Meet Our Team:
Marcy Venezia, Executive Director
Marcy has been a long-time volunteer of Above the Clouds. She began 9 years ago as a Dream Flight Volunteer. Later she served on the Leadership Council and was involved in creating the flight coordinator position, planning events and engaging sponsors, volunteers and donors. In 2022, she flew as a guardian with Jon who was a dream flyer.“It was magical to be on the receiving side of a Dream Flight and watch Jonathan experience the joy and hope through the wonder of flight. It was amazing to see him fly the plane home from New Bedford, knowing how far he has come in the last 4 years. Joy and hope are so powerful in healing young lives who have had such a difficult time.”
Marcy brings to her position a background as a strategic business coach with GleeWorks Holistic Coaching. She is a registered nurse and a certified project manager. She has degrees in nursing, sociology and counseling and an MBA. She has been an advocate for kids facing challenges for over 25 years and is a Special Ed Surrogate Parent for kids in state custody. She is a mother of 4 grown kids and 4 grandchildren. She is excited to help more kids experience joy and hope through the wonder of flight.
Marie Freisleben, Program Coordinator
Marie is responsible for overseeing the operations of Above the Clouds Dream Flyers, Discovery Flyers and Flyover Programs. Marie is also responsible for our volunteer engagement, recruitment and management for all programs. Prior to joining Above the Clouds, Marie served as an educational coordinator at Wellset Mindset, working with youth through a variety of arts programming that focused on mental health and leadership. She also has 5 years experience as a lead teacher in a high school setting where she led and organized multiple community-wide events each year. From planning trips abroad for students, organizing cultural functions, sporting events, and directing and producing a district-wide video campaign, Marie loved creating experiences for youth. Community based programming has always been her passion to help empower individuals to keep learning and growing. Marie loves to draw, paint, hike, and meet new people. She graduated from Millersville University in 2014 with a BSE in Education and received her masters in 2019 from Drexel University in Art Administration.