Congratulations to this year’s Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce at the Distinguished Young Professional Award recipients! The event takes place at Four Oaks Country Club on Tuesday, June 13th from 12-2pm. Click here for ticket information. 

2023 Distinguished Young Professionals

• Andres Lopez, Lowell Youth Leadership Program (LYLP)
• Conor Baldwin, City of Lowell
• Elizabeth Sarrouf, SLS Fitness
• Francesca Cigliano, City of Lowell
• Grant Alois, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union
• Jessica Silva, Enterprise Bank
• Kelly Trickett, Incompass Human Services
• Marielle Abou-Mitri, Middlesex Community College
• Matthew Robbins, Lowell Five Bank
• Mira Bookman, Project LEARN
• Nikki Caplis, Eliopoulos & Eliopoulos, P.C.
• Stephen Giuffre, Lowell Five Bank
• Stephen Sarrouf, Dragonfly Cafe

Meet this year’s class of Distinguished Young Professionals

Andres Lopez, Lowell Youth Leadership Program (LYLP)

Andres Lopez is graduate from Middlesex Community College (MCC) in 2006 with a Liberal Arts and Science degree.  He then transferred to UMass Boston to finish his bachelors degree in Exercise Science in 2009. In 2018, He received a Masters degree in Health and Wellness Management from Merrimack College. He then pursued a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Endicott College in 2021.

Andres is very active in his community, he is currently holding an advisory position on MCC and Lowell Youth Leadership Program (LYLP). He was on the advisory board for Fortaleza from 2020-2022. He is also working as a Health Educator at the Robinson Middle school. In the summer, he works as a Program Director at LYLP (co-founder) a free 3 week Leadership program for at-risk youth in Lowell.

Andres was born in Puerto Rico in 1984 and moved to Lowell in 1988. He grew up attending a variety of Lowell public schools. He is a single farther of 3 kids were he coaches their volleyball and basketball teams. On his down time you can see him dancing salsa at Panelas.

Conor Baldwin, City of Lowell

Conor Baldwin is the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) and has worked for the City of Lowell since 2010. As CFO, he oversees and directs treasury, budgeting, assessing, tax, purchasing, real estate, and insurance activities for the city. He directs, compiles, and manages the city’s $500+ million annual operating budget and finances the capital improvement plan. During his tenure as CFO, Conor has also served in acting capacities as the City Treasurer and Tax Collector and has saved the city over $3.2 million by refinancing outstanding city debt and managing the city’s credit rating. Under his direction, the City of Lowell’s budget department has also been awarded the prestigious Government Finance Officers of America’s (GFOA) distinguished budget award the past eight fiscal years.

He was appointed CFO in July of 2014, but prior to that he directed the city’s LowellSTAT program in the City Manager’s Office and has also worked in the city’s Office of Human Relations. He has a Bachelor Degree in History and English/ Communications (BA) and a Master’s Degree in Regional Economic and Social Development (MA), both from UMass Lowell (’07 & ’09). He is also an adjunct professor for the UMass Lowell teaching public budgeting and finance in the graduate school of Public Administration.

Conor is a Lowell resident, living in the South Lowell neighborhood with his wife and two daughters. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Lowell Catholic High School and on the parish finance counsel for St. Michal’s Church. He is also member of the steering committee for Mosaic Lowell, a Cultural Economy Plan for Lowell, as well as a parent representative on the school site council for the J. G. Pyne School in Lowell. Other civic involvement includes the Public Matters program and many years of volunteerism for the Lowell Folk Festival.

Elizabeth Sarrouf, SLS Fitness

Elizabeth is the Community and Corporate Wellness Lead at SLS Fitness Strength & Conditioning Center in Lowell, MA. Her role consists of partnering with local businesses and community centers to bring wellness programming and initiatives provided by SLS Fitness. Elizabeth is a mental health advocate, passionate about creating mindfulness, movement, and art-based programs in corporate spaces, local communities, and education fields that help promote overall well-being and awareness. She is looking forward to bringing some of these programs to Dragonfly Cafe in the near future.

Francesca Cigliano, City of Lowell

Francesca Cigliano is the Senior Planner for the City of Lowell. As the Senior Planner, she oversees the City’s land use boards – the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Commission, Community Preservation Committee, and Historic Board – and leads long term planning initiatives. In her work, she is particularly interested in how zoning may be used as a tool to enhance climate resiliency and promote housing equity.

Prior to working in Lowell, Francesca was an intern at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in Springfield and the UMass Donahue Institute’s Economic and Public Policy research group.

Francesca graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Sustainable Community Development in 2018. She completed her master’s degree in Regional Planning with a concentration in Land Use and Environmental Planning from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in February 2020.

Francesca was born and raised in the Highlands neighborhood of Lowell and is a proud graduate of Lowell Public Schools. She currently lives in Somerville. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, experimenting with new recipes, and spending time in nature.

