About WCI
WCI’S mission is to empower and support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism, and acquired brain injury to achieve rich and meaningful lives at home, at work and in their communities.
WCI is a private 501(c)3 non-profit agency providing an array of services to people with intellectual disabilities, autism, acquired brain injury, physical, sensory and medical needs. Our organization operates in the municipalities of Waltham, Watertown, Belmont, Newton, and Maynard.
We envision and encourage people to live their optimal lifestyle with the greatest degree of independence and competence. Our staff and supervisors work to individualize services to meet people’s needs, desires and preferences.
Our team works together in creating and implementing custom service plans for our individuals. We constantly seek and encourage the collaboration of family members on an ongoing basis.
WCI’s goal for four decades has been to foster the greatest possible degree of independence and competence for individuals to live, work and be a part of the community. WCI provides flexible options to people it supports, as each individual’s needs are different.
Our History
WCI was founded in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1974. WCI’s first administrative office was on the 3rd floor of the Christ Episcopal Church on Main Street in Waltham. Its first community home for eight individuals was a large Victorian home. Those individuals now live in their own apartments with minimal support.
Today WCI provides residential, individual supports, in-home supports, and shared living to about 140 individuals between the ages of 22 and 82 in about 50 homes and apartments. WCI supports 100 individuals in employment, community-based day and day habilitation services at two sites; Rumford Avenue and Common Street. We support people between the ages of 18 years to end of life.
Meet the Team
WCI has an executive and management team that provides oversight, direction, and supervision to its homes and employment/day support sites.
They foster teamwork and best practices.
Joseph Donati
Interim CEO/COO
Robert Guinto
VP of Finance
Pam Laventure
Vice President of Human Resources
Sherri Shafmann
Clinical Director
Cindy Cote
Director of Nursing
Paula Dunn-Meadows
Residential Social Supports & Shared Living Division Head
Sally Roach
Residential 24 Hour & Individual Supports Division Head
Aneta Hazen
Employment & Day Supports Division Head
Lucien Archambault
Quality Assurance Coordinator/Human Rights Coordinator
Nancy Silver Hargreaves
President and Chief Executive Officer
Nancy Silver Hargreaves has been with WCI for 34.5 years, the first 19 as Executive Director and the remaining as Chief Executive Officer. Under Nancy’s leadership, WCI has grown from a small local provider of 5 homes for twenty-two (22) people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, twenty-two (22) staff and a budget of about $400,000 in 1984 into an organization with a budget of over $19 million that serves approximately 135 people in 49 homes and 100 people in Employment/Day Supports programs along with a successful Art Initiative program and approximately 300 staff. There are now 4 Residential Divisions: 24 Hour; Individual Supports; Deaf Residential Supports; Social Supports & Shared Living; and a 5th Division: the Employment/Day Supports Division. WCI has a myriad of specialized and individualized programs supporting people with an array of needs and disabilities.
Nancy oversees the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Finance Office; the VP of Human Resources and the Human Resources Department; the VP of Operations who supervises each of the Divisions; Paul Arrighi, Jr., Clinical Director who supervises the Clinical Team & Tiffany Malachowski who supervises the Nursing Team; Quality Assurance as well as the Administrative Office.
Nancy holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Boston University; a Master’s in Education from Lesley University; and a Post Graduate Certificate in Administrative and Management from Harvard University.
Joe Donati
Vice President of Operations
Joe Donati has been with WCI for over 19 years holding various positions within the organization. As the VPO, Joe is responsible for the operations of our 24 Hour Supports/Individual Supports Division, Deaf Supports Division, Social Supports Division, Shared Living, and Employment/Day Supports Division. He also participates in the Executive and Management Teams as it relates to strategic planning and program implementation. Joe is also responsible for the oversight of WCI’s IT Department and Social Media as well as the Maintenance Department and Property Management.
Joe began his career at WCI part-time in the Clinical Department and moved his way into Operations taking the Division Head of Deaf Residential Supports position back in 2002. The many years working in Deaf Supports at WCI provided Joe the opportunity to become conversational in ASL through day-to-day experience and his coursework at Northeastern University. In 2012, Joe was promoted to the position of VPO. Joe holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and earned his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Suffolk University in 2016.
Pam Laventure
Vice President of Human Resources
Pam joined WCI in 1995 as a residential Director of Supports responsible for five homes in 24-hour supports. In 2000, Pam transitioned to the human resources team as a Payroll Specialist. Pam’s role in HR expanded over the years and in 2010, she became the Vice President. Pam has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Smith College, a Certificate in Human Resources Management from Bentley University, and a Master’s degree in Human Resources from Framingham State University.
