Claudia Wu is the Co-founder and Co-director of the Center for Civic Engagement & Service at Newton North. She is an educator and attorney with a specialty in environmental and constitutional law, and has worked in the private, nonprofit and government sectors at the local, state and national level for over 35 years. Claudia also consults to non-profit historic preservation organizations and government agencies, providing advice and facilitation services on resources, board development and organizational priorities. She has chaired and serves on a number of non-profit boards, advisory councils and local commissions, and is a recurring guest speaker at the Harvard Business School. Along with her Co-Director, Terry Yoffie, Claudia has served as a classroom team instructor in U.S. Government courses and teaches about civics and engagement across many different curricula at NNHS.

Claudia is a graduate of Wellesley College and holds a J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

Terry Yoffie is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Center for Civic Engagement & Service at Newton North. Throughout her career, she has worked with K-12 and higher education, bio-tech, and health care institutions, as well as with secular and Jewish nonprofit organizations on finance, development, strategy, internal controls and risk management. Terry has held several executive roles on nonprofit boards, and has deep experience on issues that nonprofit organizations face. Terry has more than 30 years experience in development, membership, outreach, financial management, reporting and planning and she has been practicing community and political organizing since she was in middle school. Terry is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds an M.B.A. from California State University, East Bay. She is a C.P.A. and a Wexner Fellow.

Claudia and Terry are co-recipients of the City of Newton’s 2016 Community Service Award for their innovative work in creating the Center for Civic Engagement and Service. They are also recipients of the Newton North High School’s 2016 Principal’s Plaque for their outstanding contribution on behalf of students and faculty and programs at Newton North.

Jacqueline Freeman is the Administrator for the Center for Civic Engagement & Service. Jacqueline is a dedicated community advocate and longtime Newton resident who has spent years bringing people together to support local schools, public spaces, and neighborhood initiatives. As a founding member of Friends of Albemarle, she has played a key role in building public support and working collaboratively with city leaders to advance major projects like the renovation of Gath Pool.

Jacqueline has also been deeply involved in the Newton Public Schools community, serving as Co-President of both the Newton North High School PTSO and the Horace Mann Elementary PTO. In these roles, she led successful fundraising campaigns, expanded community participation, and helped create meaningful connections among families, educators, and administrators.

Earlier in her career, Jacqueline worked in journalism and media, managing and contributing to several Boston-area community newspapers. She is a graduate of Lafayette College and has a MS in Communications from Boston University. 

Nicole Kahn is an Advisor to the Center for Civic Engagement & Service at Newton North. Nicole is an experienced educator, curriculum designer and civic engagement leader with more than two decades of teaching and administration across the United States.  Her teaching and work has centered on helping students critically examine history, democracy, identity and social responsibility through rigorous, inquiry-based learning that integrates experiential education and project-based instruction.  She has taught middle and high school history, English literature and humanities courses, and has led initiatives focused on curriculum redesign, advisory programming and diversity, equity and inclusion work.  In addition, Nicole is actively involved in civic and community engagement efforts in the Brookline and Newton communities, including LGBTQ+ advocacy, refugee support, and expanding student volunteer and civic learning opportunities.

Nicole earned a B.A. in English Literature from Swarthmore College and an M.S.Ed. in Middle Level Education from Bank Street College of Education, and has pursued additional graduate-level history coursework and professional development through institutions including Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania.

Nancy Brown is the Communications Specialist for the Center for Civic Engagement & Service at Newton North. Nancy oversees a wide range of communications tasks: writing posts that share stories of civic engagement, and managing the CCES website and social media accounts. Additionally, she provides key editorial support to the CCES team. Nancy has been a freelance writer and editor, and previously worked as a mentor for CCES.

Nancy is a graduate of Emmanuel College.