The Birdsong Farm Board

Judy Cockerton, Founder and Chair

Judy Cockerton is not your average social entrepreneur. This award winning visionary has inspired the launch of a national Re-Envisioning Foster Care in America Initiative and personally established three non-profit organizations dedicated to improving life outcomes for our nation's children and youth experiencing foster care.

A Congressional Angel in Adoption, Cockerton is known for her ability to bring together vast networks of stakeholders, leveraging their ideas, financial contributions and energy into a compelling new menu of engagement opportunities designed to create widespread foster care innovation.

Log onto Cockerton's blog, Out of the Foster Care Box, to read more about her work with Birdsong Farm, Sibling Connections and the Treehouse Foundation.

Melissa Hamlett, President

Melissa is currently working as Vice President of Merchandising at SmartPak Equine where she is able to combine her passion for horses with her career. She grew up in Virginia, started riding at the age of 7 and has been riding and competing in horse shows ever since. Melissa earned a Bachelor’s Degree from St. Andrews University where she rode on the IHSA team and then went on to obtain her MBA from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Melissa worked in Human Services for many years before joining SmartPak and was able to see how animals can be transformational in the lives of adults and children. She is looking forward to helping children in the foster care system learn, grow and benefit from their interactions with the animals at Birdsong Farm.

Scott Noonan, Vice President

As the Chief Technology Officer at Boston Interactive and leading industry technologist, Scott has been integral in leading the technology charge in the Boston area. A former member of the United States Equestrian Team, Scott's passion for horses and children has spanned over 4 decades. He is actively involved in multiple charities and is usually found raising awareness of animal and children welfare in his spare time.

Adam Roy, Treasurer

Adam Roy is a Portfolio Controller at Guggenheim Real Estate LLC, a commercial real estate investment firm. Prior to joining Guggenheim Real Estate LLC in 2010, Adam was an audit senior manager with KPMG LLP, focusing primarily on institutional real estate clients. Adam is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and a member of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants - Real Estate Committee. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and holds a Masters in Accountancy from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts. Over the past five years, he has volunteered several hundred hours in support of Sibling Connections, Inc. and Camp to Belong foster care missions. Also, for the past eight years he has participated in an annual fundraising event for New Hampshire Special Olympics helping raise several thousand dollars for the organization.

Nancy Murphy, Secretary

Nancy has been a licensed horseback riding instructor in Massachusetts for 20 years and a horse owner for over 30 years. During this time, she has taught riders of all abilities and ages and coached riding students at local and national Hunter/Jumper competitions. In 2001 Nancy became a USEF licensed horse show judge and in 2005 was promoted to Registered status, which allows her to officiate National “A” rated competitions. Nancy is currently one of four full time trainers at a very successful training and show facility and, in addition, judges horse shows several times a month, all over the country. Recently she has begun to teach horse show clinics to large groups from a judge's perspective.

Jaclyn Roth

As Creative Director at Boston Interactive, Jackie manages the agency's creative team and is responsible for igniting concept and design direction. Her focus lies in creating long-term design and branding strategies that integrate with the user experience team's strategy and the client's business goals. As a veteran employee at BI, Jackie has been involved in many projects over the years and has extensive experience working with a variety of both small and large clients. During her tenure here, Jackie has been committed to creating online solutions, as well as branding, identity creation, and video.

Jackie enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters Alexis and Sanna, as well as traveling, photography, and golf. She also has a passion for fashion and is always looking at the latest trends and loves to come up with new ideas for clothing designs.