Welcoming 2025-26 Commonwealth Corps Members

Ray and Maggie standing behind Main House on a sunny September evening.

We are delighted to share that Gould Farm has once again been selected as a Commonwealth Corps service site — our second year in partnership with this program. This means that, for the coming year, two dedicated Commonwealth Corps members will be living and serving within the Farm community, bringing fresh energy, compassion, and curiosity to the work here.

Please join us in welcoming Maggie and Raymond (Ray), who have already begun settling into life at the Farm.

Meet Maggie

Maggie arrives at Gould Farm with a passion for exploring how wellness, food, and community intersect. A graduate of Bates College with a degree in Psychology, she has worked with the Somali refugee community in Maine, where she focused on identity development for women and girls adjusting to life in a new country. 

As a collegiate rower, Maggie values the connection between body, mind, and spirit, and she has carried that philosophy into her professional and volunteer work. While at Bates, she coordinated educational events in the dining hall focused on seasonal eating, sustainable food choices, and wellness strategies. She has also led cooking demonstrations and advocacy projects related to food justice.

Maggie is no stranger to Gould Farm — she spent the summer of 2023 at Fellside, where she was a valued member of the team. She will be joining the garden team three days each week, and spending the other two days supporting our wellness work, where she’s especially excited to see how the Farm’s food philosophy connects with daily routines and overall wellness.

“Every day feels like an opportunity to think about wellness and see how it’s woven into life here,” Maggie shared. “I’m excited to observe, learn, and be part of this community.”

Meet Ray

Ray comes to us from Jamaica Plain, in the Boston area, bringing nearly a decade of experience as a mental health specialist and residential counselor. He has served at McLean Hospital in Belmont, North Suffolk Mental Health Association, and Westwood Lodge Hospital, where he developed art, psychoeducational, and recreational groups for teenagers, and worked with individuals managing dual diagnoses.

Much of Ray’s career has been in more structured mental health settings, which made his recent three-day visit to the Farm especially eye-opening. He was struck by the way work, wellness, and community life flow together here, and is eager to immerse himself in this new model of care.

At Gould Farm, Ray will be working with the campus crew three days each week, and, like Maggie, will spend two days engaged in our wellness initiatives. He’s particularly interested in learning new skills and discovering how different aspects of the Farm — clinical, work, and wellness — balance and support one another.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how everything blends together here, and just taking each day as it comes,” Ray reflected after his first week.

Carrying the Work Forward

Together, Maggie and Ray will continue the important projects begun by last year’s Commonwealth Corps members, including supporting the development of our food philosophy, using and refining our wellness assessment tool with guests, and helping coordinate outside resources for the Farm’s REACH program.

We are deeply grateful to the Commonwealth Corps program, a program of the Massachusetts Service Alliance, for recognizing the unique work of Gould Farm and for giving us the opportunity to host Maggie and Ray this year. We know they will make an incredible impact, and we are excited for the many ways they will enrich the life of our community.