Grant Alois, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union

Grant is the Vice President of Technology Operations at Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union. He has an extensive background network and technical services and is a seasoned information technology professional with a track record of strong leadership and results. Grant received his A.S in Computer Information Systems from the New Hampshire Technical Institute, B.S. from Western Governors University in Cloud Computing, and is currently working towards an MBA in Information Technology Management. Grant holds certifications from ISACA, Amazon Web Services, ITIL, and CompTIA.

Aside from his work at Jeanne D’Arc, Grant is involved with the Capital Region Food Program, a private, not-for-profit, all-volunteer organization whose mission is to help reduce hunger in the Greater Concord Area through the distribution of food to individuals, families, and local agencies.  Grant also works closely with Veterans Count which provides critical and timely financial assistance and services to service members, veterans, and their families when no other resources are available to ensure their dignity, health, and overall well-being.

Grant currently lives in Concord, NH with his wife Elena.

Jessica Silva, Enterprise Bank

Jessica Silva is a Senior Branch Relationship Manager, VP at Enterprise Bank.  She embarked on her banking career at Enterprise Bank in 2005 as a Branch Service Specialist at the Lowell Connector Branch.  In 2012, she was promoted to Branch Relationship Manager, AVP and led the opening of the Bank’s 20^th branch location in the heart of Tyngsboro. Leading Enterprise Bank’s Dracut office location since 2017, Jessica focuses on servicing her customers, supporting the community, and coaching and mentoring her team.  Jessica has frequently qualified for the Bank’s prestigious President’s Club Gold Sales Award.  She is a founding member of the Bank’s Multicultural Alliance committee, which promotes and celebrates diversity to create an environment that is welcoming, nurturing, and inclusive.

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Jessica earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a dual concentration in Management & Finance.

An advocate of community service, Jessica is involved with many organizations and community initiatives throughout the area. One near and dear to her heart is Alternative House.  Serving on the Board of Directors for the past twelve years, Alternative House has assisted the Greater Lowell community for 40+ years by offering emergency shelter, transitional/permanent housing, legal advocacy, and support for all victims of domestic violence and their children.  In addition, she has served on the Greater Lowell Technical High School Marketing Advisory Board and as a proud Rotarian for the past eight years.

Jessica was born and raised in Lowell, MA and currently resides in Dracut with her fiancé, Alex and her two amazing boys: Dominic – 4 and Vincent – 3 years old.

Kelly Trickett, Incompass Human Services

Kelly is the Chief Operating Officer at Incompass Human Services and provides leadership and oversight to all program services. This includes clinical services, residential services, day services, and family and community supports. She was promoted to this role in the fall of 2022.  She had started here at in June of 2018 as the Director of Family and Community Supports.  What keeps her motivated is her passion to ensure that the people we support receive services that enable them to be active members in their communities and live a full and meaningful life. She enjoys collaborating with like minded service providers and being an innovating thought leader in the field of human services. Prior to this she was working at the Charles River Center in Needham in a similar role.

Kelly received her bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire in Recreation Management and Policy with a focus in Therapeutic Recreation. She was a licensed recreational therapist and ran social groups for children and teens with disabilities.  It is during this time that she fell in love with working with individuals with various abilities.  She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Public Health Care Administration.

Kelly is originally from Chelsea, MA. She currently resides in Lynn with her husband, Brian and two sons: Benjamin (2 years old) and Jack ( 1 years old).

Marielle Abou-Mitri, Middlesex Community College

Marielle is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, where she studied Political Science and Legal Studies, and a graduate of Suffolk University Law School, where she obtained her Juris Doctorate. Marielle is a licensed attorney in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She is the Director of Human Resources at Middlesex Community College where she is responsible for maintaining harmonious relationships between the College administration and the several employee unions. She manages employee engagement initiatives at the College to ensure faculty and staff feel welcomed and valued. Her role also includes implementing changes to policies and procedures to reflect that the College is applying best practices. More recently, Marielle managed the implementation of several initiatives to ensure  the College’s commitment to hiring and retaining diverse faculty and staff that reflect the students and community that the College serves. Since Middlesex employs nearly 1,000 employees from Massachusetts and its surrounding states, these changes and contributions have made a lasting impact on both Middlesex Community College and the greater Lowell community.

Matt Robbins, Lowell Five Bank

Matt Robbins is a Vice President of Credit at Lowell Five Bank.  Matt started at the bank in 2017 as a senior credit analyst before promotions to Assistant Vice President in 2019 and Vice President in 2022.  In his role, he underwrites complex and large commercial transactions as well as annual reviews and renewals.  On occasion, he also performs internal real estate valuations.  Matt is a proud graduate of Saint Anselm College and Nichols College, where he earned his Masters of Business Administration.  He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Matt likes to volunteer his time at The Barton Center for Diabetes Education, where he is on the Board of Trustees.  The Center runs Clara Barton Camp (for girls) and Camp Joslin (for boys) for type 1 diabetic children.  Additionally, he serves on the Bank’s Employee Inclusion Committee.  Matt lives in North Chelmsford with his wife Erin and dog Russ.

