A BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR URBAN COMMUNITIES OF NEW ENGLAND baystatebanner.com/bannerbiz ◆ Fall 2014
SUSAN WINDHAMBANNISTER CEO OF MASS LIFE SCIENCES EXPANDS STEM SECTOR
SBA PROGRAMS FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS
CITY OF BOSTON
REINVIGORATES BOSTON’S WOMEN COMMISSION
2020 WOMEN ON BOARDS
IMPROVING CORPORATE BOARDS THROUGH DIVERSITY
IN THIS ISSUE 12
Cover Story Susan Windham-Bannister . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 CEO of Mass Life Sciences works to expand STEM in Massachusetts
Career Dani Monroe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Expert on human resource issues, Dani Monroe gives useful career advice
2020 Women on Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 A Q&A with the Director about their efforts and successes at diversifying corporate boards
Women in Tech Science Club For Girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Celebrating its 20th anniversary this fall, Executive Director Connie Chow is determined to expand its reach further
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CEO MAI LIBMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 22
Develops new app to connect shoppers to local products
Business City of Boston’s Commission on Women . . . . . . 22 Commissions focus effort on women entrepreneurs
SBA’s programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Helping women-owned businesses build capacity
Community The BASE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Giving Boston kids a game plan for life
Other Departments A Note from the Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 28
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
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FROM THE PUBLISHER WELCOME TO OUR SECOND ISSUE OF BANNER BIZ Our focus in this issue is on women. There are profile stories on successful women, like Susan Windham-Bannister, and reviews of programs with a mission to improve the advancement of women in the corporate sphere such as 2020 Women on Boards and the City of Boston’s recently revitalized Women’s Commission, which aims to improve the lives of women and girls throughout the city in a number of different areas. Even before girls become women, there are needed programs to advocate, encourage, and mobilize support for girls who have nascent interests in the untraditionally female fields, of science and technology. Those are the jobs of the future that have high income potential and rewarding career opportunities. There are expected to be 300,000 STEM-related jobs in Massachusetts by 2018.
Connie Chow has been leading the way with Science Club for Girls, a program we feature in this issue. While this issue of Banner Biz does focus on women, we have also included a story about an important urban program that is helping our male youth get into college through sports —The Base. Work related issues are important for women, but they are never separate from our roles as sisters, wives, mothers, friends and advocates in our communities. Enjoy.
Sandra Casagrand
Banner Biz – updated weekly at rbiz baystatebanner.com/banne
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CONTRIBUTORS Yawu Miller
Kenneth Cooper
Martin Desmarais
Edie Ravenelle
Yawu Miller began his career in journalism with the Banner, serving as a staff reporter in 1993. He became managing editor in 1996. After leaving the Banner in 2006, he continued with the paper as a freelance writer and photographer. He has also written freelance articles for Commonwealth Magazine, the Baltimore Afro American and the Boston Irish Reporter. Miller graduated from Dartmouth College in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in English. He lives in Roxbury with his wife, 14-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.
Martin Desmarais has over 14 years of experience in the newspaper industry both print and online, including nine years of experience as editor-in-chief of a national business newspaper, the Indus Business Journal. His areas of expertise include: technology, venture capital, startups and small business, health and medicine, franchise and hospitality, as well as international business. He has a bachelor’s degree from Stonehill College and a master’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University.
Kristen Long
Kristen Long is a freelance writer who enjoys travelling the world. Her interest in business results from working for the Nasdaq Stock Market and, later, for FINRA. Kristen studied Political Science at Kent State University. She is from the Annapolis, Maryland area, where she currently lives with her cats, Jack and Rumpole.
Ian Justice
A native of picturesque Melton Mowbray in England, photographer Ian Justice has wrought his sense of style and impeccable work ethic into a photography career that approaches the two-decade mark. Justice not only makes beautiful images for print and web-based advertising, but realizes worlds in which products tell a story. His skill with the camera and profound knowledge of the equipment and its possibilities make each project sparkle with creative freedom and originality.
Kenneth Cooper is a Pulitzer Prize winner, has been a journalist for more than 30 years, specializing in government, politics and social policy, at the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Knight Ridder, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis American. In 1984, Cooper, then 28, shared a Pulitzer for special local reporting for “The Race Factor,” a Boston Globe series that examined institutional racism in Boston. He is the youngest African American to win a Pulitzer for journalism, and possibly the youngest to win the prize in any category.
