“We teach hiking and backpacking as what we call “cooperative sports.” We cultivate fitness, skills, commitment, teamwork, toughness, just as those who coach competitive sports do. But mountain travel is not a game. The object is not to defeat some opponent, but to travel securely and skillfully in a demanding environment. The rewards are overwhelming: adventure, growth, great memories, the joy of high places.”
–Bill Spacciapoli, founder and director of J.U.M.P.
Our leadership is comprised of adults who love the mountains. We work in a wide variety of professions. Most of us are parents. We happen to have a particular strength in emergency medicine and emergency medical technology. Our leaders include highly experienced backpackers and mountaineers, whose outdoor learning in some cases began in the 1960s. We’re a mature organization an important attribute when training less experienced hikers. We teach a comprehensive curriculum that we call the Compass Rose. Its’ goal is what we call “fullcontact backpacking”, which means walking into the mountains for a few days, living off the contents of your pack, and then walking out in good order with a sense of pride and fulfillment.
Bill is the Founder and Executive Director of J.U.M.P. He earned a B.S degree in Mechanical Engineering, with distinction, from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. in Engineering from Virginia Tech.
Bill is a former EMT-B with the Harvard Ambulance Service, and is certified in Wilderness First Aid through SOLO. He currently works in Business Development at OPCO Laboratory, Fitchburg, MA.
Bill has hiked all 48 of the New Hampshire 4,000 Footers, also known as the NH48. As the founder of J.U.M.P., Bill brings his passion and 30-plus years of work-life experience to youth development, with the belief that we need to free the untapped potential of today’s youth.
Bob holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Anna Maria College, Paxton, MA.
He is the former president of Tyco SimplexGrinnell and remains actively involved with Tyco, continuing to support the business on a consulting basis. As a senior executive who has enjoyed a long and distinguished 35-year career in the fire protection and life safety industry, Bob retired in 2015 from his role as President of Tyco and now serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Heywood Hospital, Gardner, MA. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the United Way of North Central Massachusetts, and the Advisory Cabinet of the University of Connecticut School of Business. Bob spearheaded Tyco SimplexGrinnell’s support for expanding the United Way Youth Venture program throughout the United States.
Bob has been a member of the Board of Directors of J.U.M.P. since early 2017.
Mrs. Martin is Chief Professional Officer for the Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster.
Since 2009, a STEM and now STEAM (science, technology,engineering, arts, and math) focused club. She is responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction of programs, staff, project management, budgets, government, community and member relations.
Known nationally for its high-impact, innovative programs, the Board and staff alike attribute the organization’s growth and success to Donata who has led the organization since 2009. Donata, who began working with BGCFL as a grants and marketing consultant in 2005, envisioned the organization’s potential and launched initiatives aligned with the needs of North Central Massachusetts communities. On her watch the organization became one of the first Boys and Girls Clubs in the country to transition its service model from afterschool drop-in to more structured afterschool programming.
Donata also led the charge to refocus the Club’s programming to STEM/STEAM, piloting a revamped technology program for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), which was later introduced to clubs coast-to-coast. The Club was recently chosen to participate in the planning and implementation of, and highlighted in of the new BGCA Workforce Development toolkit. Out of 4,000 clubs nationwide BGCFL was one of three chosen to serve as club representative on the BGCA STEAM and Workforce Advisory Councils. The Club recently received its first National Science Foundation (NSF) grant. In addition to her programmatic vision, Donata has been instrumental in successfully matching potential corporate, foundation, and governmental funders with exciting Club projects and offerings. Hundreds of area children and teens have benefited from programs that were launched because of Donata’s expertise in this area i.e. The Central MA Science Festival.
Prior to her work with BGCFL, Donata served as Deputy Regional Director for the Massachusetts Division of Employment and Training. Alum of Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, she has a dual BA in Sociology and Secondary Education from Boston University and a Graduate Certificate in Politics and Public Policy from UMass Boston. Donata serves as a volunteer leader and advisor to a number of organizations in Central Massachusetts.
Mrs. Martin is affiliated with numerous community organizations including Member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America STEM and Workforce Development Advisory Councils, Board of Trustees for UMASS HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospitals, Inc., Trustee Board of Mount Wachusett Community College, Board of Directors of Montachusett Opportunity Council, Board Member Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School Foundation, Board of Directors of North Central MA Community Reinvestment Coalition, Advisory Board member Enterprise Bank Community Advisory Board, and Director for the United Way of North Central Massachusetts. She serves on the Advisory Committees for Mount Wachusett Community College-College Access Programs, Leadership Team of the Southern New England Girls Collaborative Project, and Steering Committee Member of the Central Massachusetts Ecosystem STEM Pipeline Network.
A resident of Orange, Mrs. Martin has been happily married for 39 years and is the proud mother of three lovely and gifted children.
Mr. O’Brien is a Senior Executive at Geisel Software, Inc., Worcester, MA. He is responsible for Partnerships in the development of the business.
Work is focused on innovative medical technology and robotics, includes design, development of Commercial, Industrial, Government and Military affairs. Mr. O’Brien holds degrees in Marketing and Business Development including a BS from Florida State University and an MBA from Babson College.
The O’Brien family is quite active in multiple recreation, fitness and outdoor sporting activities. Interests include creating opportunities for families and young people to choose fit activities in the natural settings available in the NE region.
Mr. Swearingen joined the J.U.M.P. board in 2016. He is currently Chairman of the board for Rohinni LLC and EVP Strategy and Advanced Technology for IDEX America.
He was previously CEO for IDEX ASA. Prior to joining IDEX, Mr. Swearingen served as Senior Vice President & General Manager MaxTouch Business Unit and Chief Technology Officer of Atmel, where he drove the overall technology strategy and direction for the company. Mr. Swearingen has also served as Senior Vice President and General Manager Biometric Products Division and Chief Technology Officer at Synaptics. Prior to Synaptics, Mr. Swearingen held senior positions at semiconductor companies, such as MiniCircuits, Skyworks Solutions, Agere Systems and National Semiconductor.
Ladda graduated with a degree in Outdoor Education & Leadership from Sterling College in Vermont. She has worked with youth in educational, transformational, and recreational outdoor settings for over ten years. She brings strong skills and experience in team-building facilitation, adventure guiding, environmental education, wilderness skills instruction, and nature mentoring. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder and an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. She is a member of the Association for Experiential Education and is a volunteer Camping & Hiking OLT (Outdoor Leadership Training) Instructor for Appalachian Mountain Club. Most recently, she has been working in afterschool programming as a Site Director for the Boys & Girls Club of Gardner. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Nashua River Watershed Association. Some of her local past experience includes being the Director of Youth & Adult Education for the United Neighbors of Fitchburg, a community center serving primarily the Latinx population of Fitchburg, and working for local Upward Bound college preparatory programs at Mount Wachusett Community College and Fitchburg State University. Ladda has been working with J.U.M.P. since 2017. Her goals include increasing access to opportunities in the outdoors and positively influencing her community to foster social change.
