💧 Online Workshop: Rate Setting for Sustainable Utility Operations (NH) – 04/29/2026

Laura McGee, RCAP Solutions Immediate Past Board Chair

Laura McGee, a Real Estate Broker at Afonso Real Estate in Milford, MA, joined the RCAP Solutions Board of Directors in 2012.

Laura has a strong commitment to disadvantaged communities and individuals and is passionate about RCAP’s mission and supporting the organization with her unique expertise in both housing and communications. “I was inspired by RCAP Solutions’ mission to foster community self-reliance and improve the quality of life of the residents who live there” stated Laura. “I believe deeply in community empowerment, and I saw an opportunity to use my experience to support meaningful, lasting change. I’m proud of the leadership role I’ve taken on as Board President at RCAP Solutions—particularly during periods of major transition.”

Laura revealed that “the emphasis on building and supporting community foundations to ensure success and sustainability for generations to come” is what drew her to volunteer on the RCAP Board. “I believe that when people feel seen, heard, and supported, they’re capable of incredible things.” She continued, “RCAP’s commitment to integrity, empathy, and a better tomorrow reflects the values I strive to uphold in both my professional and personal life.”

Laura, who has served as a board member for 13 years—including four as Chair—remarked that her experience volunteering with RCAP Solutions has been both fulfilling and transformative. “I’ve learned a great deal from my fellow board members and the professional staff” she noted. “I’m continually inspired by the resilience of the communities we serve. RCAP plays a vital role in building stronger communities from the inside out. It has been an honor to contribute to that vision, and to work alongside such a passionate and dedicated team.”

Laura is an active member of the Realtor Association of Central MA and has been instrumental in raising many thousands of dollars for RCAP families through her generous volunteer efforts. “My background in advertising and real estate gives me a strong foundation in communication, negotiation, and relationship-building” she noted. “These skills have been especially helpful in strategic planning, fundraising, and navigating complex partnerships that are essential to RCAP’s impact and success.”

Laura received her bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ and has held several roles in the field of radio broadcasting and communications. “My journey started in advertising, where I learned the value of strategic communication and turning a businesses’ challenge into their strengths through storytelling” she revealed. “Transitioning into real estate allowed me to apply those skills in a more personal and impactful way—helping people make one of the most important decisions of their lives. I think my ability to build trust, communicate clearly, and see potential where others may not is what sets me apart in my profession. I’m proud of having reinvented my career, moving from advertising to real estate while staying true to my values of connection and service.”

Laura’s other volunteer work has included serving as President of the Tucson Chapter of Women in Radio and Television Board; the Uxbridge, MA School Committee; and as Vice President of the Uxbridge HS Booster Club. In her free time, Laura enjoys exploring unfamiliar places, whether it’s through travel or just discovering hidden gems in the local community. “I especially love visiting a community’s thrift and antique shops” she expressed. “They really tell a story about an area and the people who live there.”

Laura’s full bio can be found on our website.

Carl Allen, RCAP Solutions Board Member

Carl Allen joined the RCAP Solutions Board of Directors in July 2019. With almost 50 years of experience, Carl has dedicated his career to housing and rural community service.

He was drawn to the housing field from his college experiences and had an interest in both student life and financial aid. After completing graduate school, he began his career in college housing at Southwest Minnesota State College in Marshall, Minnesota. The campus was brand new and designed from day one to be accessible for those in wheelchairs. Out of the 2,000 students, 500 were in wheelchairs or blind. This has given him a lifetime sensitivity to the needs of disabled people. He then moved to Michigan State University while doing doctoral work. After nine years of working in the collegiate residential life sector, Carl “got tired of being called at 2 am to reset fire alarms,” and began his career at RCAP Solutions (formerly Rural Housing Improvement or RHI) holding several positions in both housing and environmental programs.

“In the early 90’s I was motivated to help people”,” stated Carl. “Having gone to college during the Vietnam war, I became very sensitive to people who didn’t have as much as I did and wanted to help others, both with college housing and then at RCAP. The way this organization helps individuals and communities is especially important to me.”

Carl retired from RCAP Solutions as the Executive Vice President, responsible for all mission related activity, contract deliverables, strategic planning, ensuring compliance with organizational policies, and serving on the executive leadership team. “I worked for RCAP for a little more than 26 years,” noted Carl. “I enjoyed 95% of it, and it was an incredibly rewarding, fulfilling, and successful experience.”

When asked what makes him unique in his profession, Carl responded, “What helped me to be successful, is my ability to learn complex federal regulations and distil the information down into easily understandable material for others.”

While talking about his time at RCAP, Carl reminisced about a professional achievement of which he is incredibly proud. “A colleague of mine and I had worked with several section 8 clients and realized that these tenants were in quite a bind,” he mentioned. “The federal administration in office at the time had a policy that would automatically decline social security disability applications, forcing an appeal process to get them approved. That process would sometimes take 2-3 years to be appealed, and if approved, the appeal went back to the date they were declined. These clients sometimes received checks for very large sums of money. As a result, the family would receive conflicting messages from the federal government, on the one hand the Social Security Administration would tell them to spend the money, on the other hand, HUD would say to the Section 8 tenants, save the money because you will have to pay back overpaid subsidy when your income is reviewed. We worked for many months to propose a change to the regulations, which ultimately was adopted by HUD. Today, section 8 clients are no longer required to count retroactive payments as income, and that rule is still in effect today, nationwide. Only the money earned on the retroactive payments are counted as income.”