Edie Ravenelle is a Boston-based writer, editor and marketing communications consultant. She has worked for numerous magazine, newspaper, corporate, nonprofit, and entrepreneurial clients.
Dani Monroe
Dani Monroe is Founder and President of Center Focus International, Inc. (CFI), and is a valued corporate resources for organizational management, change and inclusion strategies, leadership training, succession planning, and recruitment on a global scale. Ms. Monroe has led the “C” suites of Fortune 100 companies to success in global diversity, inclusion and organization effectiveness –favorably impacting their bottom line, reputation and business potential. Over a 25-year career, she has brought definition and depth to the dialogue about diversity and set the pace for change and precedence in strategies of global diversity and inclusion. She is the author of Untapped Talent: Unleashing the Power of the Hidden Workforce, (Palgrave MacMillan, April 2013).
Publisher Sandra Casagrand Editors Yawu Miller, Martin Desmarais, Kristen Long, Colette Greenstein Advertising Opportunities Please contact Rachel Reardon 617.261.4600 x 7799 ads@bannerpub.com Graphic Design Peter Wetherbee Design Consultant Walter Waller Front Page Photo Ian Justice, ianjustice.com Published by Banner Publications Volume 1 Number 2 September, 2 014 Printed by Cummings Printing Hooksett, New Hampshire 603.625.6901
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CAREER
SAY YES TO
SUCCESS Dani Monroe, photo by Peter Smith
TAP YOUR TALENT WITH AN OPEN MIND
Diversity consultant Dani Monroe touts the power of positive thinking In my book, Untapped Talent I challenge readers to understand the tendency to divide the workforce into A and B players — developing the As and ignoring the rest. For your own success, learn more about how to tap your talents in the workplace and take your place in the A group.
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Published by Palgrave MacMillan, April 2013. Available at amazon.com.
A
lso, develop your talents by saying “Yes” to success — and be fully present (vision, voice, talent and values) in the world you live in. In this competitive day, you definitely want to bring your talent to the demanding table of changing corporate and economic priorities and sustain your success with the word “Yes”. Yes, is a simple word that can propel us into opportunity right now — from identifying unknown realities to unveiling your hidden talents and future potential. The word yes actually communicates not only your willingness to be open to what’s next but also confirms your commitment to action. Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson refers to this as the “broaden and build” theor y because positive emotions broaden your sense of possibilities and opens your mind, which in turn allows you to build new skills and resources that can provide value in other areas of your life. NPR recently featured a Mormon woman who moved beyond her comfort zone during a convention to say “yes” to new opportunities for professional success. She accepted a dare to deliver a toast at a 500-plus person dinner. With the power of yes, she toasted the audience and opened her life to new possibility. The word “yes” allows us to be seen in clear view — as opposed to being hidden in plain sight. “Yes” also gives us license to acknowledge the boundaries and opportunities of our diverse cultural lens and accept ourselves and others for the positive attributes we bring to the table. The “yes” based on acknowledging diversity is one of the strongest skills a leader can possess in the global marketplace. To be successful, decision-making depends on your ability to understand alternative viewpoints, people, cultural practices and business protocol. For example, women particularly bring a powerful alternative perspective to the table. The power of “yes” gives women the authority to step into an authentic leadership space – and
“
in doing so, they silence the doubts of others, build confidence and develop executive presence. Women say “yes” to success when they believe in themselves, their ideas, and the ability to see the world through their own new glasses. More and more, saying “yes” affirms the roles of power for women who set the pace for leadership, not seek approval. For example, Sheryl Sandberg offers the pearls of wisdom by inspiring us to lean into our careers, which were created by males. Sylvia Ann Hewitt, highlights the importance of executive presence that is largely fashioned after male influence and Claire Shipman and Kathy Kay informs us that we lack the confidence of our male counterparts. H o w e v e r, w i t h these intriguing approaches, the question remains: “When are women going to stop comparing our success and de velopment to our male counterparts?” Sandberg, Hewitt, Shipman and Kay identify the gaps in our leadership ability based on a mental model that is constructed from a white male image. Today, the act of saying “yes” now prepares us to value the authentic experience of women through our own vision, voice and value. In this case, saying “yes” means setting standards defined by women — and not based on who we are compared to. For women, saying “yes” means owning your own power and assuming a position of authentic leadership — not by focusing on what was missing but embodying what is clearly evident. The Links organization of influential African American women has done just that over many decades and generations. They base their definition (mission) of success on who they are — as opposed to society’s inaccurate perception. Past and present, they stand on their own terms to defy the odds and navigate the obstacles. I encourage people from all backgrounds to say “yes” to opportunity and bring their talent to the table. We have come a long way, yet the journey continues. Do you want to be on the A team? ■
MORE AND MORE,
SAYING “YES”
AFFIRMS THE ROLES OF POWER FOR
WOMEN WHO SET
THE PACE FOR
LEADERSHIP, NOT
”
SEEK APPROVAL.
