New Trustee joins Crossroads in Marlborough

Marlborough, MA, June 24, 2020 – When Jim Lamb was introduced to Kelley Borer-Miller at the Crossroads 5K and Family Fun Day in 2019, he was already feeling an itch to get involved with his new community. In less than a year, he helped sell out the Crossroads Golf Tournament, co-chaired the event series “Experience Their Potential,” and helped successfully transition the 2020 5K into a virtual event. Now, he’s culminating his first year with Crossroads by joining the Board of Trustees.

After retiring from a successful career as a pharmaceutical executive, with extensive experience in senior management, marketing, and sales, Lamb worked for a nonprofit in Connecticut providing services for individuals with disabilities. He became a member of the local chamber of commerce and developed the Non-Profit Council which focused on bringing training to local nonprofits in areas such as development, board development, grant writing, donor cultivation, and much more.

Two years ago, Jim and his wife Lynne decided to relocate to Stow, Massachusetts, to be closer to their grandsons, Wyatt and Emmett.

“Emmett has a rare genetic syndrome called Angelman Syndrome,” explained Lamb. “This disorder occurs in about 1 of 15,000 births. It is related to autism in that Emmett is nonverbal and requires constant supervision. He is very active, loves his younger brother, Wyatt, and throwing rocks into local lakes and ponds. Emmett is generally very happy and is the love of his family and his neighborhood. He brings joy and smiles to those around him.”

For most of his life, Emmett was in the public-school system, but the family determined they needed more support than the public-school system could provide. That’s when they found Crossroads.

“Emmett was accepted in January of 2019 and is doing great,” said Lamb’s daughter, Merewyn Harrington. “We feel a greater sense of ease knowing Emmett is in a place where the teams knows how to help him learn. We used to feel like we were sort of holding our breath when we sent him off to school, and now we know he’s in a safe, compassionate, and skilled setting.”

Shortly after meeting Crossroads Development Director, Kelley Borer-Miller at last year’s 5K and Family Fun Day, Lamb met with Kelley and toured the school. “When I toured Crossroads, I was very impressed with the staff and especially the design of the school. It is rare to see a school designed from the ground up to specifically meet the special needs of the students,” Lamb said.

It was only natural for Lamb to get involved and he immediately joined the Development Committee and the Golf Committee. He jumped into the fundraising efforts, helping sell out the Golf Tournament and bringing in dozens of donations, raffle baskets, and auction items.

After his success with the Crossroads Golf Tournament, Jim went on to co-chair the event series “Experience Their Potential,” an event which helps family members and friends of students and staff gain a better understanding of the services and supports Crossroads offers individuals with autism and other disabilities. When COVID-19 shut down the school in the midst of planning for their annual 5K, Lamb joined that committee as well and helped transition to a virtual event. He even took part in the virtual dunk tank, where his family threw more than 80 water balloons at him live on Facebook!

“When I was asked to join the Board of Trustees it seemed like the right thing to do,” said Jim. “I am excited to work with Mark Dumas, the new CEO and President, and to continue the growth of Crossroads and develop a new strategic plan.”

Dr. Dumas and the leadership team at Crossroads are also excited. “We are grateful for the knowledge and experience he brings to our board,” says Dumas. “It was obvious after spending some time with Jim and then getting to know more about his background and commitment to our organization and to non-profit service in general that I needed to ask Jim to join our Board of Trustees. We are thrilled that he agreed and we look forward to his continued service to our organization.”

About Crossroads School

Crossroads was established in 2002 to provide individualized, comprehensive education and related services to individuals with autism and other related disorders. Autism Spectrum Disorder refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. Because every student/client is different, all programs are individualized to meet each individual’s needs. Crossroads helps individuals reach their full potential with services and interventions based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA); all services are provided in a staffing ratio of one direct-care staff to two students/clients or one-to-one. These intense educational and behavioral supports are required due to high rates of challenging behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury, property destruction) and/or the individual's cognitive deficits and the level of prompting required for learning.

In response to our student's needs for a structured routine, Crossroads School operates year-round, providing consistent educational instruction and related services 226 days a year to enhance quality of life and independent functioning so students may reach their full potential. Home-based services are delivered in partnership with clients' families and include parent training so parents can apply best practices in the home and prevent the need for residential placement. Since moving to Marlborough in 2017, Crossroads has experienced tremendous growth and success. The Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce recognized Crossroads as 2018 Business of the Year. To learn more about Crossroads, visit www.crossroadsschoolma.org.