of Community Engagement for Community Action of Pioneer Valley
Jessica (she/her) is the Associate Director of Community Engagement for Community Action of the Pioneer Valley, a non-profit that seeks to assist people who have low incomes to achieve economic stability and security, and works to build communities in which all people have the opportunity to thrive. She formerly worked as the Director of Community and Member Relations at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, where one of her projects as serving as a member of the core team of leaders who developed the concept of The Sphere.