WOMEN’S CAREER RESOURCES The Boston Club The Boston Club is an organization of top women executives and professional women committed to developing, promoting and recognizing women leaders. www.thebostonclub.com The Commonwealth Institute The Commonwealth Institute’s mission is to support women CEOs, entrepreneurs and senior corporate executives by helping them grow their businesses and careers. They strive toward this goal by focusing on peer mentoring and support. www.commonwealthinstitute.org Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Leadership Program In collaboration with the Simmons School of Management, the chamber has established the Women’s Leadership Program. The year-long women’s Leadership Program provides a select group of emerging female professionals (3 – 9 years of experience) with opportunities to enhance their leadership skills, engage in the region’s business and civic communities and develop professional networks. www.bostonchamber.com National Association of women MBAs The National Association of Women MBAs is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women and propelling them into leadership positions in corporate America. To accomplish its mission NAWMBA focuses its efforts in four key areas: education, professional development, networking and collaboration. www.mbawomen.org 2020 Women on Boards See article on page 8. www.2020wob.com The Partnership As the region’s premier experts on talent management solutions for professionals of color, The Partnership is leading that conversation. The Partnership has four core service areas: Research, Train, Consult and Convene. www.partnershipinc.org
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N E M O S W D R A O B N O 2020 CAREER
ADVOCACY GROUP AIMS TO DIVERSIFY CORPORATE BOARDS Kristen Long The advocacy group, 2020 Women on Boards, was founded in Boston in 2010. The following year it became a national organization. Four years later, the nonprofit continues blazing a trail for gender equality on corporate boards. As part of their extensive research into corporate America, 2020 Women on Boards produces a directory that helps consumers and investors to evaluate a corporation based on the percentage of women on its board. A company given a “W” rating is a Winner with 20 percent or higher female board members. “V” stands for Very close to the target 20 percent. “T” means that the corporate board has one Token woman. “Z” is for Zero. The cofounders, Malli Gero and Stephanie Sonnabend took action to change what they saw as unsatisfactorily slow progress in the number of women on corporate boards. Using education, grassroots advocacy and social and traditional media, for their campaign, they have been successful in adding gender diversity to the criteria for corporate governance best practices. Malli Gero, cofounder and executive director, recently shared her wisdom with Banner Biz. Which have more women: nonprofit or for-profit boards?
I have never seen national stats on the subject, but my observation is that more women serve on nonprofit boards than on corporate boards. In its 2013 report, “Census of Women Directors and Chief Executives of Massachusetts’ Largest Nonprofit Organizations,” the Boston Club 8 Banner Biz | Fall 2 014
found that women hold 35 percent of board members for nonprofits is of the board seats of the largest non- 23, compared with eight for corpoprofits in the state, while women rate boards — so there may be more held only 12.7 percent of board seats opportunity for women. Expertise in the largest companies. and philanthropy drive nonprofit board appointments, while expertise and title often drive corporate board Why do you think this might be? recruitment. Company CEOs often The Boston Club speculates that nonprofit boards are larger than cor- look for directors who look like themporate boards—the average number selves, white men with a “C” title.
Have you found data to indicate that an increase in women board members leads to an increase in the pay, promotion, and hiring of female employees within a corporation?
I’m not aware of data to support this claim, but there is a lot of speculation about it. More time is needed to examine how balanced
boards affect corporate social The male-dominated sectors like responsibility. One study, published energy and technology continue to by UC Berkeley in 2012, found lag behind other sectors in diverthat companies that place value on sifying their boards. One reason gender diversity perform better in for this is that companies in these general and perform better than do sectors may rely on venture fundtheir peers in multiple dimensions ing, which is heavily male domiof corporate sustainability. These nated. Venture capitalists tend to companies are more likely to pro- stack the boards of companies they vide strong employment benefits invest in with people they know and performance incentives; offer and trust and, more likely than not, employee engagement and profes- these are people like themselves: sional development programs; offer white and male. There is increasmore competitive benefits packages; ing pressure on these companies implement more formalized train- to change, and change is in the air, ing programs and actively measure but it’s a slow process. employee satisfaction than companies without women leaders. Women who work full time and Canada recently set a voluntary national target for a 30 percent female board composition for publicly traded companies. Is this development encouraging to you?
