Board of Directors

Shalane has been a dedicated Odyssey of the Mind participant since her high school years in Maine, competing at World Finals twice. She has spent 14 years judging and currently serves as the Association Director for Massachusetts and the Spontaneous Problem Captain for Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Relocating to Massachusetts for college in 2008, Shalane has since built a career in marketing and education. She now manages the marketing team for Command Education, the national leader in college consulting. Shalane is passionate about finding creative solutions to common problems and is committed to fostering this spirit of innovation in Odyssey participants.

Melissa has been involved in Odyssey of the Mind since the 5th grade! She spent many years competing, eventually earning a 2nd Place World Finals medal. Through college, she began assisting the New Jersey OotM tournaments as a score runner before landing a judging position in Problem 4. After relocating to Boston in 2016, Melissa joined the MA OotM Board to share her incredible STEM experience with other students.

Ian is a relative newcomer to the world of Odyssey, having gotten his start judging long-term problems in Massachusetts, and later transitioning to more behind-the-scenes work as Treasurer. He finds inspiration in every team’s solution and wishes he did Odyssey back in school! Ian is often found hiking on woody trails with a rucksack, exploring the world of augmented reality.

Christina grew up in south-central PA, where she participated in Odyssey of the Mind throughout high school. She found the program so beneficial that she wanted to continue involvement after graduation and started judging & coaching as a college student. Shortly after moving to Massachusetts for grad school, she joined the board of MA Odyssey and has served as Association Director, Judges Coordinator, and Classics Problem Captain as well as a board member at large. She also practices her creative problem-solving skills in her gardening, Dungeons & Dragons role-playing, and raising her son as well as her professional work as an education researcher.

Jason has been involved with Odyssey of the Mind since 2011 and he currently serves as the Foreign Teams Coordinator for Spontaneous at World Finals, working directly with the International Problem Captain for Spontaneous. He has judged competitions at the international level including Germany finals and Eurofest in Poland and in Germany. He also translates Spontaneous problems for Hong Kong, China, and Germany at World Finals every year. Jason is new to the greater Boston area, having moved here last year as Assistant Professor of Economics at Babson College, a global leader in entrepreneurship education. He is passionate about creative pedagogy and design thinking, and wholeheartedly believes Odyssey of the Mind better prepares students of tomorrow. He holds a PhD from Columbia University.

Cathy grew up in western NY and first participated in Odyssey of the Mind as a team member in elementary school. Soon after she became a volunteer, running scores to the score room, back when it was all on paper, and then as a judge. When she moved to MA in the early 2000’s she jumped in with both feet to take on the Association Director role and keep the program going. Since then she has taken on various roles on the board: Tournament Director, Coaches Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, just to name a few. She also attended World Finals in the past as a judge for numerous years. Her family back in NYS continues to stay involved in the program as volunteers, as well. She loves seeing all the creative ideas the teams come up with and is happy to be a part of such a unique program. Cathy makes use of her Odyssey of the Mind skills in her daily life with her husband, 2 children, dog, and 2 cats: life is full of creative problem solving opportunities!