Mentors and Faculty

RESPE Mentors and Faculty

Franklin Dalembert

Franklin Dalembert is the Founder and Director of the Haitian Coalition of Somerville, a non-profit organization working to empower and improve the quality of life of the Haitian Diaspora in Somerville, Massachusetts. Franklin has been a community organizer for much of his life, serving his home town of Limbe, Haiti before he came to America. He has made great strides in the political and social organization of the Diaspora, and his goals are to extend that empowerment to Haitians living in Haiti today. 

Alix Cantave

Alix Cantave teaches real estate development and finance. He is a Lecturer at the Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning program at Tufts He is associate director of the William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black History and Culture at the University of Massachusetts Boston. His areas of expertise are community economic development, affordable housing, and Caribbean economic and political development. Alix works on a number of policy research issues at the Trotter Institute that impact community development. Those issues include education, economic development, community-based organizations, and crime and safety. Alix has a MS degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Pratt Institute in New York and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston. 

Jackson Compere

Jackson Compere currently works at the Boston branch of Partners in Health. At Tufts, Jackson worked as the Budget and Systems Administrator for the Department of Conferences and Summer Programs. Prior to coming to Tufts, he was the Business Manager for the Haitian Multi-Service Center at Catholic Charities of Boston, which ran community programs for the Haitian Diaspora living in the Greater Boston area. His overseas experience includes working as an Economist Consultant in Haiti for the United Nation Development International (UNDP) and International Development Desjardin (SDID), a Canadian organization. He also taught a micro-enterprise course at the IHECE in Haiti. For over 12 years, Jackson has served as a consultant and board member for the Haitian Coalition in Somerville, MA and has been a member of the Human Right Commission in Somerville, MA. He has also worked as a consultant helping Haitian small business entrepreneurs in Boston and as a grant writer for community development and health organizations doing work in Haiti. Jackson earned an MBA and MS in International Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. He earned his BS at the State University of Haiti with a major in Accounting. He has also earned a Certificate in International Relations from the Fletcher School, Tufts University.