Speakers

We welcome Jacqueline Rwanika-LaRoche (Jackie), a new member of the Rotary Club of Lexington, although she has already been with us for at least several months.  This presentation will be her classification talk, so that she can get better to know us and we better to know her.  It will include her background, her work, how she arrived at the occupational or profession in which she is involved, etc.  After her formal presentation, Jackie will entertain any questions in the Q and A portion.

Common Man for Ukraine is a project of the Plymouth Rotary Foundation.  Since 2022 we have been working with Rotarians from Poland and Ukraine to provide food, warmth and trauma counseling to children living in Ukraine.  Working with our Rotary partners and volunteers, we have delivered more than 4 million pounds of food, sleeping bags and generators to children living in safe houses and front line villages.  We also provide three week trauma counseling retreats to children whose fathers have been killed in the war.  So far, we have hosted more than 1,600 children.  Beginning in August 2025, we also host ten-day counseling retreats to these children's widowed mothers. To date we have raised and provided more than $5.8 million in aid to the children of Ukraine.  We have personally completed 16 convoys into Ukraine and our organization has safely completed more than 50. We are the Magic of Rotary.

 

Susan Mathison — Co-Founder, Common Man for Ukraine — Susan Mathison focuses on creating a better world as an environmentalist and a humanitarian. She spent 30 years at the USDA Forest Service serving Vermont, Oregon, and New Hampshire as a forester. A passionate advocate, she serves as the President of Pemi-Valley Habitat for Humanity. Inspired by the camaraderie gained from teamwork, Susan rows competitively. She is a mother to two grown sons, a dahlia aficionado, and has called NH home for 20 years.

 

Steve Rand — Co-Founder, Common Man for Ukraine — Steve Rand exemplifies service above self. He manages Rand’s Hardware, a 110-year-old family business in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Steve served as an officer in the U.S. Army and more recently as a representative in the State Legislature. He has also held several leadership roles within the local Rotary Chapter, providing leadership throughout the community. In addition to co-founding Common Man for Ukraine, Steve operates as treasurer for the 501c3.

Please join us in welcoming Lexington's new Transportation Services Manager, Matthew Jarrell!

 

Matthew recently graduated from the Master in City Planning program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he focused his studies on transportation and community development. He is deeply committed to ensuring that the Town’s residents can easily and comfortably access the resources they need via whatever mode of transportation they choose.

 

Matthew is especially passionate about providing world-class infrastructure and amenities for those who get around by bus, bike, assisted mobility device, and foot. He looks forward to broadening mobility opportunities of all kinds for everyone here in Lexington!