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About Us
student Nakia in front of a box of chocolates sculpture at the Museum of Science

Volunteering

As a volunteer, your time, your energy and your participation will contribute to the provision of an after school program for children who are legally blind which is respectful, inclusive, challenging and fun.



Our Space Our Place Mission


The mission of Our Space Our Place, Inc. is to Prepare blind youth for their future as productive and successful adults by promoting their self confidence, determination and social and independent living skills through activities which support self exploration, social integration and the investigation of college and career opportunities. In achieving our mission, we are guided by the principles

  • Respect for each other
  • Inclusion of all
  • Safety to explore
  • Challenge of perceived limits


OUR SPACE OUR PLACE BOARD OF DIRECTORS BIOS

Cheryl Cumings-Founder/Board President/Acting Director

Cheryl is the Executive Director for Our Space Our Place. Cheryl is the principal staff person at Our Space Our Place. She is also President of the Board of Directors. She lives in Brighton.

Cheryl graduated from the School of International Studies at Princeton University with a BA in International Relations. Because of a two-year commitment with the Peace Corps, she received her Masters of Law and Diplomacy from the Tufts University Fletcher School in 1994. Ms. Cumings was employed by the University of Massachusetts Medical School as a Project Associate. Cheryl now focuses her work on growing and finding sustainable funding for Our Space our Place, Inc..

Recently she completed the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities fellowship at the University of Massachusetts medical School Shriver Center. Cheryl was selected to participate in the Smarter in the City program, where she worked with a team of advisors to create a program to teach coding to blind or low vision youth.

Cheryl is on the board of directors of the

  • Disability Policy Consortium
and the
  • Bay State Council of the Blind.
She is also a member of the
  • Association of Mass. Educators of Visually Impaired Students
  • Princeton Association of New England
and
  • Fletcher Womens Group

Sengil Inkiala,
Secretary

Inky lives in Watertown. He is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor at the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Amherst College in 1982; Special Ed Rehab Teacher certification in 1983 from Boston College, Certificate in Leadership from Assumption College in 2002 and Certificate of Psychiatric Vocational Rehabilitation from Boston University in 2007. Inky is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He served as Advisor to the President from 1987 to 1997 and was President of the National Blind Union of Congo during the same period. He is currently a member of the Massachusetts National Federation of the Blind. Inky is also blind. Inkys lifelong experience helping to empower the blind is an incalculable contribution to the organization. Inky has been with the Board since 2006.

Brian Souza,
Board Member

pBrian lives in Melrose. With over a decade of experience in the management of nonprofit, human service programs, his strong analytical and problem-solving skills make him an excellent addition to the OSOP Board of Directors. He is an effective team builder and mentor. He is currently the Managing Director of the DentaQuest Insitute, a national, non-profit organization working to improve oral health care. Brian has a Masters of Social Work in Planning and Program Development, a Certificate in Human Service Management, and a B.A. in Psychology from Boston University. He serves on several Boards and committees including: The Geriatric Institute Jewish Family & Childrens Services, Only a Child, Guatemala City-Pro-Bono Strategic Planning Advisor to the Board of Directors, The Charles H. Farnsworth Trust Aging Policy Research Fellowship and DentaQuest Institute Publications, Principal Author: The Oral Health of MassachusettsChildren and Toward a Stronger Oral Health Safety Net. Brian has been with the OSOP Board since 2006.

Max a. Campos,
Board Member

Max lives in Revere. Max has a Master’s in Social Work from Simmons College and a Rehabilitation Counseling Certification from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Max currently works in the mental health field. He has extensive experience working with youth. He speaks Portuguese and Spanish. Max joined the Board in 2017.

Rhonda mencey,
Board member

Rhonda lives in Dorchester. Rhonda has a Master’s in Social work and has worked for many years as a Teacher of Visually Impaired Students. She has worked at an Independent Living Center, one on one with blind students and recently for many years at the Maryland School for the Blind. Rhonda is a Certified Assistive Technology trainer. Rhonda joined the Board in 2017.

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