Leading in Central Massachusetts: Pamela Boisvert – CEO MassEdCO

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Monday, November 11, 2013

Susan Wagner, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Pamela Boisvert is the CEO of Massachusetts Education and Career Opportunities, Inc., (MassEdCO, Inc.) headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts. MassEdCO provides education and career advising services across the state, from Boston to the Berkshires, operating in 11 cities. Its goal is to help individuals “find their futures” via education and career paths, prepare for those paths, and successfully enroll and engage in them. It was formerly known as the Colleges of Worcester Consortium.

A Conversation with Pamela Boisvert

SW: Let’s talk first about your career as the CEO of the Massachusetts Education and Career Opportunities Inc. What exactly is the mission of the center and how do you achieve it?

PM: MassEdCO, (as we call our organization with the long title!) is a not for profit community –based organization that provides a wide array of educational access and support services to low income youth and adults.

Our target audiences are low income individuals whose families have had very limited (if any) experience with post secondary education or training programs. These are people who need assistance and direction in order to reach their full academic and career potential. We are a statewide network of service sites located in the high need areas of the state, serving over 14,000 clients each year. Some of our programs operate “in house” in high need secondary and middle schools, and others operate in easily accessible downtown office space. We partner with local organizations in some of our 11 cities to provide MassEdCO services. All services are provided free of charge to the client.

MassEdCO acts as “education brokers” – putting the client together with the most appropriate educational program for them, based on their interests, abilities, and career goals. Services include information and advising on career options and education programs that will lead to a chosen career, college and training program search and admissions processes, information and application assistance for financial aid, and referrals to support services that will help to ensure program success.

SW: What is on the drawing board now for MassEdCO?

PB: MassEdCO is in the unusual position of having been around for 45 years, yet we are starting the 2013-14 academic year with a new name, a new Board of Directors, new bylaws, and a new vision and mission statement. We joke that we are now one of the largest private providers of education and career advising services in the state that no one has ever heard of! That’s because until July 1, 2013, we were known as the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, Inc. Future plans include a greater emphasis on our already existing state-wide footprint, as well as increased concentration on career readiness. We hope to be viewed as a workforce development resource and partner across the state.

SW: Why the change from the Consortium?

PB: On that date, the Consortium officially split in two, with the Higher Education Access Services Division of the Consortium becoming MassEdCO, Inc. We maintained the legal identify of the former Consortium, and thus have been able to continue to host all of the federal and state grants and contracts which have funded these access programs for 40 years. In fact, 2013 is the 40^th anniversary of our Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) grant. We are proud to be one of the original 13 EOC grants in the country, and currently the second largest grant nationally. Following EOC, we added Educational Talent Search in 1991, Kids to College in 1992, Careers Plus in 1994, GEAR UP in 1999, Central Mass. Educator and Provider Support Network in 2009, and CSI Worcester and CollegeAccess, both in 2010.

SW: As a chairperson of the Women’s Initiative of the United Way of Central Massachusetts, what are your responsibilities?

PB: I chair the Coordinating Committee of the Women’s Initiative, which promotes leadership and philanthropy in women in Central Mass. We also oversee the various annual activities and events of WI, as well as the annual WI grant competition. Our focus for these grants, which total close to $300,000 annually, is middle school girls. We see this as a very vulnerable age for girls, and felt that the funds that WI raises each year through the United Way of Central Mass. campaign and other sources could be put to great use for this age cohort.

SW: What is the Initiative working on now?

PB: The Women’s Initiative is in an exciting place. We just celebrated our tenth anniversary, and had a wonderful, year-long celebration of all of our accomplishments over the past decade. This past year we were able to distribute close to $300,000 to fund 11 community-based programs serving hundreds of at-risk middle school girls in the Worcester area. In addition, WI runs a Dollars Scholars program each year, bringing in volunteer mentors to work with middle school girls around the importance of being financially literate both for themselves and their future families. This training is held on a college campus, and thus the girls have the benefit not only of the excellent financial training but also of becoming familiar with a campus environment.

The Women’s Initiative is now ready to launch our next decade. We recently completed a new work plan with goals and objectives reflective of the current needs of the community and which will get us started on the next ten years. We plan to be around for a long time!

SW: How did your career begin and where?