We are very interested in the outcomes of “comply or explain” initiatives such as Canada’s, and would be thrilled to see a similar resolution adopted in the U.S. We are beginning to see states take action. In 2013, the California Senate approved Resolution 62, which recommends that boards of nine or more have a minimum of three women directors by 2016. We are actively working with our 2020 chapters to launch similar initiatives in states across the U.S. Would you consider lobbying the SEC to set a target number for publicly traded companies?
Today the SEC encourages board diversity, but it doesn’t define it. Companies are left to define diversity for themselves and their definition often excludes women. We’d like the SEC to take a stronger stand and define diversity to mean three or more women on a board of nine or more. We would welcome the opportunity meet with the SEC commissioners on this topic. In your opinion, which sectors will be the biggest challenge to reform and why?
Reflections on equity as we mark the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act…
“Equity is the superior growth model…
who must provide care for growing children or aging parents—or both—might easily feel overwhelmed with board member duties. What resources are available for current or aspiring board members to keep women on boards longer?
We know that ending inequality
Most people who serve on corporate boards have very senior-level jobs and have figured out how to balance their work with their family responsibilities. That said, the demands of corporate board positions are not for everyone. Men and women who aspire to corporate board positions should understand the requirements of the job to make sure it’s a good fit. Childcare and eldercare should not be seen as a women’s issue: it’s a family issue. At this time, boards are not bound by term limits, so once elected, a director can serve for many years.
a pipeline of talent to grow the
What do you predict for team 2020WOB and its mission six years from now?
Stephanie [Sonnabend] and I are going to retire. We’ll have a party in states across the US to celebrate not just achieving the goal but surpassing it. Then we’ll look to our sons and daughters to carry the momentum. ■
isn’t just a matter of morality, it is an economic imperative…Who will be the entrepreneurs, innovators, workers of tomorrow? What are we prepared to do as a nation to guarantee economy and sustain it in the future?” Angela Glover Blackwell Founder, CEO PolicyLink
Kelley Chunn & Associates STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
Providing Culturally Smart Strategies to Promote Social Change! www.kelleychunn.com kcassociates106@gmail.com 617-427-0046
http://responsiblebusiness.haas.berkeley.edu/Wom en_Create_Sustainable_Value_FINAL_10_2012.pdf 1
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PROFILE
LIFE SCIENCES
AMBASSADOR BY KENNETH J. COOPER
Mass Life Sciences CEO expands Massachusetts STEM sector
SUSAN WINDHAM-BANNISTER HAS DIRECTED THE MASSACHUSETTS LIFE SCIENCES CENTER FOR GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK SINCE THE $1 BILLION INITIATIVE WAS LAUNCHED IN 2008. SHE SET UP THE CENTER AND DEVELOPED ITS PROGRAMS, WHICH HAVE BOOSTED THE STATE’S ECONOMY. “This is the economy of the 21st century. This is where the job growth is,” says Windham-Bannister, the center’s CEO and president. “The life sciences sectors, since this initiative by the governor, are among the fastest-growing sectors in the Massachusetts economy.” It’s rare for a woman to run a science-oriented arm of a government, rarer still for a black woman to do so. “I’m usually one of the few women in the room, and the only person of color, if I’m in a meeting,” Windham-Bannister says.
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Windham-Bannister is a prominent example of an executive without a college degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics whose work involves those STEM fields of study. She mastered the life sciences through business, helping companies bring health-related products to market. Her combination of business savvy and life sciences knowledge made her a perfect fit for a brand new job that came looking for her, not the other way around. The various programs of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center spur innovation, create jobs and support scientific research on the cutting edge. The center offers loans, grants and tax incentives to pursue those goals. The life sciences industry includes pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostic and medical device companies.
Windham-Bannister has applied the center’s ample resources to promoting diversity in the life sciences industry, which she says makes social and business sense. “A big part of my goal with this initiative has been to make it inclusive,” she says. “I want the face of the life sciences workforce to look like the face of the country, in terms of diversity — people of color, women, all socio-demographic groups. I don’t want zip code to determine whether our young people have a chance to compete for jobs in the life sciences.” The life sciences center has supported targeted programs in K–12 schools and community organizations.
