Alicja Lemon currently serves as Treasurer on the Massachusetts Children’s Alliance’s (MACA) Board of Directors, bringing both financial expertise and a long history with the organization to the role. She first became connected to MACA years ago as an outsourced accountant, supporting the organization behind the scenes. Even then, she was struck by both the clarity of MACA’s purpose and the urgency of its work.
“What immediately stood out to me was just the clarity, but also the importance of the mission,” Lemon said. “Ensuring that children who’ve experienced abuse have access to coordinated and compassionate care through the CACs, that’s work that really touches people once they understand it.”
With professional experience as an outsourced CFO and firsthand knowledge of MACA’s internal financial operations, she has been able to see the organization from both the ground level and the governance level, a vantage point that has shaped how she thinks about sustainability, risk, and long-term stewardship.
“Being able to see the nitty gritty from both the operational and governance perspective gave me a much more holistic understanding of how MACA functioned day to day,” she said. “Now, when I’m looking at higher-level decisions, I’m thinking about long-term sustainability and what a financially healthy MACA looks like.”
Over the years, Lemon has watched MACA strengthen not only its financial systems but also its organizational discipline. She points to the organization’s longstanding commitment to sound financial management and transparency as one of its defining strengths, something that has remained steady even as MACA has grown in size, complexity, and reach.
“One of MACA’s greatest strengths is its commitment to strong financial management and transparency,” Lemon said. “As the agency has grown, I’ve seen us develop more robust systems, improve reporting, and still maintain that disciplined approach of building a balanced budget and sticking to it.”
Lemon sees strong financial governance as essential to mission delivery.
“Strong finance equals strong mission,” she said. “Having a strong understanding of your finances isn’t a burden to an organization; it lets you focus on the mission, because you know where you stand and what you have to work with.”
That philosophy has particular weight in a mission-driven organization like MACA, where every dollar must be carefully stewarded to support Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) across the Commonwealth. Lemon notes that sound financial systems do more than keep budgets in order. They build trust among funders, partners, board members, and CACs, while also giving the organization the flexibility to respond thoughtfully and strategically throughout the year.
“MACA has demonstrated an ability to adapt throughout the years while still staying focused on its core mission and purpose,” Lemon said. “The people who know MACA really understand its mission and culture, and that commitment spreads. It doesn’t rest on one person.”
One milestone Lemon is especially proud to have witnessed is MACA’s recent strategic planning process. For her, that work marked an important turning point, a shift from managing the pressures of growth to building the internal structure needed for the organization’s next phase.
“In the late 2010s and early 2020s, MACA was going through growing pains,” Lemon said. “What was powerful about the strategic planning process was walking away with a roadmap, and now we’re starting to see that roadmap take effect.”
She sees those changes as critical not only for internal sustainability, but also for broader impact. As MACA strengthens its infrastructure, Lemon believes it is building the capacity to expand public understanding of its mission, deepen support, and bring more people into the work.
“How do we tell more people about us? How do we bring more people into the circle?” Lemon said. “Growing and investing in our organizational structure gives us the capacity to spread the word about the mission.”
What keeps Lemon personally committed is the connection between careful stewardship and real outcomes for children and families. While much of her work centers on budgets, governance, and oversight, she never loses sight of the human impact behind those efforts.
“At the end of the day, it comes back to the impact on children and families,” she said. “Being part of the financial stewardship does directly support the human element of the work.”
Looking ahead, Lemon is most energized by the opportunities created through MACA’s strategic growth. “I’m excited to see how these investments in us pay off in the future,” she said. “They can give us the financial flexibility to be leaders in the space, to think more creatively, to be at the forefront, and to continue being a resource others look to.”
Through her financial leadership, long view, and deep belief in MACA’s mission, Lemon helps ensure the organization is not only strong today, but ready for the future, so CACs across Massachusetts can continue delivering the coordinated, compassionate care children and families need.