Our Team - TogetherFund

Our staff is committed to delivering justice and prosperity for all Americans.

Cecilia Ugarte BaldwinChief Operations Officer

Cecilia Ugarte Baldwin is the Chief Operating Officer of the TogetherFund. She comes to the organization after serving as Deputy Director of Ballot Access and Delegates on the Deval Patrick 2020 presidential campaign. Prior to the campaign, Cecilia worked for a major eastern Massachusetts health care institution analyzing and advising the organization on state and federal health care payment policies. Cecilia served as Deputy Legal Counsel and Deputy Director of Policy and Cabinet Affairs during Deval Patrick’s tenure as Governor of Massachusetts.

Cecilia began her career in the non-profit sector advocating for afterschool programs. She earned her law degree from New England Law | Boston and is currently a member of the Massachusetts Bar. Cecilia is an active board member of the Massachusetts Children’s Alliance, one of many boards on which she has served.

Originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, Cecilia has lived in the Boston area since coming to Massachusetts to attend Boston University where she earned her B.S. from the College of Communication.

Patrice SnowCommunications Director

Patrice Snow is the Communications Director and Press Secretary for TogetherFund. Originally from South Carolina, Patrice most recently served as the Press Secretary for the Tom Steyer for President campaign where she generated creative and timely story ideas and pitched them to national media across all mediums. She also worked for Allied Progress, a progressive consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, DC where she launched creative campaigns to hold special interests and their allies in the Trump White House and Congress accountable.

Patrice graduated from Columbia College and pursued her graduate coursework in Public Policy at Georgetown University. Additionally, she studied American Domestic Policy at the Junior Summer Institute at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Patrice also recently completed American University’s WeLead training program for women in politics.

Brendan RyanInterim Political Director

Brendan Ryan joins as Interim Political Director after serving as a Senior Advisor to Governor Patrick’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Brendan has been a part of the Deval Patrick political team since the beginning of the first gubernatorial campaign in 2005. He joined the Patrick Administration in 2007 as a Deputy Chief of Staff in the Governor’s Office and took a short leave to serve as Massachusetts Political Director for Obama for America in 2008 before joining Governor Patrick’s re-election campaign as Deputy Campaign Manager.

Brendan returned to the State House in 2011 as Communications Director before serving as Chief of Staff in 2013 and 2014.

After leaving the State House, Brendan served as the founding Executive Director of HubWeek, a civic collaboration launched by Harvard, MIT, MGH, and the Boston Globe in 2014. During his time as Executive Director, HubWeek grew into a nationally-recognized ideas and innovation festival that brought together more than 1,000 companies, non-profits, and cultural institutions and attracted more than 250,000 attendees.

Alex Morash Editor and Policy Researcher

Alex Morash is TogetherFund’s editor and policy researcher. A Massachusetts native, he hails from Cape Cod. Alex joins the organization with years of experience in media, writing, and policy research and has worked for some of the most well known national organizations in the country. He has spent much of the 2020 election cycle working in America’s largest swing-state as the Florida Democratic Party’s statewide press secretary. He has also served as the media director for the National LGBTQ Task Force, America’s oldest national LGBTQ advocacy organization, and has served as the economic researcher for Media Matters for America. His writing has been published in The Advocate Magazine and The Washington Blade. Alex has also served as a judge for two years in a row for the National LGBTQ Journalists Association’s Excellence In Journalism Awards. He holds a master’s degree in political science from Northeastern University and attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Framingham State University for his undergraduate work.

Ellen McCormickScheduler and Special Assitant

Ellen McCormick is the Scheduler and Special Assistant for the TogetherFUND. Prior to joining the TogetherFUND, Ellen served as the Scheduling and Operations Manager for the Deval Patrick 2020 presidential campaign, overseeing schedule requests, travel, and event logistics. Before working for Governor Patrick, she worked as a Business Immigration Analyst at Seyfarth Shaw LLP in Boston, specializing in nonimmigrant visa processes.

Ellen graduated with Highest Honors from Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with concentrations in Global Citizenship, French, and Arabic. While at Lehigh, Ellen worked as an Immigration Casework intern for Senator Elizabeth Warren, as an organizing fellow for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, and as a Casework intern for Bethany Christian Services’ Refugee Resettlement Program.

