ACONE Board of Directors & Staff
Herbert Friedman, President, has been a Board member since 2005 and a long time member. Herb is the adoptive parent of an adult son from Honduras. He is an attorney who specializes in adoption and assisted reproductive technology law. He is a founding fellow and board member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and an Angel in Adoption recipient. He is reasonably fluent in Spanish.
Anne Coleman, Vice President, recently joined the Board in January. She is an adoptive mother of 2 daughters from China and was adopted herself. Anne facilitates the monthly ACONE Triad group as well as a peer Adoption Discussion Group at Resolve. Anne is a psychotherapist who specializes in working with adopted persons, birth parents and adoptive parents as well as clients dealing with infertility related issues. She has presented workshops at the ACONE annual conference for the past five years and is a Special Lecturer in the Graduate Counseling Program at Providence College.
Tim Feeney became a Board member in 2009, joining the technology and strategic planning committee and was recently voted in as the Treasurer for ACONE. His professional background is grounded in technology, with over 15 years specific to building and supporting technology in the financial services sector. His goal as an ACONE Board member is to help ACONE use technology to reduce costs, increase productivity, and most importantly provide greater services and benefits to our members. As an adoptive parent of an 11-year-old, and having gone through the barrage of IVF treatments, Tim has a close personal connection with the adoption community.
Raquel Woodard, Clerk, is a former ACONE Board member, who recently rejoined the Board because she believes strongly in the importance of ACONE to the New England adoption community. Raquel is a licensed clinical social worker, who has worked in the adoption field for over forty years, and she is also an adoptive parent.
Denis Calderone joined the ACONE Board of Directors in 2009. Last year, Denis finalized the adoption of a sibling group from Ethiopia (ages 3.5 years and 1.5 years) and returned with the children at the beginning of May 2009. Denis and his wife are very active in the Ethiopian adoption community in the New England area, having started a metro-west parent support group and participating actively in the support and administration of the Northeast Ethiopian Culture Camp. Denis is a part owner of an information technology consulting company and brings a broad expertise of technical skills to the Board that should help propel ACONE into the future.
James Chicoski recently joined the ACONE Board of Directors. Jim and his wife, Milana, adopted their son in 2009 and have become active in several adoption communities, including a close-knit group of 25 families who adopted from the same agency in 2008 and 2009. Jim is interested in how men relate to adoption and infertility, and he started an adoptive dads group in 2011. Jim has been part of a family touched by adoption nearly his entire life. His younger sister was born in South Korea and joined the family when Jim was 2 years old. Jim is an attorney practicing in the area of corporate law, focusing on securities, mergers & acquisitions and general corporate matters.
Erin Lasker joined the Board in 2011. Erin and her husband are currently in the waiting stages of a domestic infant adoption. Erin is the acting Executive Director for Resolve of New England working to provide infertility education, support and advocacy to the infertility community. Erin has been an active part of the infertility community over the past few years by volunteering and working with Resolve and now that she is closer to becoming an adoptive parent, she wants to be an active part of the adoption community.
Raymond Lee has been a Board member since 2007 and is on the Finance, Fundraising/Grant Writing, and Website/Security committees. His goal as a Board member is to ensure the longevity of the organization. Raymond is an adoptive father.
Meet the Staff
Maureen Tallon came to ACONE three years ago as an incredibly dedicated volunteer and has since taken on the role as Executive Coordinator. Her expertise is in finance and bookkeeping, but she also coordinates ACONE’s programs, events, and resources. She and her husband are the owners of Children of the World, LLC, which provides resources such as books, videos, music, toys, dolls and more to all members of the adoption triad. Maureen has a 22 year old step-son and a 11-year-old daughter adopted from China.
Feel free to call or e-mail the office with any questions. We also welcome and encourage you to visit the office. Please call 508-872-2230 for an appointment, so we can ensure that someone will be available to greet you and show you around the office.
