Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General Nora Mann started her workday one morning in November by roasting a turkey. It had to be in the oven in her Arlington kitchen by 4 a.m. and done by 8 a.m., so she could drop it off at On The Rise in Cambridge on the way to her office in Boston.

Mann is the Deputy Chief of Non-Profit Organizations and Public Charities, a division of the Business and Labor Bureau in the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. One of Mann’s duties there is to oversee the state’s more than 23,000 public charities.

 
So where does cooking a turkey fit into that?

This fall Mann took on a personal role in one of those charities. She joined the Board of Directors of On The Rise, Inc., a non-profit day program for homeless women.

“Do you remember that slogan from the 1970s – ‘Think globally, act locally’? That’s something I really believe in,” she says.

On this occasion, acting locally meant helping On The Rise volunteers put on a special early Thanksgiving meal November 17 for about 60 women. This was a bigger day than most. On average some 27 women a day seek meals or other assistance, Monday through Friday and Saturday mornings, at the roomy Victorian house at 341 Broadway.

 
Some of them need basic things: a meal, a shower, a warm coat, a safe place to sit for awhile. Others come to take advantage of services ranging from art classes and computer access to professional help with employment, counseling, and medical or legal advocacy.

“The whole place was a bustle of activity, even at that early hour,” Mann said.

 
(Photo: On The Rise staff members serve the holiday dinner.)

 
Reflecting on her decision to join the board at On The Rise, she pointed out an aspect of the program that had impressed her favorably.

“The women are accepted as they are; no requirements,” she said. “That’s so important, because for a lot of them, just knocking on the door is a very big step.”

She also noted the renewed emphasis on street outreach. On The Rise staff members now join teams from CASPAR (Cambridge and Somerville Programs for Alcoholism and Drug Rehabilitation, Inc.) on some local rounds.

Cooking the turkey was not Mann’s first volunteer service here.

“I knew about On The Rise from my friend Anne Meyer,” Mann recalled. “She sent me an invitation to a Hanukkah party that was a benefit for their ‘Keep The Keys’ program. I took along some sheets and towels for a woman who was getting settled in a new apartment, and I went to the party – that was my introduction.”

Meyer, also an attorney and a board member, has been an enthusiastic supporter of Keep The Keys. The program helps women find housing and manage the challenges that come with it – contractual obligations, maintenance, dealings with landlords, and a social scene that differs dramatically from street life.

“Anne’s party got me interested in On The Rise,” Mann continued. “At the same time I was starting to think about my own community service. My two kids were in college, so I was less involved in school affairs. I was ready to start something new, and this looked like a good fit.”

Martha Sandler, On The Rise’s director, agreed that it was an ideal match, adding that Mann’s background gives her a valuable perspective.

“Having Nora on the board means a lot to us,” Sandler said. “Her combination of professional experience and community involvement gives her a special insight into the work of nonprofits and the challenges they face.”

From 2006 through February 2011 Mann was Chief of the Community Information and Education Division in the Attorney General’s office. Before that, she was an Assistant DA in Middlesex County, working with numerous agencies on substance abuse prevention, violence prevention, and school and workplace safety. She was also involved in community activities in the Town of Arlington and in her school district.

“In the Arlington Education Foundation we raised money to fund strategic initiatives in the school district, and to support some wonderful ideas that needed a start,” she said. With a smile she added, “I developed some skill at separating people from their money for a good cause.”

Raising money is an essential part of the work for organizations like On The Rise, where private funding accounted for approximately 80% of the $1 million budget in 2010. Donors include a wide range of area businesses, foundations, faith communities, and individuals.

Mann graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa in 1980 with a degree in Theatre. She received a JD in 1987 from Albany Law School of Union University. Before joining the Middlesex DA’s staff she was an associate in the Boston law firm of Gilman, McLaughlin and Hanrahan, LLP.