Welcome to the Community Education and Workforce Development department, located at the Betty Powers Library & Resource Center. The library offers a variety of resources, including reference books and specialized study materials, prep test manuals, and books. The Resource Center also provides residents with computers with internet access, as well as copy, fax, and printing services. In addition, we offer technology training options, including Tech Goes Home, smartphone workshops, online shopping, and accessing medical care, among others. We have staff available to assist you with online job searches and applications, resume writing, and job interview practice.

Additional Services

Education: We want to make it easy for you to learn! We offer educational services for both youth and adults, such as homework help or tutoring for middle- and elementary-aged children, and budgeting and financial mediation classes for adults. We offer support and mediation for families and parents with language or cultural barriers, and much, much more.

Community Education: Our community education programs make it easy for you to meet new friends and learn something at the same time. You can try out our enrichment classes, which include things like sewing, cooking, and nutrition, or our special interest courses on topics like race, disability, accessibility, biking, writing, mathematics, or chess. We also host dialogue groups, which allow you to discuss topics of interest or concern with others in your community.

Youth Employment: We have several partnerships with organizations such as ABCD, BIDH, NE Baptist, BWH, and the city of Boston, among others, to help place young people in positions to gain job experience. We have summer and year-round apprenticeships, and youth crews who participate in training and stipend positions for Kids in the Kitchen, On the Roll Cycling, or per diem opportunities supporting community events, package delivery, and much more.

Adult Employment: We offer support with the job searches, including writing resumes, job preparedness, coaching, the job search, and filling out applications. We also offer referrals to training programs for partner agencies such as Asian American Civic Association, JVS, Fenway CDC, and MassHire, as well as on-site employment preparedness training. In addition, we provide English as a second language courses for workplace programs, and our case managers can work one-on-one with you to address barriers to employment.

Print & Copy: During open hours, you can find help with printing, copying, and faxing. In addition, we have a small book lending library for RTH residents of all ages.

Education & Job Training Staff

Roxanne Haecker
Director of Community Education & Workforce Development
[email protected] | 617-232-4306 ext. 603

Roxanne Haecker has been working for Roxbury Tenants of Harvard since 2010, first managing special projects, and now as Director of Community Education and Workforce Development. She works closely with other RTH departments to provide programs and services that interrupt the cycle of poverty and support families’ efforts to become self-sufficient.

Jennifer Lewis
Youth Educational Services & Workforce Development Specialist
[email protected] | 617-232-4306 ext. 600

Jennifer Lewis began working for Roxbury Tenants in 2014 and is currently Youth Educational Services & Workforce Development Specialist. She has raised two children in the community during the 24 years she has lived there. She has a Masters of Education in Counseling Psychology from Cambridge College, and spent over thirty years helping young people in Boston. She is passionate about equity, inclusion, justice, and youth development, and seeks to help young people find their voices, explore the working world and issues that affect them, and develop job and life skills. Jennifer is a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and enjoys nature, gardening, biking, walking, and the arts.