Real Estate Associate Broker, Keller Williams Realty Boston

Chair, METCO Board of Directors

Following in the footsteps of his late older sister Rev. Dr. Stephanie Castro, Darnell entered the Lexington Public Schools as a METCO student in the first grade. Graduating from Lexington High School in 2001, he later earned a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Management from the University of New Haven in 2005. After working 12 years in hotel management, he transitioned to real estate where he is a licensed broker at Keller Williams Realty Boston.

Darnell, inspired by his son, a current METCO student in Lincoln Public Schools, and his wife who is on the Lincoln METCO parent board, joined the METCO Board of Directors in 2017. He assumed the role of Board Chair in December 2023. With a deep understanding of educational disparities, his commitment, rooted in personal experience, drives him to collaborate with METCO and other stakeholders to promote equitable access to quality education in Massachusetts regardless of zip code, socioeconomic status, and skin color.

Founder & Managing Partner, Caste Capital

Patrick Kimble is a METCO alumni who graduated from Lincoln Sudbury High School in 2008. He holds a B.S. in Economics & Information Design/Corporate Communication from Bentley University. Patrick co-founded his first company, 1PERCENT GALLERY, in 2012. He founded Caste Capital in 2021, following more than 10 years of Institutional Commercial Real Estate experience. His company recently was awarded the sought-after contract to redevelop the Boston Public Library’s West End Branch to include 119 units of income-restricted housing.

Patrick started his career with Boston Properties (BXP) where he helped build the firm’s Boston regional portfolio of 15.5 million square feet of office, retail, and life-science space. He also served as Vice President at Davis, a Boston-based real estate private equity firm. Patrick serves as Board Director & Executive Committee member of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board Commercial Brokers Association. In 2022, he was named a Builders of Color Coalition Affordable Housing Developer Fellow. He is a board member and former Board Chair of METCO Inc. and Board Advisor for Boston Harbor Now.

METCO Director, Reading Public Schools

Kurtis Martin's educational journey in the Wayland Public Schools through the METCO program started in the 2nd grade and ended when he graduated from Wayland High School in 2003. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from University of Massachusetts Boston and has served as METCO Director for the Reading Public Schools since July 2021. Kurtis found his love for becoming an educator through coaching basketball when he became the boys’ varsity basketball coach for Brighton High School in November 2009. 

Prior to becoming METCO Director in Reading, Kurtis was the Dean of Students for Brighton High School. His tenure in the Boston Public Schools includes serving as Dean of Students at Madison Park Technical/Vocational High School along with working at the Murphy school in Dorchester and the Curtis Guild Elementary School in East Boston.  After winning multiple State Championships at Brighton High School and sending kids off to play college basketball, Kurtis stepped down as boys basketball coach in September of 2022 to focus on ensuring that students in the Reading Public Schools had even better experiences than he and his classmates once had in Wayland.

Scholar-Practitioner, Career Coach, Author

Natascha F. Saunders graduated from Natick’s Kennedy Middle School in 1992 and from Natick High School in 1996. Her two older brothers were also METCO students. Today she is a scholar-practitioner, certified coach, and trainer in the field of Career Decision Making. She is an Associate Director at Harvard Kennedy School, Office of Career Advancement, and a Visiting Scholar at the Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice, as well as a former Goodwill Ambassador to The Gambia, West Africa.

Her work has carried career development to the forefront of conversations on social equity. Her dissertation entitled, "Krumboltz, Career Decision Making, and METCO" was a qualitative study focused on the career decisions of students. During the Obama Administration she interned at the U.S. Department of Education, an experience resulting in her commitment to public service. A first-generation college graduate, Natascha completed her executive education at Harvard Kennedy School and MIT Sloan, and she holds an MBA, MS, BA, and Ed.D. in Leadership and Communication. 

Post-Secondary Education Specialist & Strategic Initiatives Manager, National Grid

Nick Vance graduated from the Bedford Public Schools in 2009, in the METCO program.

As he continued his education, earning Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees in political science and legal studies, Nick maintained a focus on providing leadership, innovation and support in disadvantaged communities. He has held numerous public and private sector positions including Recruitment Manager at City Year, Mentorship Program Coordinator at Harvard University, Executive Search Manager at Isaacson Miller, and more.

He is a former member of the METCO Board of Directors. Currently, as Post-Secondary Education Specialist & Strategic Initiatives Manager at National Grid, Nick is responsible for strategic partnerships with local colleges and universities while creating and leading a workforce development program for all of New England and much more. He is active in many political, youth and community-based organizations and ran for a Boston City Council At-Large seat in 2021.

State Representative, 5th Suffolk

Christopher Worrell graduated from Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School in 2004 in the METCO program. In 2022, he was elected State Representative for the 5th Suffolk District of Massachusetts, encompassing Dorchester and Roxbury. He is applauded as a staunch advocate for criminal justice reform, housing and health equity, economic mobility, and expanding access to education. Representative Worrell was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts to parents who immigrated from Jamaica and Barbados.

Always committed to community service, he has worked tirelessly in community-based programs throughout his career. Immediately prior to election as state representative, he served as Community Engagement Manager for the Boston Planning and Development Agency. Throughout his life and his tenure at the State House, Representative Worrell has been a champion for youth and all those struggling for a foothold to a better life in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. He and his wife, Suzette, are raising their two children, Carter and Savannah, in Dorchester’s Grove Hall section.