Our Staff
Our team works together to manage the business while providing training, vocational and business skill development, and coaching.
Carlos Marrero
Carlos is the Technical Skills Instructor managing our shop in Springfield. He has been in the screen printing business for over 30 years and is a former vocational school teacher. He’s been an industrial and graphic artist for 15 years.
Dawn Wakelin
Dawn manages our customer orders from CommCorp’s office in Boston, coordinating all merchandise and art logistics. She has worked with CommCorp’s finance team for the past 30 years.
Don Wilkinson
Don is the Technical Skills Instructor managing our shop in Taunton. He has been involved in the screen printing field for over 30 years. He is also an active exhibiting artist, curator, and an art critic for several publications.
Celia Overby
Celia directs the Exclusive Tees program from CommCorp’s office in Hadley. She has managed experiential education programming for youth for 15 years.
Kyle Whelan
Kyle manages day-to-day shop logistics and youth onboarding. His experience working with youth in residential settings gives him a unique eye with which to support our youth and programming.
What the Youth Say
It provides a healthy work environment that motivates me to work.”
– Youth Participant, 2015
It’s like a little family, no matter how many mistakes we make, we always are there to help one another out and help each other learn more and stay focused.”
– Youth Participant, 2015
I’ve learned more about team work and how great it is to be a part of something positive.”
– Youth Participant, 2015
I learned that even if a job goes bad, don’t give up.”
– Youth Participant, 2015
They recognize that we all make mistakes, but understand we can bounce back and learn from them, in both life and t-shirt making. I like the team effort and encouragement.”
– Youth Participant, 2015
Our Impact
Vocational and employability programming, like Exclusive Tees, promotes positive change in youth at risk by actively engaging and supporting them. At Exclusive Tees, young people learn computer design, technical silk screening skills and essential workplace skills like teamwork, attention to detail, and communication.
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$12
per hour youth earn MA minimum wage
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95%
increase in youthserved from FY17 to FY18
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7,518
items printed in FY188% increase from FY17
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17
youth certified with nationally-recognized screen printing certification
Commonwealth Corporation designs and executes workforce programs in partnership with businesses, educators, and providers across the state. Commonwealth Corporation partners with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) and the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) to provide young people with access to a continuum of opportunities – high-quality training, vocational and employability programs, and mentoring – that will give them the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to build a better future.
Exclusive Tees appreciates the support of the following companies and government agencies: Commonwealth Corporation, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, the Collaborative for Educational Services, and Center for Human Development (CHD).
