Meet The Team
Cheryl cRAWFORD,
Executive Director
Cheryl Clyburn Crawford is the Executive Director of MassVOTE.
Cheryl is a former Executive Board Chair of EmergeMA, a political leadership training program. Cheryl sits on the Women's Pipeline for Change’s Oversight and Planning Board. She is an active member of the Order of the Eastern Star; a Prince Hall affiliated organization. She is a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Council on Racial Justice and Equity. Most recently she was appointed to the Citizen’s Commission on Constitutional Amendment, as well as a board member of American Promise.
Before MassVOTE, Cheryl served as Campaign Manager and then Chief of Staff to State Representative Willie Mae Allen. Born in New York, Cheryl grew up in Boston; and is a graduate of Lesley College, Cambridge, MA.
Vanessa Snow, policy and organizing director
Vanessa Snow is the Policy and Organizing Director at MassVOTE.
Vanessa is a long-time activist from Boston. She brings decades of experience in labor, community, and youth organizing and advocacy. A UMass Amherst alum, Ms. Snow has previously served at organizations including SEIU Local 509, the Greater Boston Labor Council, and the Hyde Square Task Force.
Additionally, Ms. Snow is the board chair of Zero Debt MA, a board member of Student Immigrant Movement, a member of the Mijente National Leadership Circle, and a member of Right to the City Vote’s steering committee.
Shahara jaghoo, WPC Coordinator
Shahara is the part-time Coordinator for The Women’s Pipeline for Change (WPC) Initiative at MassVOTE. As WPC Coordinator, Shahara oversees and implements trainings, policy engagement, and advancing strategies to promote awareness around opportunities for women of color in public leadership.
Shahara is a Boston native and has been a community advocate for the past 15 years. She has extensive experience working in community development and helping to advance social change for people of color. Outside of MassVOTE, Shahara is the Director of Substance Abuse Prevention and Special Initiatives at YouthBuild USA.
Shahara Jaghoo’s holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management. She also is a board member of Projecto Mas Um Chance, PMUC of Brockton, MA, a member of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, and a member of the NAACP Brockton Chapter in Brockton, MA.
aLEX PSILAKIS, COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
Alex Psilakis is a Communications Consultant for MassVOTE. In his full time, he is an Account Executive with Melwood Global. Alex arrived at Melwood with years of communications experience garnered through the public and non-profit sectors, as well as on the campaign trail. He has secured hundreds of media placements across Massachusetts, ranging from print outlets like The Boston Globe, television outlets like NBC 10 Boston, and radio outlets like WGBH.
Previously, Alex served in the Washington, D.C., office of then-Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III (MA-04). He also worked as a Communications Fellow on the 2018 Chris Pappas for Congress campaign in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District.
Alex graduated magna cum laude from American University in Washington, D.C., where he received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History.