Carl was attracted to volunteering at RCAP Solutions due to his lengthy tenure at the organization. “I’m very fond of the organization,” he noted. “I have enormous respect for staff and the important work that they are doing here.” He believes his experience in running the housing programs for many years has been helpful to the leadership team in solving issues that have come up and in identifying things to look out for in the future.

RCAP’s mission based on self-sufficiency is what resonates most with Carl. “The housing programs help people to become independent so that they will no longer need the services that the organization provides,” He stated. “The organization provides the same services to rural communities. We go into a community, and our goal is to make sure the officials and volunteers have the tools to effectively and independently deal with their local and regional issues. Ultimately, whether it’s an individual or a small community, we help train them to solve problems on their own.”

As a board member, Carl hopes to help RCAP with a succession plan and assist in identifying new leadership that can continue to move the organization forward as effectively as the current team has done. “It’s been fun,” he commented. “For me it’s been a wonderful experience supporting the leadership team. I really enjoy working on this board and have enormous respect for the entire staff.”

Carl currently works as the Management Specialist for Keene Housing in Keene, NH. “One of the reasons I moved to Keane is to be close to our camp on Sand Pond,” remarked Carl. “I enjoy the calm of early mornings, but also love the activity, riding the boat, and seeing people water skiing and sailing. It’s one of the great joys of my life, especially when my family comes to visit every summer.”

He was a past member and treasurer for Homeowner Options for Massachusetts Elders, in Lowell, MA; and is the past club president and active member of the Keene Kiwanis Club, where he serves on the board of directors, along with the community services and membership committees.

Carl is an active member of the United Church of Christ in Keene and is involved in 2 bell choirs and 2 vocal choirs. He is a self-proclaimed tinkerer, and enjoys “fixing little repairs in house, like light switches. I know enough about plumbing and electricity to not have to pay someone,” he joked.

Carl holds a B.A. in History from Bloomfield College, an M.Ed. in College Student Personnel Administration from The Pennsylvania State University, and has completed doctoral course work in educational administration at Michigan State University.

Carl’s full bio can be found on our website.

Susan Bachman, RCAP Solutions Board Member

Susan Bachman is the Solutions Marketing Manager for Netrix Global located in Chicago, IL. As a marketing professional with over 15 years of experience, she is a team player with excellent interpersonal and communication skills. She is detail oriented and a deadline focused multi-tasker, versed in fast-paced creative environments.

Susan brings a broad range of professional communications skills to her role as board member, including implementing marketing strategies, market research, project management, website and content management, writing and editing, creative concepts, event management, public relations, product demo voice-overs, vendor management, and digital communications.

When asked what she is passionate about, Susan responded that “she really enjoys being outside in nature and spending time with friends and family.” She noted “family time together is important, whether it be bike riding, hiking, walking, or attending my 11-year-old twins’ hockey and soccer sporting events.”

She was drawn to the field of marketing because she has always loved three things: creativity, people, and psychology. “I always loved graphic design and using my imagination to create something.” She stated. “With a psychology minor in college, I felt like the field of marketing helped me to draw all my passions together by knowing what makes people tick. It helps you to better understand how people think and taps into what makes a person buy a certain product.”

When asked what she is most proud of, Susan notes that she is most proud of her kids and seeing them growing up to be independent, capable, and enthusiastic about life. On a professional level, she said it’s “building a culture of teamwork.” She went on to note “I love bringing people together and, in my career, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment after seeing people collaborate on a project. I am more of a visionary and enjoy helping a team work together and overcome obstacles.”

Susan was attracted to volunteering at RCAP Solutions because of the work the organization does to support rural and underserved communities. She felt drawn to the private well program to protect public health and wanted to know more, especially since she had her own private well.

She feels that RCAP’s vision of a world made up of strong and resilient communities and individuals, confident in their potential and with ownership of their success really resonates with her. She said “building those connections and being a part of an organization that can help others to have independence is so important to me. We guide others and help them have trust in themselves and their accomplishments.” She went on to say that “giving has a ripple effect. During the Pandemic people were not together physically, and the impact was evident. I am a positive person and seeing people help others has a gratifying effect, and creates a better world for us to live in.”

Susan believes that her experience working on the RCAP Board “has been amazing so far.” She thinks of herself as fairly new to the board but enjoys getting to know everyone. “I’ve really enjoyed the strategic planning work, seeing the vision for the future, and better understanding the opportunities for the communities we serve.”

When asked how she feels her skills and expertise have benefited RCAP’s work, she stated “I believe that I can help to build connections with people and other organization and see how building partnerships can help us grow.” She went on to say “after the pandemic I’ve taken on more global and remote roles. I’ve missed making a difference in the local community. I’m looking forward to doing more of that and working with RCAP has been wonderful in that regard.”

So far, Susan sees her time at RCAP as a work in progress. “After the strategic planning process, I’m more aware of all the perspectives to move things forward,” she noted. I’m seeing more collaboration, and the things we’ve discussed are starting to manifest. I look forward to seeing the changes we’ve targeted come to fruition.”

Susan received her MA in Visual Communications at San Francisco State University, CA, and a BA in Graphic Design at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. She received a certificate in Bank Marketing from the American Bankers Association, participated in the North Central MA Chamber of Commerce Community Leadership Institute, and the Emerging Leadership LAUNCH program with Fidelity Bank and Nichols College.

Her lengthy volunteer experience includes work with the Boston Women’s Leaders Organization, board membership with New England Financial Marketing Association (NEFMA), Marketing Strategic Planning committee with the Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Leadership Connection Board with the North Central MA Chamber of Commerce, Community Care Crew Chair and Heart Club Co-Chair at Fidelity Bank, and the United Way.

Susan’s full bio can be found on our website.