TRIO Student Support Services

Gabriela Sheehan is the TRIO Director. She has worked at BCC in the Education Department, and prior to that as Refugee Resettlement Coordinator and K-12 School Teacher for multilingual students. Her educational philosophy is to provide human-centered care to students and remove barriers to academic success. 

"Each individual is a wealth of knowledge and experience and we have so much to learn from one another. Students who defy the odds inspire me to use my privilege, access and knowledge to systematically combat institutional and societal discrimination. I aim to build a community of empathy and resilience, and to offer tools in social and emotional intelligence, mental fortitude, goal setting, and academic achievement, so that our students thrive in the BCC community and beyond.”

She is a hobby beekeeper, gardener, artist and trail runner, and absolutely loves living in the Berkshires.

Dylan Newell is the TRIO Program Assistant. Dylan is also a BCC graduate, class of 2023, with an Associate’s in Business Careers, and the current Vice President of the BCC Alumni Board. Dylan also holds his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Salem State University, Class of 2025. While a student at BCC, Dylan was a TRIO student, recipient of multiple BCC Foundation Scholarships, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, and the recipient of the Falconer Award for Business in Spring 2022. Dylan is a native of Danville, Alabama until 2018 where he currently lives in the Berkshires with his wife and son, and really enjoys the art of barbecue (not to be confused with grilling hamburgers and hot dogs), watching pro wrestling and NASCAR, going to Yankees baseball games, and cheering on his beloved Alabama Crimson Tide (Roll Tide)!

"Hi, my name is Savannah Stanley. The TRIO program is amazing and I am so excited to be a part of serving students. The TRIO space provides an environment where students can convene to create community and support each other. As an individual who began their academic journey as a non-traditional student at a community college, I am aware that our students often have competing demands, and I am consistently impressed with the hard work that TRIO students carry out to be successful. My academic background includes an A.S. from Pima Community College in Business Administration, a B.S. from the University of Arizona in Business Administration – Commerce, and M.S. from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Supply Chain and Logistics. My career background includes operations management, as well working in the post-disaster supply chain for the federal government. Now, as a TRIO Coach, I am passionate about working with students to identify and utilize those resources which will support them as they navigate higher education.When I am not at BCC, I love cooking, listening to audiobooks, and doing projects around the house. I also enjoy spending time with my partner Jonah and our three dogs – Ginger, Honey and Jack."

Justin Maaia is excited to join the TRIO coaching team! Justin returns to the Berkshires after teaching and advising students for the past sixteen years at National Cathedral School (NCS) in Washington, DC.

In addition to advising, Justin taught courses on world religions, social justice, ethics, human behavior, and human flourishing. He directed a multi-year fieldwork study of religious diversity in the greater Washington metropolitan area, and he pioneered (and shared at peer schools) an experiential, relational journaling method for exploring existential ideas and practices.

While at NCS, Justin was also a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE), where he published Starting Points for Teaching World Religions: Content, Skills, and Habits of Mind for Understanding, Relationship, and Self-Awareness, a guide for teachers, students, interfaith practitioners, and anyone who is interested in the study of religions.

The underlying goal of all Justin’s educational endeavors is to cultivate URSA—Understanding, Relationship, and Self-Awareness—through the best tools of ancient wisdom and modern science.

Justin holds degrees from Suffolk University (B.A.) and Boston University (M.A.), a 60-hour certificate from the Sarah and Ty Powers Insight Yoga Institute, and he is the recipient of the Olmsted Prize for Excellence in Secondary Teaching from Williams College. In his free time, he enjoys reading, walking, improvising music, hanging with family and friends, and seeing what new creative endeavors his wife and daughters have been up to.

He is eager to take all the knowledge, skills, and good coaching he has received and put it to good use in the service of all the amazing students in the TRIO program!