“
THIS IS THE ECONOMY
OF THE 21ST CENTURY.
THIS IS WHERE THE JOB
”
GROWTH IS.
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PROFILE
“The life sciences needs many people who are mid-skilled workers. They have high school degrees. They have community college degrees. Or they have less than a high school degree,” she adds. Windham-Bannister does have a PhD, in health policy and m a n a ge m e n t f rom Brandeis University, not STEM. She was born in St. Louis at t h e f a m e d H om e r G. Phillips Hospital, which trained many black doctors during the era of segregation. Her father was a surgeon who integrated staffs of other hospitals in St. Louis. She came to the Boston area to attend (l – r) MassBio President and CEO Robert Coughlin, Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President and CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, PhD, We l l e s l e y C o l l e ge, BioOutsource executive, Governor Deval Patrick celebrate BioOutsource’s decision to expand in Massachusetts at the 2014 BIO Convention in San Diego. before doing her doctoral work at Brandeis “We have put millions of dollars into grants color also receives funding. The center also has an internship program for on national health insurance. She became that support STEM programs that are targeted at girls and kids of color and kids in urban commu- college students, who have been notably diverse, interested in how providers and suppliers get nities, kids who are not well-represented right and pays their stipends. Many people mistakenly reimbursed through government and private now in the classroom among kids that are inter- assume a PhD is required to work in the life insurance plans. For a couple years, Windham-Bannister sciences, but the internship program tilts in the ested in STEM,” Windham-Bannister notes. worked at Abt Associates, the research firm in Such grants have gone to the Urban League other direction. The internships are for community college Cambridge that has nurtured and developed of Eastern Massachusetts, the Girl Scouts for its students, juniors, seniors and master’s students. considerable black talent over the years. There Science Club for Girls and Freedom House. she worked on health policy. High schools and vocational-techni- Doctoral candidates are not eligible. “I realized that that was a little far away from “Companies can come to our database and cal schools in economically challenged cities, schools with high concentrations of disadvan- select the students, so we don’t place them. We’ll the action, and I was really more interested in taged students, and charter schools in Roxbury pay for four interns, if two of them are from what was going on at the market level,” she have also received grants. Madison Park and a community college,” Windham-Bannister recalls. East Boston are among high schools that have explains. “Over 360 companies around Massachusetts used such grants to upgrade laboratories or buy o Windham-Bannister set up shop as an have used interns,” she adds. “We have funded equipment, including computers. independent consultant, helping com“We’re making grants that will go up to 1,600 interns. A third of the interns are kids of panies bring health-related products to $250,000, which for a high school is a lot of color. Half of them are women.” market. She brought to the table her underThis year, one out of eight interns have been standing of the complexities of how health money, and getting industry to put in matching community college students. funds,” Windham-Bannister says. insurers make reimbursements. “The life sciences hires people with all differAt the collegiate level, the life sciences center “I was able to parlay that knowledge about has made grants to UMass Boston for a program ent skill sets and levels of training. The life sci- how all this works in great detail into doing to enroll and graduate more students of color in ences is a business, so it needs people who run a lot of business strategy, which was of much its College of Science and Mathematics, which projects. It needs people in administration. It greater interest to me,” she explains. “Not that has become majority-minority. A program at needs people in sales, marketing and accounting I don’t love policy. I do, but I like things in Harvard Medical School targeted to people of and legal and IT,” Windham-Bannister says. application.”
