Emerging Leaders at UMass Boston Work to Make Bay State More Business-Friendly

Fellows enrolled in the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP), based out of the Center for Collaborative Leadership at the University of Massachusetts Boston, are preparing their findings on projects that work to improve the health of the work force, living areas, and economic districts in Greater Boston.

Fellows in UMass Boston’s nine-month executive training program have been working since January with the center, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable (MBR), Boston Health Care for the Homeless, the Boston Tenant Coalition, and UMass Boston’s William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black History and Culture. They join a list of more than 400 professionals from over 150 nonprofit, government, and private-sector organizations who have participated in team projects since the program was founded 10 years ago.

“We have found that team projects that engage current civic and economic challenges are a powerful way for the fellows to enhance their leadership skills,” said Lisa DeAngelis, director of the Center for Collaborative Leadership.

Fellows Mark Auriemma and Kelly Dougherty are part of the team working with the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, which is committed to making the state more business-friendly.

Auriemma works at State Street, managing client relationships with institutional money managers for the Stable Value Group. Dougherty is the executive director of the CardioVascular Center at Tufts Medical Center. They are a part of a six-member group that has been working on identifying best practices in corporate wellness programs that could potentially change the perception of Massachusetts as an expensive place to do business.

“I am focusing on presenting the case for pursuing wellness programming – why, particularly in Massachusetts, this may represent a good value proposition for employers,” Dougherty said.

JD Chesloff, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, said the organization’s ongoing relationship with UMass Boston and the Emerging Leaders Program has been invaluable.

The partnership “offers a high-quality, reliable resource for research that we do not have the internal capacity to conduct. It is also a pleasure working with the emerging leaders and the ELP staff to promote a program which we believe is important to the community,” Chesloff said.

The fellows say their involvement has produced professional and personal benefits.

 “One of the best parts of the Emerging Leaders Program is that it has encouraged me to think beyond my own industry and career, and to think more broadly about the issues affecting my community and how I can become more involved,” Dougherty said.

Fellows working on five separate projects will present their findings to each other on July 19. They will present results to sponsors in September, with a final presentation for stakeholders scheduled for October 3 at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston.

Anyone interested in taking part in the program should call 617.287.3890, email leaders@umb.edu, or visit www.leaders.umb.edu.

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 eight colleges and graduate schools serve nearly 16,000 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.