Our team includes a diverse group of individuals who come from all walks of life: song writers, producers, singers, musicians, an attorney, a real estate broker, a health care professional, engineers, students, a playwright, a fundraising professional, graphic designers, and, most importantly, those struggling with addiction or other debilitating factors, who give us insight and guidance. The team at the Let’s Give It Up Foundation combines many unique skill sets to reach one common goal: make a positive and direct difference in the lives of those suffering from substance use disorder or other debilitating factors through music, the arts, acceptance and shared community.
Pat Saint James, Esquire
Founder and President,
Let's Give It Up Foundation
Danielle Cook
Board Member
Susan Piracini
Founding Board Member
Advisory Board Member
Real Estate Advisor
Ed Harper
Founding Board Member
Foundation Treasurer
Product Manager, Avid Technology
Joey MHz
Board Member
Director
Bob Patton
Professor, Berklee College of Music
Music Producer
Patricia Saint James
President and Board Member of the Let’s Give It Up Foundation. After a fulfilling 39-year career in law from which she retired in January 2024, Pat has embarked on a new adventure - tuning into a different passion - the healing power of music and the arts. She has always believed in the transformative power of music. Through her work with the Let's Give It Up Foundation, she is dedicating herself to using music and the arts to help those in need.
Pat is a composer and producer. She has worked with the late producer George Duke and with numerous recording artists, such as Philip Bailey of Earth Wind and Fire, Sheila E., Jeffrey Osborne, Rebecca Parrish, the Disney Kids, Boney James, Dominic Marte, and Renese King who have recorded her music. She wrote The Serenity Song for the off-Broadway play Recovery. The song has been used in the Massachusetts Drug Courts and led to the creation of the Let’s Give It Up Foundation.
Pat has had the honor of serving the Commonwealth as a leader in the legal community through leadership roles in the Massachusetts probate and family court, the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Arts & Business Council.
Pat currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct.
psaintjames@letsgiveitupfoundation.org
Ed Harper
Board Member and Treasurer of the Let’s Give It Up Foundation, Ed works at Avid Technology designing and delivering products that enable media and entertainment companies to create music, movies, and TV.
He was drawn to the Let's Give It Up Foundation to help young people struggling with substance abuse and issues of self-worth. The LGIU Foundation gives people an innovative creative outlet to come to terms with their own story and focus on their personal growth and recovery.
Susan Piracini
Susan Piracini is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Let’s Give It Up Foundation. She has been a respected name in the Boston real estate market for over 25 years, helping many people find their way home. After watching many friends lose family members to the disease of addiction, and experiencing the effects of addiction in her own family, she vowed to find a way to give back. After researching various avenues, she decided the Let’s Give It Up Foundation resonated with her personal beliefs around helping people suffering from SUD in their journey to become healthy and happy. Her personal goal for the Foundation is to help as many people as possible to turn their life around through art and music and to help them regain their sense of purpose, creativity, and self-confidence.
Danielle Cook
With a deep passion for giving hope and purpose through music and the arts, Danielle serves on the board with a heart full of compassion and lived experience. As an advocate for women who are incarcerated or navigating life on the streets, she brings both empathy and strength to her work—having overcome many hardships herself.
Currently studying behavioral health, Danielle believes in the healing power of creativity. She writes poetry, paints, and finds music to be a powerful form of therapy for those in tough situations. Her mission is to uplift others and remind them that their stories matter, their voices are powerful, and healing is always possible.
Bob Patton
Bob began teaching at Berklee in 1973. He has taught classes in improvisation, ear training, saxophone, ensembles, ACI (artistry, creativity, and inquiry), computer literacy, MTEC (music technology), and studio music production techniques. Bob is a recipient of the Berklee Performance Division’s Award for his animated/interactive ear training website using state-of-the art visual presentation and automatic grading. The techniques Bob developed as part of this site are now used in countless websites worldwide.
Over his extensive playing career, Bob has performed and/or toured with Aretha Franklin, Barbara Streisand, Artie Shaw, Sammy Davis, Jr., The Four Tops, The Temptations, Hall and Oates, Cab Calloway, Frank Sinatra Jr., Bette Midler, and Lou Rawls, to name a few. Bob has played events for our country’s leaders, including Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush, and Tip O’Neill.
As a studio musician, Bob has appeared on numerous recordings playing sax, flute, and clarinet at Philadelphia International Records, The Power Station (NY), Soundtrack (NY/Boston), PBS, Blue Jay Studios and more. Bob is the owner of Thin Ice Productions. He has engineered, written, and produced soundtracks for Blue Cross, Computer Vision, Sikorsky, Bose, Reebok, PBS and for many renowned artists, such as Livingston Taylor, Lionel Loueuke, John Tchicai, and Paquito Rivera.
Bob has designed and maintained websites for several artists. As a system designer and installer, Bob worked for PVS (Professional Video Services) and PRS (Professional Audio Services) of Boston - designing, maintaining and upgrading TV, radio, and recording studios.
In 2016, Bob recorded and co-produced with composer, John Finbury, “A Charma Verde” which was nominated for “Song of the Year” at the Latin Grammys.
Bob brings his wealth of knowledge and experience as a musician, producer, performer, recording engineer and teacher to the Let’s Give It Up Foundation. He is dedicated to furthering the mission of the Foundation to make a positive and direct difference in the lives of those suffering from SUD and behavioral challenges through music and the arts.