Judy Nichols
Human Resources Manager
Judy Nichols, Human Resources Manager, has worked at WCI since 10/1/1989. She developed WCI’s Human Resources Department from one person working part-time to five people handling all aspects of human resources, including recruitment, training, and payroll. In September 2010, Judy stepped down from the position of VP of Human Resources as a planned succession to the next most senior person in the department, Pam Laventure. Judy oversees the Payroll Specialist, manages the 401k & 403b, Staff schedules, unemployment insurance, and the Employee Recognition Committee. Judy holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Studio Art from Hobart and William Smith; she subsequently earned an M.Ed. from Tufts University with a specialization in elementary education. She has also studied special needs education at Lesley University.
Cindy Cote
Director of Nursing
Cindy has over 40 years of nursing experience with 25 of those years in a supervisory position. Cindy has previously worked at Holden Rehabilitation, Cambridge Health Alliance, MGH, UMASS Memorial Health Care System, BU Medical Group, Boston Medical Center, Youville Hospital, Winchester Hospital Breast Cancer Center and Emerson Hospital.
She earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Health Care Management from Boston University and a Bachelors’ Degree in Nursing from Fitchburg State University.
Paula Dunn-Meadows
Residential Social Supports & Shared Living Division Head
Paula has a BA from Goucher College. She has been supporting Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities for 35 years. She has 33 years of management and 26 years of senior management experience. She has extensive experience supporting Individuals with significant behavioral and/or mental health issues.
Sally Roach
Residential 24 Hour & Individual Supports Division Head
Sally has worked in the field of Intellectual and Developmental Services for over 35 years. She has a Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in Community Counseling from Salem State University and a CAGS degree in Psychology from Cambridge College. Sally has had numerous positions within residential supports during her career. She was a therapist with Strattus for several years prior to coming to WCI. At WCI, Sally is currently the Division Head for 24 Hour, Individual and Deaf Supports.
Aneta Hazen
Employment & Day Supports Division Head
Aneta Hazen joined WCI as the Division Head of Employment and Day Services in 2010. In her role, Aneta oversees the Deaf Employment/Day Supports, Social Skills, Community Employment, and Life Skills Day Habilitation Program. Prior to joining WCI, Aneta has worked with Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities for over 15 years, overseeing employment/day programs, day habilitation as well as case management supports. She has also worked with Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury for six years, supporting them in community integration services, which included employment, education, therapeutic and clinical supports. Aneta holds a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Sargent College at BU, and an MBA from Simmons College. In her free time, she loves spending time with her kids, going to the beach, running, and cooking.
Lucien Archambault
Quality Assurance Coordinator/Human Rights Coordinator
In 1980, Lucien Archambault, B.A. graduated cum laude from Rhode Island College with a major in Psychology and a minor in Anthropology. Lucien worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services from 1981-2001 as a Psychological Associate II. He was then hired by WCI as Assistant Clinical Director in 2001. Lucien has been working as the Quality Assurance Coordinator for WCI since 2016.
Jamie Cooper
Executive Administrator/ Intake Coordinator
Jamie joined WCI in 2002 as part of the Administrative Team. Jamie has worked throughout her tenure within the agency as the Executive Administrator and has established close relationships with all the WCI Departments, Board of Directors, Funding Sources, and Family Members.
At the end of 2018, Jamie took on an additional role as the Intake Coordinator to facilitate all incoming Referrals to WCI, such as organizing tours, scheduling visits, and ensuring the best placement possible while working with the Teams.
Jamie continues to oversee the Administrative Team and coordinate all of the agency’s Fundraisers working with the Board Development Committee, Wheels of WCI events, and day-to-day operations. If you would like more information on WCI, please contact Jamie at jcooper@wearewci.org.
Clinical Director
Sherri joined WCI in March of this year as a Behavior Analyst. She earned her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hartford and her Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology and Psychology from Smith College. She passed her BCBA exam on October 26th. Sherri has had various experiences working with both children and adults with disabilities. Sherri’s previous experiences include working as Behavioral Consultant for the May Institute for over 7 years, Clinical Director for the Department of Youth Services at the Connelly Transitional Unit for over 6 years plus much more. She has experience teaching social skills and has been trained in Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Trauma Informed Care. As part of the team, Sherri enjoys participating in activities at the group homes and the day programs. While attending virtual meetings, her pug, Louie, can often be heard in the background snoring.
Robert Guinto
VP of Finance
Bob Guinto has 28 years of experience working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in various human service agencies as both a Direct Support Professional (DSP) and Administrator. Upon leaving Massachusetts state services, Bob worked for 20 years with various nonprofits to evolve and support their program initiatives, including working as WCI’s CFO from 2014 to 2019.
Returning in 2023 as a Finance Consultant, Bob facilitated the completion of WCI’s FY’22 Annual Financial Audit, Uniform Financial Report (UFR) & the Form 990 before returning to manage the Finance Department at WCI. He involves Operations in financial decision making, policy making and budgeting. Bob sets priorities, problem solves and initiates the completion of a variety of projects.
We are CARF Accredited
WCI is proud to have received three, three year accreditations from CARF, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitative Services in January 2009, January 2012 and November 2014. Since WCI opened the Life Skills Day Habilitation Program in 2008, it is required to be CARF accredited.