Leaders to serve Berkshire County, Greater Worcester and Lynn communities
LOWELL, Mass., Sept. 6, 2023 – Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate economic and social impact through inclusive entrepreneurship, today announced the promotion of former EforAll Berkshire County Program Manager Allison Schmitt to Executive Director, former EforAll and EparaTodos Greater Worcester Program Manager Jose Castro to Executive Director, and the appointment of Alain Montes as Executive Director of EforAll and EparaTodos Lynn.
Schmitt joined EforAll in 2021 as a Program Manager for EforAll Berkshire County where she served for two years. Schmitt will leverage this experience to bolster her business acumen, operational strategy development and entrepreneurial perspective in her new role. Prior to her time at EforAll, Schmitt served as Interim Campus Director and Dean of Academic Affairs for Mildred Elley. She is a lifelong western Massachusetts resident and received her Bachelor of Arts from Hollins University and her master’s degree from Berlin School of Economics and Law, where she focused on start-up culture and management.
Castro has supported English and Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs in Greater Worcester since 2022 when he began his career with EforAll as a Bilingual Program Coordinator. His hard work and drive were quickly recognized, and he was promoted to Program Manager and now to Executive Director of the site. Castro was born and raised in Puerto Rico and came to Worcester to earn his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Clark University.
“We are honored to have driven and passionate leaders like Allison and Jose within our organization who not only believe in our mission but thoroughly understand our program’s growth and forward trajectory. We look forward to seeing their continued impact across Berkshire County and Greater Worcester,” said Peter Whaley, Chief Operating Officer at EforAll. “We’re also thrilled to welcome Alain and his vast leadership and nonprofit operations experience to EforAll as he works to further develop our Lynn site’s reach.”
Montes joins EforAll with over 20 years of business growth, program development and nonprofit operational experience. Most recently, he served as Director of Operations for Lombard Exteriors where he developed the team’s strategic direction and optimized business processes. He was previously the Executive Director for LCB Senior and Program Director for North Shore Adult Day Health Center. Montes is fully bilingual and received his Bachelor of Arts from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
To learn more about EforAll and its English and Spanish language programs, visit: eforall.org.
About EforAll
Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) is a nonprofit organization that partners with communities nationwide to help under-represented individuals successfully start and grow a business through intensive business training, mentorship and an extended professional support network. To date, EforAll alumni have launched over 1,400 businesses. In 2022 alone, its businesses provided 2,108 local jobs and generated over $66M in revenue, despite the pandemic. Programs are available in both English and Spanish. EforAll current locations include Longmont, Colo.; Lowcountry, South Carolina; Maine; Northwest Arkansas, Rhode Island; and the following Massachusetts communities: Berkshire County, Cape Cod, Fall River/New Bedford, Merrimack Valley, Lynn, Pioneer Valley, Roxbury and Worcester. To learn more about EforAll, please visit eforall.org.