The Martha’s Vineyard Boys and Girls Club has named Barbara-jean Chauvin as its interim executive director.

Ms. Chauvin has been working alongside her predecessor, Dhakir Warren, as the club’s director of operations since 2021. Prior to working at the club, she was the assistant principal at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School for 36 years. She said Mr. Warren, who was the dean of students for the high school at the time, asked her to join the Boys and Girls Club staff after she announced her retirement from the high school.

“When he found out I was leaving he came and knocked on my door and said ‘what do you think about shifting over with me to the Boys and Girls Club?’” Ms. Chauvin said.

The two have been working closely together ever since, and Ms. Chauvin said she will miss her friend, who is returning to the regional high school to teach history and coordinate Project Vine, the school’s alternative education program.

Ms. Chauvin said she wants the community to know that they can expect the club to remain a positive and enriching place under her leadership.

“The club is the same place that you’ve been coming to for the last few years, and hopefully will be even better from where we are,” Ms. Chauvin said.

One of Ms. Chauvin’s goals for the club is to recruit more middle school members.

“Here on the Island, there is a good amount of services for our elementary school children and the high school has what high schoolers have,” Ms. Chauvin said. “There’s not a lot available to [middle schoolers].”

She said the staff is reevaluating their programming and looking for opportunities to add evening activities that middle schoolers would enjoy, such as a financial literacy fair, 3D printing classes and podcasting workshops.

“We want a growing membership where children are participating,” Ms. Chauvin said. “We don’t want to just have membership names on lists. We want to have active members.”

The club’s membership has more than doubled in the last three years under Mr. Warren’s leadership. Ms. Chauvin said she hopes to continue this upward trend. The club is enlarging its recreational sports programs, she said, adding a new girls’ basketball team and expanding their girls’ soccer team.

The Boys and Girls club is also building a new kitchen with commercial grade equipment. Ms. Chauvin said the club is producing approximately 5,500 meals a month for club members, many of whom face issues with food insecurity.

“Oftentimes, folks see us only as the after school club,” Ms. Chauvin said. “We are so much more than that.”