UMass Boston Honors Haitian Women’s Advocate at Quinn Community Breakfast
Also Recognizes Local Banker for Community Dedication
(Boston, March 26, 2009) – At its annual Robert H. Quinn Breakfast today, University of Massachusetts Boston Chancellor J. Keith Motley presented the Robert H. Quinn Award to Carline Desire, executive director of the Association of Haitian Women in Boston, and presented the Chancellor’s Award for Longstanding Community Commitment and Service Award to George A. Russell, Jr., executive vice president and director of Community Affairs for State Street Corporation.
“UMass Boston is proud each year to recognize the commitment of those who are working to help people and build stronger communities,” Chancellor Motley said. “Carline Desire and George Russell are richly deserving of our recognition and our thanks.”
As executive director of the Association of Haitian Women in Boston, Carline Desire leads a charge to empower low-income Haitian women and their children by expanding women's knowledge and developing their abilities to be self-sufficient, independent, and confident. Desire, of Milton, helped found the organization, which is located in Dorchester, in 1988. By partnering with representatives from the District Attorney’s Office, Department of Transitional Assistance, and a number of shelters and community agencies, she helped launch the Round Table on Domestic Violence, which has evolved into a partnership that continues to share information and resources to empower abused women and end domestic violence in their lives. In 1999, Desire received a certificate from UMass Boston’s Women in Politics and Public Policy Program.
As executive vice president and director of Community Affairs for State Street Corporation, George Russell has more than 30 years of experience in banking and finance, beginning his career at State Street Bank & Trust Company in Boston. Russell, of Westwood, is the chairman of the board and president of the State Street Foundation and responsible for State Street’s philanthropic and community support programs globally. One local initiative is the State Street Scholars Program, which provides scholarships and paid internships at the company to high-achieving UMass Boston juniors and seniors interested in careers in financial services. He is past chairman of the board for both the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts and the Financial Services Academy and currently serves on the board of directors of One United Bank and Tufts Health Plan Foundation, and is on the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Math & Science Initiative.
The Quinn Award, which honors individuals whose outstanding contributions have significantly improved the quality of life in the Greater Boston area, was established in honor of Robert H. Quinn, who served the Commonwealth as speaker of the House of Representatives, attorney general, and chair of the UMass Board of Trustees. He is still actively involved with the welfare of the university, and is a practicing attorney and founding partner of Quinn and Morris, LLP.
About UMass Boston
With a growing reputation for innovative research addressing complex urban issues, the University of Massachusetts Boston, metropolitan Boston’s only public university, offers its diverse student population both an intimate learning environment and the rich experience of a great American city. UMass Boston’s seven colleges and graduate schools serve more than 14,000 students while engaging local, national, and international constituents through academic programs, research centers, and public service activities. To learn more about UMass Boston, visit www.umb.edu.