Russ joined the Boys & Girls of Boston in August 2016 as the Director of the Orchard Gardens Club.  Russ was born and raised in the south shore of Massachusetts. He attended Florida Atlantic University where he studied media and communications.  Prior to his current role, he was employed at Hale Reservation which provides outdoor learning, teambuilding, and experiential education for urban youth in a beautiful 1,200 acre setting.  He also worked for the YMCA’s in Roxbury, East Boston, Dorchester, and West Roxbury as administrator for 16 state licensed after-school sites and piloted an initiative to formally partner with Boston Public Schools to increase education in after-school programs.  Russ has also overseen the operations of five summer programs that served the city’s youth each summer. He has trained teens and staff on a nationally recognized dating violence prevention curriculum, Safe Dates, and was a presenter at the YMCA national convention.