Mira Bookman, Project LEARN

Mira is the Program Director for Project LEARN and collaborates closely with Lowell Public Schools’ leadership and staff to create novel programs and support existing school programs for Lowell youth. In this role, she manages STEM and College & Career Readiness programs, oversees student internships, develops hands-on career-exploration experiences, and organizes career speaker events to educate students about next-generation workforce needs.

She was instrumental in the research, design, and launch of Project LEARN’s Youth Innovation Space or Y-Space in March 2022 in downtown Lowell, which houses student internships, STEM workshops, college and career readiness, and early literacy initiatives.

Since its launch, the Y-Space made an impact on more than 1,200+ students, educators, and community members across Lowell. Mira is passionate about building partnerships with other local community organizations and businesses in order to create more opportunities for Lowell youth.

Mira is a 2019 Teach For America-Greater Boston alumni, who most recently taught 9th Grade Biology at Salem Academy Charter School in Salem, MA. Prior to working in Lowell, she served as a Leadership in Educational Equity Summer 2021 Fellow, and she also brings prior non-profit experience from Health Programs Development at The Carter Center in Atlanta, GA. Mira holds undergraduate degrees in Biology, Anthropology, and Global Health from the University of Georgia, and a Master’s in Education from Boston University.

Nikki Caplis, Eliopoulos & Eliopoulos, P.C.

Nikki is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, where she studied Political Science and Legal Studies, and a graduate of Suffolk University Law School, where she obtained her Juris Doctorate. Nikki is a licensed attorney in Massachusetts and practices in real estate, estate planning, landlord/tenant law.

While she was a student at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Nikki interned at the Lawrence Mayor’s Office and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office in the Communications Department. During her final semester at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, she was a research assistant for Visiting Professor Noel Twagiramungu. While Nikki was a student at Suffolk University Law School, she was a Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:03 Certified Student Practitioner in the Accelerator-to-Practice Program’s Housing Discrimination Clinic, where she represented indigent clients facing housing discrimination.

Nikki is a founding member and Vice President of BNI Excel and is a member of the Polka Dot Powerhouse Merrimack Valley Chapter. She is also an active member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston Bar Association, Real Estate Bar Association, Women’s Bar Association, and the Northeast Association of Realtors. Additionally, Nikki serves as an Alternate Member on the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Town of Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. She also enjoys volunteering her time as a Chairperson of Relay For Life 2.0, which hosts annual fundraisers for the American Cancer Society.

Nikki was raised in Burlington, Massachusetts and currently lives in Tyngsborough. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, crocheting and traveling.

Stephen Giuffre, Lowell Five Bank

Today, Stephen Giuffre is the Assistant Vice President of Business Intelligence at Lowell Five Bank. Back in 2003, he joined the Bank as a teller through an internship with Greater Lowell Technical High School. Upon graduating from high school, Lowell Five hired Stephen full-time as a teller at their John Street – Lowell branch. After a brief departure to attend Lincoln Tech where he earned a Network Systems Administration Certificate, he rejoined the bank in their IT Department as a Support Specialist. Twelve years later, in 2019, Stephen was offered and accepted a position on Lowell Five’s Business Intelligence Team where he oversees the Bank’s CRM System. He was promoted to Assistant Vice President in 2021.

Stephen is always looking for ways to give back to his community, previously, he has volunteered his time with Habitat for Humanity, Merrimack Valley Food Bank and in numerous local charitable walks. He also served on the local Board for the March for Dimes (Merrimack Valley) from 2017-2019.  Additionally, he serves on the Bank’s Employee Inclusion Committee.

In 2022, Stephen participated in the “One Mission Buzz Off for Kids with Cancer” charity event where he raised $2,300 in turn sparked his commitment to helping kids fight cancer. He joined the One Mission Team as a runner on their 2023 Boston Marathon team and successfully completed the marathon. His commitment to One Mission required him to not only put tremendous effort into fundraising for the organization, but as a new runner, he had to develop the physical ability and stamina to run 26.2 miles. With lots of time and determination, a few creative fundraising ideas, and the support of many local businesses, Stephen was able to accomplish both goals. He surpassed his fundraising goal and raised $14,437 for One Mission and completed his first Boston Marathon on Monday, April 17, 2023.

Stephen looks to continue his relationship with One Mission as a Volunteer/Participant.

Stephen currently lives in Pelham with his wife, Bethany and twin daughters, Emma & Marina.

Stephen Sarrouf, Dragonfly Cafe