Cecilia Ugarte BaldwinChief Operations Officer

Cecilia Ugarte Baldwin is the Chief Operating Officer of the TogetherFund. She comes to the organization after serving as Deputy Director of Ballot Access and Delegates on the Deval Patrick 2020 presidential campaign. Prior to the campaign, Cecilia worked for a major eastern Massachusetts health care institution analyzing and advising the organization on state and federal health care payment policies. Cecilia served as Deputy Legal Counsel and Deputy Director of Policy and Cabinet Affairs during Deval Patrick’s tenure as Governor of Massachusetts.

Cecilia began her career in the non-profit sector advocating for afterschool programs. She earned her law degree from New England Law | Boston and is currently a member of the Massachusetts Bar. Cecilia is an active board member of the Massachusetts Children’s Alliance, one of many boards on which she has served.

Originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, Cecilia has lived in the Boston area since coming to Massachusetts to attend Boston University where she earned her B.S. from the College of Communication.

Patrice SnowCommunications Director

Patrice Snow is the Communications Director and Press Secretary for TogetherFund. Originally from South Carolina, Patrice most recently served as the Press Secretary for the Tom Steyer for President campaign where she generated creative and timely story ideas and pitched them to national media across all mediums. She also worked for Allied Progress, a progressive consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, DC where she launched creative campaigns to hold special interests and their allies in the Trump White House and Congress accountable.

Patrice graduated from Columbia College and pursued her graduate coursework in Public Policy at Georgetown University. Additionally, she studied American Domestic Policy at the Junior Summer Institute at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Patrice also recently completed American University’s WeLead training program for women in politics.

Brendan RyanInterim Political Director

Brendan Ryan joins as Interim Political Director after serving as a Senior Advisor to Governor Patrick’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Brendan has been a part of the Deval Patrick political team since the beginning of the first gubernatorial campaign in 2005. He joined the Patrick Administration in 2007 as a Deputy Chief of Staff in the Governor’s Office and took a short leave to serve as Massachusetts Political Director for Obama for America in 2008 before joining Governor Patrick’s re-election campaign as Deputy Campaign Manager.

Brendan returned to the State House in 2011 as Communications Director before serving as Chief of Staff in 2013 and 2014.

After leaving the State House, Brendan served as the founding Executive Director of HubWeek, a civic collaboration launched by Harvard, MIT, MGH, and the Boston Globe in 2014. During his time as Executive Director, HubWeek grew into a nationally-recognized ideas and innovation festival that brought together more than 1,000 companies, non-profits, and cultural institutions and attracted more than 250,000 attendees.

Alex Morash Editor and Policy Researcher

Alex Morash is TogetherFund’s editor and policy researcher. A Massachusetts native, he hails from Cape Cod. Alex joins the organization with years of experience in media, writing, and policy research and has worked for some of the most well known national organizations in the country. He has spent much of the 2020 election cycle working in America’s largest swing-state as the Florida Democratic Party’s statewide press secretary. He has also served as the media director for the National LGBTQ Task Force, America’s oldest national LGBTQ advocacy organization, and has served as the economic researcher for Media Matters for America. His writing has been published in The Advocate Magazine and The Washington Blade. Alex has also served as a judge for two years in a row for the National LGBTQ Journalists Association’s Excellence In Journalism Awards. He holds a master’s degree in political science from Northeastern University and attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Framingham State University for his undergraduate work.

Ellen McCormickScheduler and Special Assitant

Ellen McCormick is the Scheduler and Special Assistant for the TogetherFUND. Prior to joining the TogetherFUND, Ellen served as the Scheduling and Operations Manager for the Deval Patrick 2020 presidential campaign, overseeing schedule requests, travel, and event logistics. Before working for Governor Patrick, she worked as a Business Immigration Analyst at Seyfarth Shaw LLP in Boston, specializing in nonimmigrant visa processes.

Ellen graduated with Highest Honors from Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with concentrations in Global Citizenship, French, and Arabic. While at Lehigh, Ellen worked as an Immigration Casework intern for Senator Elizabeth Warren, as an organizing fellow for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, and as a Casework intern for Bethany Christian Services’ Refugee Resettlement Program.

