Chris McLean
President
chris.mclean@backpacksforamerica.org
Chris was born and raised outside of Boston, in the small town of Medfield, MA. His upbringing instilled the values of giving back to the community and helping others. These values carried through with him during his studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he was able to volunteer his time to rebuilding homes in rural Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Since 2019, Chris has been committed every holiday season to supporting Boston’s homeless community through the Backpacks for Boston fundraiser.
By day, Chris is a management consultant and project manager. His years of experience in consulting has instilled the necessary skillsets and tools to help launch the Backpacks for Boston fundraiser into a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Charity organization, Backpacks for America, Inc (B4A). Chris is excited about what the future holds for B4A and is enthusiastic about helping it achieve its mission in serving the community.
Kevin Vautrinot
Vice President
kevin.vautrinot@backpacksforamerica.org
In 2019, Kevin met Sean and Chris while the three of them were working in Boston for the same consulting firm. The three of them decided together to restart a fundraiser that Sean had done in college, called “Backpacks for Boston”. Since then, Kevin has used his marketing and social media experience to help support the fundraising efforts each year. When the decision was made to incorporate as Backpacks for America, Kevin was excited to volunteer as a founding board member and now looks forward to the opportunity to make a positive impact in the community.
Kevin studied biology at Stonehill College and began his career by working to study and protect endangered shorebirds on the coast of Massachusetts. Since then, Kevin has gained experience in a variety of areas including healthcare, state and local government, education, and the auto industry. Currently, Kevin is a consultant who helps organizations identify holistic solutions that better and more completely solve problems. In his free time, Kevin enjoys an active lifestyle with as much time spent outside as possible and is often found checking out live music or a new craft brewery with his family.
Christian Calderon
Treasurer
christian.calderon@backpacksforamerica.org
Christian graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2014 with a degree in Accounting. Christian worked in public accounting for about six years, the aspect that he enjoyed the most was helping people. Some of his favorite days at work were the volunteer days. Christian currently works as an implementation consultant.
Christian first got involved with Backpacks for America in 2022, after being a donor to “Backpacks for Boston” for the previous two years. Having been good friends with Chris McLean for a few years, he jumped on the opportunity to commit to being a founding Board Member. Since becoming involved, Christian helped the organization become an official 501(c)(3) Non-Profit and helped set up the organization’s bank account.