Our Executive Team

NOBLE Massachusetts President, Lisa Butner retired from Massachusetts State Police (MSP) in 2022 and moved on to Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) where she holds the rank of Detective Captain. She currently oversees all investigations, Internal Affairs, Executive Protection, Clery & Title IX Compliance, and Community outreach.

Lisa Butner was a Detective Lieutenant with the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) assigned as the Cadet Program Coordinator. Her duties involved the development and implementation of a Cadet Program which acted as a conduit to increase diversity within the uniformed branch of the department.

Over the course of her 40-year career in law enforcement, she has worked for three police agencies, Harvard University Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. She has worked half of her career in the uniformed branch of these Departments and the other half within a variety of investigatory units. Some of her assignments included the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office as a homicide investigator, the Governor’s Auto Theft Strike Force as an auto theft investigator, the recruitment and diversity unit, the Traffic programs unit, the Drug unit as an undercover officer and a sensitive crime unit.

Lisa Butner is a founding member of NOBLE Massachusetts and was instrumental in securing the new chapter on the National NOBLE Region One’s charter. She is an appointed member of the Governor’s Black Advisory Commission and was tasked with advising the Baker-Polito Administration on issues relating to the economic prosperity and well-being of the members within Black communities throughout Massachusetts.

She was also appointed by Massachusetts Association of Women in Law Enforcement (MAWLE) to be on the “MSP Special Commission on the Hiring and Promotional Practices of the Massachusetts State Police” (2018): a legislative Commission charged with reviewing the hiring and promotion practices of the Massachusetts State Police. The Commission members were tasked with submitting a report of its investigation and study along with recommendations and drafts of legislation necessary to carry out the recommendations.

Lisa is currently the founding member and current President of One Blue, Inc., which is a task force comprised of a dedicated and diverse group of Troopers who are committed to working with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) and the Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) to promote diversity throughout the uniformed branch of the Department. The goal is to study and identify obstacles that directly affect recruitment, hiring, retention and promotional practices and to ensure that the MSP workforce is proportionally representative of the communities served.

She received her bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement from Western New England University, and she holds three master’s Degrees- two from Suffolk University in Public Administration and Crime and Justice Studies, and a third from the University of Massachusetts (Lowell) in Criminal Justice.

Chief, Robert Alben Barrows, has held the post of Chief of Police at Bunker Hill Community College for more than twelve years, and has been serving our communities for over 28 years in law enforcement. Whether as an officer of the Special State Police of Massachusetts, a Special Police Officer in the Boston housing developments, or as a former member of the Massachusetts National Guard. Chief Robert “Bobby” Barrows values service and the protection of the Massachusetts communities.

Chief Barrows comes to us with a vast understanding of the college communities. He is a proud graduate of North Shore Community College, as well as Salem State College where he earned a B.A in Criminal Justice and later, a Master of Science in Criminology from Salem State University. He is the proud recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award from Salem State University and is a member of the National Criminal Justice Honor Society

In 2017, he graduated from YW Boston, “LeadBoston” a leadership program designed to foster and promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. He attended the Police Chief and Command Leadership Academy (2016). In 2019, he attended the FBI-New England Regional Command College. Chief Barrows is adjunct professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) and once served as an ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) instructor, also at BHCC.

Chief Barrows has a well-rounded background in public service, community relations, and higher education. He is dedicated and committed to the rehabilitation and re-employment of those who have been incarcerated. Chief Barrows serves on the Fenway Community Advisory Board who fosters open communication between CRJ’s reentry programs and the local community. The program promotes active community support for reentry programs and CRJ’s mission. The program supports the initiative to advance public education, create understanding, and advocate for issues related to the reentry programs and its residents. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department honored his commitment to offender re-entry programming in 2007.

Chief Barrows and his team, the Bunker Hill Community College Police Department, have been proud recipients of the Commonwealth Citation Award for Outstanding Performance in 2007, 2012 and 2019.

He is a member of: the International Chief of Police Association, The Massachusetts Chief of Police Association, the Massachusetts Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, the Massachusetts Community College Chiefs, and he serves on the advisory board for English High School Legal and Protective Services in Boston.

Yolanda Smith has been with the Department since 1995, beginning her career as a correction officer at the House of Correction. In 1997, she became a DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer and worked in the community and in the public school systems. She has also served as Corporal, Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Deputy Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and in February of 2013, she was promoted by Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins to the rank of Superintendent of the Suffolk County House of Correction where she oversees an inmate population of nearly 1,800 and a staff of more than 500 trained correction officers.

Under her leadership as the former Director of Training for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, the Department received excellent audit results, meeting all CMR standards.

Superintendent Smith is an active member of the Massachusetts Sheriff’s Association Education Training Committee, where she served as chairperson of the executive branch of the committee. For the past five years, Superintendent Smith has been co–chairperson of the MSAETC Spring Conferences bringing forth new, innovative topics that benefit a wide array of public safety personnel. In 2010, Superintendent Smith successfully completed the F.B.I. Crisis Negotiator course which had various agencies represented from across New England, and she is a 2010 graduate of Lead Boston. She is the lead instructor of the Choice Officer Training program and continues to seek innovative ways to keep the training curriculum current and applicable to the needs of the communities and schools. Superintendent Smith serves on the Department’s Policy Review Committee and is currently on the MCAD (Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination) Referral list of trainers in Harassment/Discrimination prevention in the Workplace. Prior to working with the Department, Smith served as a substitute English teacher in the Lynn Public School System.

Stephanie Brown began her Law Enforcement Career 35 years ago while working as a part-time secretary in the Criminal Investigation Division at the Bradford County Sheriff’s Department in Starke, Florida. Stephanie worked in this capacity for five years until the completion of her Undergraduate Degree from the University of Florida in Telecommunications. Stephanie has a very diverse background encompassing both dispatch and policing.

