Staff and Board

Pam Sweeney serves as the Executive Director of the Kingswood Youth Center. She has been with the organization since 2004 and was instrumental in raising funds to purchase, design, and construct the new facility. Her current role in the organization focuses on grant writing, community relations, and financial management. She has completed many grant writing courses to include: UNH Grant Writing: Research and Development and Advanced Grant Writing; the Federal Grants Educational Conference Program; and Plus Time NH.

Her passion for youth and family is evident in all her work. She established many successful programs at KYC that include the Food Program, the Mentor Program, Open Mic Nights and Coffee Houses, the Garden Project, and the Outdoor Fitness area. She enjoys being outside herself and volunteers yearly with the NH Fish and Game Program as a kayak guide. Pam graduated from Middlesex College and immediately entered the business world in Boston, MA. She moved to Wolfeboro in 1981 and has operated a building business with her husband while raising her two daughters.

Zachary Porter has held various positions with the KYC since 2011; he currently serves as the Associate Director.  He also works for the Appalachian Mountain Club.  His background includes work as a chef, administrative work, and work with youth and children.  Zachary has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Studies with minors in History and Organizational Leadership, Graduate Certificates in Leadership of Non-Profit Organizations and Human Resources Management, and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership all  from Southern New Hampshire University.  Zachary is an accomplished mountaineer, having navigated to remote and trackless places around New England, in all seasons.  At the KYC Zachary particularly enjoys working with members in the kitchen, hiking, and spending time with members outdoors.

Mara Michno is Teen Director at the Kingswood Youth Center. Helping teens to identify and nourish their strengths and to empower them through their journey into adulthood is a passion of Mara’s. Mara was born and raised in Alaska, where she skied, snowboarded, biked, hiked, camped, swam, fished, kayaked and explored. Mara received her B.A in English Literature from the University of Alaska, Anchorage in 2008 and a Master’s Degree in Teaching at the secondary level. Mara has a strong background in working with youth in alternative settings. She worked in Fairbanks as a tutor and counselor for high school students, interned for a year at the alternative high school in Juneau and taught in the Anchorage and Juneau school districts. Mara worked at a residential treatment facility for teen girls which was some of her most fulfilling and rewarding work. Mara lives in Wolfeboro with  her husband and her son who was born in November 2015.   Her family raises pigs and chickens and has 2 dogs.

A volunteer Board of Directors leads the Kingswood Youth Center. The Finance Committee manages and reports on the Endowment Fund and the organization’s portfolio. The Fundraising Committee seeks out ways to bring funds into the organization by holding various fundraising events both big and small.