Meet The Team
Dear YMCA Members and Participants,
Please meet our team at The Granite YMCA. Together, we are a dedicated group of individuals connected by a shared passion and commitment to serving our members and strengthening the foundations of our community through youth development, healthy living, social responsibility, and family strengthening. Our talented staff are well vetted through a thorough interview and reference checking process. All must pass a criminal investigative check and go through both formal and on the job training programs. Our association is very proud of all our team members, and invite you to ask any of them for assistance to better improve your Y experience.
Enjoy your YMCA.
Association Team
David Ports
President/CEO
David Ports comes to The Granite YMCA with 23 years of demonstrated success in the Y movement, most recently serving the YMCA of the USA as the Resource Director for California and the Northeast region for 8 years.
Prior to his work with the YMCA of the USA, David was the CEO for the Greater Missoula Family YMCA, an executive director with the YMCA of Greater Seattle, and a program director/Associate Executive at the Woodson YMCA in Wausau, WI. David got his start in the YMCA right here at the welcome center of the Downtown branch
David holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Hampshire with additional certifications in YMCA Organizational Leadership and YMCA Executive Development. He has recognized expertise in strategic thinking and planning, governance, financial development, fiscal management, and operations. David is married to Kathleen and together they have two children – Sam and Lily.
Tom Archer
Vice President of Camping Services
Tom grew up in Manchester, NH where he regularly attended programming at the Manchester YMCA as well as Camp Mi-Te-Na for boys. During high school he worked at camp during the summer and the YMCA during the off season and was a member of the Leader Corps. Upon graduation in 1978 from Plymouth State University with a BS in physical education and athletic training, he was hired as the assistant camp director at Camp Mi-Te-Na and associate PE director at the YMCA of Downtown Manchester. Tom has worked for the YMCA for more than 40 years holding various positions including aquatics director, resident camp director, director of camping services and is currently VP of camping services with direct responsibilities for Camp Mi-Te-Na for boys, Camp Foss for girls and day camp programming at the YMCA of Strafford County.
Jamie Demetry
Association Marketing Director
Matt Hanson
Executive Director Camping Services
Matt has worked for The Granite YMCA since 1998. Prior to working, Matt attended Mi-Te-Na as a camper before getting his first job as Lifeguard at the Downtown YMCA. Over the years he has held several leadership roles across our association. These roles include, Camp Director, Allard Center Aquatics Director, Teen Services Director for the Downtown branch and Association Training Coordinator. Matt is a certified trainer through the American Safety and Health Institute and YMCA of the USA. Through which he teaches various enrichment and safety courses for the northeast. Additionally, Matt is active with the American Camp Association where he serves as a standards visitor. Matt holds a Bachelor’s degree in Recreation Management from Springfield College.
While not at the Y, Matt enjoys traveling, golfing and spending time with his family. He met his wife Megan when she worked at YMCA Camp Foss and they currently reside in Concord NH with their son Teddy.
Kim Harty
Director of Strategic Initiatives
Bio Coming Soon
Cindy Lafond
Director of Healthy Living
Cindy Lafond has worked at the Granite YMCA since 1994 in many capacities. She started as a volunteer teaching group exercise moved on to become the Wellness Director, and slowly moved up the ladder from Association Health & Wellness Director, Senior Director, Branch Executive and finally to her dream job for the past 2 years as the Association Director of Healthy Living. This job allows her to work with many people, ages and organizations to provide wellness throughout our community and state. After 32 years of wellness experience, Cindy holds numerous certifications in group exercise, LiveSTRONG at the Y, Cancer Exercise and Fitness Specialist, 500 hour Yoga instructor and this list will continue to grow as she pursues new and exciting ways to help individuals reach their wellness potential.
Laura Nese
Association Director of Data Management
Laura is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Recreation and Leisure Administration. She began her career with the YMCA shortly after graduation, moving her to the northeast. Laura began her career at the YMCA of Greater Westfield where she was the Director of Outdoor Education/Aquatics Director. She was with this YMCA for 3 years where she then was hired at the Frost Valley YMCA where she remained for 9 years as the Group and Retreats Director. She has held many roles within the YMCA and is excited to join her skills and experience with the amazing team at the YMCA of Downtown Manchester and the entire Granite YMCA association. She considers herself to be a student of life, and recently earned her 200 hour Yoga Instructor Certification and is continuing to work towards becoming a Yoga Therapist.
J.R. Ristaino
Vice President of Financial Development
Michele Sheppard
Chief Operating Officer
Michele holds a BS in kinesiology from the University of Maryland. She began her career in 1986 as physical director at the Chambersburg Pennsylvania YMCA where she oversaw fitness, sports, gymnastics and aquatics. Michele then moved on to the Watertown NY Family YMCA as health and PE director in charge of all health, wellness, and sports programs. For a brief time, she worked in the private fitness sector as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. She later returned to the Chambersburg YMCA as the program services director and was promoted two years later to associate executive director. While there, she earned her program and senior program director certifications from Y-USA, attended the Indiana University School of Fund Raising, and was certified in personal training, spinning, and yoga. Michele's unwavering commitment to health and wellness is so strong, that when she left the Chambersburg YMCA in 2009 they named their youth fitness facility in her honor. In 2009, Michele joined the Granite YMCA as the Allard Center branch director where she is delighted to be helping the Allard Center team provide a variety of high quality health and wellness options to the greater Goffstown community.
John Visconti
Vice President of Finance
John currently serves as The Granite YMCA’s Vice President of Finance where he oversees finance, human resources, and IT. Prior to joining The Granite YMCA, John spent a decade at Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a national non-profit in the education space. As PLTW’s chief financial officer, John lead the accounting, finance, human resources, operations, IT, and business intelligence teams. Prior to PLTW, John served in a variety of financial and operational leadership roles for both publicly and privately held organizations. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member for the State University of New York’s Empire State College, teaching accounting and corporate finance courses. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB) as well as a certified management accountant (CMA) and a certified financial manager (CFM). In 2015, John was recognized by the Indianapolis Business Journal as CFO of the Year. John was a member of the YMCA of Greater Londonderry advisory board for three years prior to joining TGY in his current capacity.