Our Board

Arthur BernardBoard Member

Arthur Bernard is an attorney at the government relations firm Travaglini, Scorzoni, Kiley, providing strategic advice, lobbying services and business development consulting to clients on issues before the state and local governments. Arthur brings over twenty-five years experience in senior legal and policy positions in state government, including, Chief of Staff to the Governor of Massachusetts, Chief of Staff to the Massachusetts State Senate President, Vice Chancellor for Government Relations and Public Affairs for the University of Massachusetts Boston, General Counsel for the University of Massachusetts Building Authority and Associate Counsel for the University of Massachusetts system. Arthur received his B.A. from Suffolk University and his J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Kate CookSecretary

Kate Cook is a partner at Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen and chair of the government law practice group. She helps public- and private-sector clients in all aspects of government and election law. Kate has an active pro bono practice focusing on civil rights and civil liberties matters. Before joining Sugarman Rogers, Kate spent many years as a trusted legal and policy advisor and litigator to public officials at the city and state level, including serving as chief legal counsel to Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick. In that role she advised the Governor and executive branch on legal, regulatory, and policy matters, and worked on a wide-range of issues including judicial appointments, clemency decisions, and legislative and regulatory initiatives.

Rosy Gonzalez SpeersBoard Member

Rosy Gonzalez Speers is a political and communications strategist. She builds and executes effective plans for organizations, corporations, and elected officials to navigate complex issues and campaigns.

Rosy has worked ‘behind the scenes’ for corporate executives, Governors and high-ranking members of the Democratic Party. She leads the strategy on mission-driven projects and brings years of political, communications and campaign experience to every endeavor.

Steven MeleTreasurer

Steve is a principal at Mele Brengarth & Associates. He is a non-profit accounting and compliance professional with over 25 years of experience, the last 20 years specifically with civil rights and political organizations. Steve grew a private practice in California serving non-profit organizations, federal, state, and local candidates, and numerous ballot measures including No on Prop 8 (CA-2008). Steve is an advocate for many progressive causes, including Campaign Finance Reform, writing on the subject of the The Johnson Amendment in 2017.

Wanda WhitmoreBoard Member

Wanda is a founding partner of Legacy, Inc., a communications, film and video production company, which consults and produces content for media, corporate and nonprofit organizations. Her short, documentary-style programs cover government, business and cultural trends, such as: historical and current events affecting the African American community, professional women’s profiles, youth sports and anti-bias programs, as well as progressive work trends in banking and other industries.

Arthur BernardBoard Member

Arthur Bernard is an attorney at the government relations firm Travaglini, Scorzoni, Kiley, providing strategic advice, lobbying services and business development consulting to clients on issues before the state and local governments. Arthur brings over twenty-five years experience in senior legal and policy positions in state government, including, Chief of Staff to the Governor of Massachusetts, Chief of Staff to the Massachusetts State Senate President, Vice Chancellor for Government Relations and Public Affairs for the University of Massachusetts Boston, General Counsel for the University of Massachusetts Building Authority and Associate Counsel for the University of Massachusetts system. Arthur received his B.A. from Suffolk University and his J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Kate CookSecretary

Kate Cook is a partner at Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen and chair of the government law practice group. She helps public- and private-sector clients in all aspects of government and election law. Kate has an active pro bono practice focusing on civil rights and civil liberties matters. Before joining Sugarman Rogers, Kate spent many years as a trusted legal and policy advisor and litigator to public officials at the city and state level, including serving as chief legal counsel to Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick. In that role she advised the Governor and executive branch on legal, regulatory, and policy matters, and worked on a wide-range of issues including judicial appointments, clemency decisions, and legislative and regulatory initiatives.

Rosy Gonzalez SpeersBoard Member

Rosy Gonzalez Speers is a political and communications strategist. She builds and executes effective plans for organizations, corporations, and elected officials to navigate complex issues and campaigns.

Rosy has worked ‘behind the scenes’ for corporate executives, Governors and high-ranking members of the Democratic Party. She leads the strategy on mission-driven projects and brings years of political, communications and campaign experience to every endeavor.

Steven MeleTreasurer

Steve is a principal at Mele Brengarth & Associates. He is a non-profit accounting and compliance professional with over 25 years of experience, the last 20 years specifically with civil rights and political organizations. Steve grew a private practice in California serving non-profit organizations, federal, state, and local candidates, and numerous ballot measures including No on Prop 8 (CA-2008). Steve is an advocate for many progressive causes, including Campaign Finance Reform, writing on the subject of the The Johnson Amendment in 2017.

Wanda WhitmoreBoard Member

Wanda is a founding partner of Legacy, Inc., a communications, film and video production company, which consults and produces content for media, corporate and nonprofit organizations. Her short, documentary-style programs cover government, business and cultural trends, such as: historical and current events affecting the African American community, professional women’s profiles, youth sports and anti-bias programs, as well as progressive work trends in banking and other industries.