In January of 1993, she relocated to Atlanta, Georgia where she began working as a Public Safety Dispatcher within the Georgia Institute of Technology Police Department. After a few short years, she achieved the position of Public Safety Peace Officer. A “notable highlight” during her time as Peace Officer with GA Tech was her appointment to work in the Olympic Village during the 1996 Summer Olympics. After the bombing, her primary duty was helping to secure the perimeter and ensuring the safety of all within the Olympic Village.

In 1997, she joined the DeKalb County Solicitor General’s office as a Case Investigator and was assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit. After a few short years Stephanie returned to GA Tech to take on the role of Communications Manager where she remained for seven years.In 2006, she was hired by the Georgia Department of Driver Services as a Criminal Investigator. Her responsibilities in this position included working Driver License Fraud and Internal Affairs. She was also assigned to the Secure ID Task Force which consisted of agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigators, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and GA Dept of Driver Services (designed to combat illegal immigrants’ issuances of GA Driver’s License/ID’s).

In 2010, she relocated to Massachusetts where she worked for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections as the assistant to the Deputy Superintendent at MCI Concord. In this role she conducted extensive Pre-Employment Background Investigations for Correctional Officers and Correctional Program Officers as well as other administrative duties.

In 2013, Stephanie was hired by Essex County Sheriff’s Department as a Telecommunicator for the Essex County Regional Emergency Communication Center. In 2014, she was promoted to Public Safety Dispatch Supervisor. Five years later, she accepted the position of Communications Manager with IXP Corporation within the MBTA Transit Police Department. In these positions she gained her experience with managing, recruiting, scheduling, training, and policy implementation.

Her current affiliations in addition to NOBLE include memberships in, the Massachusetts Association of Women on Law Enforcement, Massachusetts Communications Supervisors Association, and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials.

Stephanie is currently employed with the City of Beverly as their Public Safety Dispatch Supervisor. Her duties include day to day management and oversight of the Police and Fire Dispatch Operations. .

William Gross is the City of Boston's first African American Commissioner. Gross is a 33-year veteran of the Boston Police Department. As a Patrol Officer he spent many years in the Gang Unit and Drug Control Unit, as well as serving as an Academy Instructor. He rose through the ranks, achieving the ranks of Sergeant and Sergeant Detective, and was promoted to Deputy Superintendent in 2008, where he became a member of the Command Staff of the Department.

As Deputy Superintendent, Gross served as the Commander of Zone 2, which is comprised of Area B-2 Roxbury and Mission Hill, Area B-3 Mattapan, Area C-11 Dorchester, and Area C-6 South Boston. In this role, he coordinated with District Captains in their development of strategies to address crime trends, and attended community meetings to address specific neighborhood crime concerns.

In 2010, Deputy Superintendent Gross became the commander of the Field Support Division, which included command over the Youth Violence Strike Force (Gang Unity), and the School Police Unit. In 2012, he was promoted to Superintendent, Night Commander, responsible for oversight of all police responses to incidents on a citywide basis in the evening hours. Throughout his career, Superintendent Gross has maintained a strong connection with the community, and has been awarded numerous awards for bravery, meritorious service and community partnership.

Sandy Zamor Calixte is the former Chief of External Affairs and Communications for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department. She was hired by the Department in 2006, as the Coordinator of Community Outreach and Youth Programming, and was promoted to the position of Director of External Affairs in 2013 by Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins. In 2014, Zamor Calixte was elevated to Chief of External Affairs and Communications.

Throughout her time with the Department, Chief Zamor Calixte worked with numerous social, civic, criminal justice, education, law enforcement, and faith-based organizations to help foster the Department’s message of public service, civic engagement, and personal responsibility.

Zamor Calixte oversaw all external programs for the Department including the Choice program, a Department initiative comprised of a cadre of officers appointed with the mission of visiting schools in Suffolk County to discuss gangs, peer pressure, planning for the future, and making smart choices with students, and the Department’s Summer Enrichment Program. She also helped to build a multi-organizational collaborative effort to reduce youth violence with the B-Smart Initiative at Chez-Vous Roller Skating Rink in Dorchester, and also initiated the female JailBrake program.

The JailBrake program is designed to help reduce the rise in violent acts committed by adolescents in Suffolk County and to curtail the increase in the number of young people being incarcerated by emphasizing the realities of imprisonment including: lack of control, lack of privacy, and responsibility for one’s own actions.

The Summer Enrichment Program, which Chief Zamor Calixte created and implemented, under the auspices of Sheriff Tompkins, is a paid internship program for motivated high school juniors and seniors, that enables participates to gain insight into the world of law enforcement through job shadowing, weekly presentations by members of law enforcement, roundtable discussions, law enforcement related field trips and educational tours.

Most recently, Chief Zamor Calixte spearheaded the renovation and upgrade of the Department’s public website and external communication vehicle, the Common Ground newsletter, to reflect the Department in its similarly modernized functions.

Chief Zamor Calixte is also an active and civically-engaged member of the community, currently serving as Executive Director of Communications and Outreach for the Massachusetts Branch of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). She is also an alumna of Emerge Class 2021, and has served on the boards of many civic institutions including as President of the Hazelton Street Association, and as a former member of the Mattapan Economic Development Initiative, and the Young Professionals Network of the Urban League and Communities of Color. She is also the former president and graduate advisor for the Haitian Club of Northeastern University.

Prior to her work at the Department, Chief Zamor Calixte served as an investigator for the Department of Industrial Accidents and the Department of Treasury. Chief Zamor Calixte most recently achieved a Graduate Certificate in Social Justice from Harvard University Extension School, and she holds a Masters in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University and a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology. She was a Ujima Scholar and a Martin Luther King Fellow.