PB: I began my career looking for a part time job that would fit in with my need for “mother’s hours” as I had 4 children at home at the time, aged 4- 12. Taking care of them was my primary interest, and everything else had to fit around that priority. So in 1980 I became the part time assistant to the state Project Director of the EOC network, and I gradually worked my way up to that job, and then some! I had no professional work experience when I started out, but what set my resume apart (I was subsequently told) from all other women looking for part time work was my extensive experience with the League of Women Voters in Shrewsbury. (Consider this a shameless plug for the League!) .

SW: What led you to your current career path?

PB: Being a product of the 60’s, I wanted to do something that would lead to some “socially redeeming” results! But what has resonated with me the most over these past 30 plus years is that this career has always been about providing opportunities to people in need. Ours is not an entitlement program, but an empowerment program. We “open the doors,” point out the path to success, provide the on-going support, and the client takes it from there. I am always amazed at some of the obstacles our clients and students have faced, yet they have the resiliency and determination to come into our MassEdCO offices and start a journey that they hope – and expect- will lead to a better future. It’s a cliché, but always rings true, that an education is something that can never be taken away from you. And if you educate a parent, you often are educating the entire family as well.

SW: Can you describe a typical day in the life of Pamela Boisvert?

PB: As a new CEO, I’m on a learning curve that now includes the whole range of HR, fiscal, and facilities issues, as well as maintaining the oversight of all of our local and statewide programs. The latter is fortunately something I’m very familiar with, as that was my long-term role as VP for Higher Education Access Services with the Consortium. So my days are certainly not boring – I may go from a fund development discussion to a HR meeting to dealing with a program compliance issue. We’re also excited about getting our new name out there, so I try to do as much in the community, and state-wide, as I can. We want people to realize that while they may think of us as the “new kid” out there, we’ve actually been around for several decades! I guess that’s the PR part of my new job.

SW: What is the something that few p eo p le know about you?

PB: I’ve been in Worcester my whole life, so I’m not sure there’s very much people don’t know about me. I have 4 daughters and 10 grandchildren- a fact I talk about a lot in my role as Chair of the Women’s Initiative! My husband Maurice (better known as Moe) Boisvert is the President and CEO Emeritus of YOU Inc. He is now my “in-house” consultant on how to be a successful CEO - providing great free advice! We live in Shrewsbury in a 200 plus year old house that is always a challenge, but a delight at the same time

SW: How do you spend your free time?

PB: We’re very fortunate to be able to spend a lot of time with 6 of our 10 grandchildren who live in the area. They range in age from 18 months to 17 years, so we’re going from day care to middle school to high school “pick ups” and events at a moment’s notice. Our oldest granddaughter is a senior at Smith College, and we also have three grandchildren who live in Maine. We try to see this distant group as often as possible. We also try to spend as much free time on weekends as possible at our house on the Cape, in Eastham. This is a great retreat for both of us.

SW: What is your advice for helping the city to reach its full potential?

PB: I think what is going on in Worcester right now is very exciting, but I’ve always thought that more could be done with the fact that we have so many colleges and universities, in such a small geographic area. I think this is a unique feature of Worcester, given the size of the city and yet the large number, and diversity of higher Ed institutions.

SW: You are active in the community. What other organizations are you involved with?

PB: In addition to the Women’s Initiative, I’m on the Board of Directors of Girls Inc. and the Latino Education Institute, both in Worcester, and was previously on the Boards of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Note Dame Academy, Dynamy, Inc. and others. Much of my involvement has been at the state and national levels, particularly around financial aid issues for low income students, both with the Mass. Dept of Higher Education and the Washington-based Council for Opportunity in Education, and as a national trainer for directors of federally funded access programs.

SW: Any special plans for your future?

PB: Not yet! Right now I’m really enjoying my new roles, and the wonderful people I get to work with every day. Both MassEdCO and the Women’s Initiative make a critical difference in people’s lives, and I am honored to be part of both.

Susan Wagner is the president of Susan Wagner PR . In this challenging economy, she has begun a new division to offer affordable start-up packages to new and emerging small businesses and non-profit organizations that include professional writing services, websites, collateral, marketing, social media, grassroots outreach and PR campaigns.

If you have any suggestions for an interesting leader, please email [email protected].

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