S
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PhDs and the like.’ ‘We don’t want any of those In the early 1980s, Wendell Knox, who later every skill that I have ever developed.” Windham-Bannister arrived to set up the new facilities in our communities. It’s dangerous, the became CEO and president of Abt, recruited her to return to the company to help start a com- life sciences center “with a lot of understanding things that are going on there.’” She has polished counters to those arguments, mercial division to complement its government what innovation looks like, because I’ve been work. She cofounded what became Abt Bio- working with companies that are doing innova- by pointing out the community’s self-interests. tion for all these years.” “The life sciences matter, for our health. There Pharma Solutions. “I really was able to be bilingual in this job,” are a lot of medical issues in the communities of Windham-Bannister managed the commercial strategy division, consulting with she continues. “I was able to talk to my business color that are more prevalent or present differently companies in a new industry, biotech, and stakeholders. I understood what they needed. than they do in the Caucasian population,” Windother arenas that came to be known as the life And I was able to talk to the policymakers. I could ham-Bannister explains. “Unless we are present in talk with them about equitable distribution of the the community that’s researching and looking for sciences. drugs and treatments or “I learned all the cures, our voice around science from working issues important in our with business. You community will not be have to begin to learn heard as loudly.” the science to underBesides health issues, stand the products,” there are the economic she explains. “If it’s a interests of a commudrug, how does this nity underrepresented drug work? I have to in a growing, betunderstand the underter-paying sector of the lying science because state economy. that ’s how you are “This is where the going to talk to a job growth is. This is physician, to explain where the wealth crewhy this is better ation is. So we need to than what he or she be in that mix,” she says. has been using. You “Our kids need to be have to understand it Susan Windham-Bannister, PhD, President and CEO of the MLSC cuts the ribbon at the grand opening of MBLI and SCIVAX USA’s first U.S. wet lab. trained. They need to to talk about it to the economic benefits. I could talk about inclusion.” be thinking about careers in these sectors — and consumer as well.” In her role, Windham-Bannister has a lot of it doesn’t mean they have to be in science. They In the mid-2000s, Windham-Bannister started thinking she’d like to return to the non- speaking engagements. She has a presentation for could be interested in and really like to put things profit world. Early in her career, she had worked life sciences companies about why hiring employ- together, assemble things. They could like to work with animals, (become) animal technicians, a big at the Mary Eliza Mahoney Family Life Center, ees of color is a business imperative. “My message on the business side is you need area in the life sciences.” a health center in Dudley that was part of the us to be in this game, because you are growing, More African Americans working for the life federal Model Cities program. She interviewed for a position running the you need talented workers, we are talented people, sciences could narrow the gap in black and white United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merri- and if you are going to find the workers that you incomes in Boston, as documented in the State of mack Valley. Her business-oriented presentation need, you are going to look at the growth seg- Black Boston report of 2011. “People in the life sciences make above averdid not go over well with board members accus- ments of the population,” she explains.” “The demographics are changing in this country, so age wages for any job,” she notes. “They can be an tomed to how nonprofits function. “But the search firm that was doing the industry and academia are going to have to look administrative assistant and they will make more search said to me afterwards, ‘we really liked for their students, their workers, in communities than the average salary for an AA.” Windham-Bannister’s role as the pioneering, the way that you interviewed for this position of color.” founding chief executive of the Massachusetts and we have another position we think you’d be perfect for,’” Windham-Bannister recalls. “It indham-Bannister has another, tai- Life Sciences Center is coming to an end. In May, was this position. I thought ‘there’s no way I can lored message she delivers to African she announced she will resign as soon as a sucwork for government. I just don’t have the temAmericans, about the importance of cessor is found. Her intent is to have her tenure roughly coincide with Patrick’s. The governor perament.’” life sciences to health, income and wealth. She changed her mind. “One of my really big frustrations has been to leaves office in January. In early July, Windham-Bannister was uncertain “I came to interview with the search commit- really try and emphasize to my own community, tee, and I really got very excited about the job. the African American community, why the life where she will land and what she’ll be doing next. “Even though my career is about strategy, I I thought ‘wow, there’s a lot of room here for sciences are so important,” she says. strategic thinking.’” “When I’ve been out talking in my community don’t live my life that way,” she explains. “I really “I was very happy that I got the job,” she about the life sciences, I get a number of reac- sort of know it when I see it, the right thing.” As she did when she interviewed for a quasiadds. “Here we are six years later, and it’s been tions. ‘What does this have to do with us? Those fantastic. It’s drawn on every experience and are jobs for very elite workers, people who have government job six years ago. ■
W
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WOMEN IN TECH
Studying zebrafish development through cartilage staining. Zebrafish program participant: Etenish Abebe; mentor Emiko Fire. Photo credit: Steve Olimpio. 16 Banner Biz | Fall 2 014
SCIENCE CLUB
FOR GIRLS SCIENCE CLUB FOR GIRLS OPENS DOORS TO STEM EDUCATION By Edie Ravenelle
G
lobal warming. Energy and finite natural resources. Infectious diseases. What do these complex international topics have to do with girls and science in Massachusetts? “Everything,” according to Science Club for Girls Executive Director Connie Chow, “because almost every critical problem affecting our future on this planet will need to be solved using science and technology. And we need as many new and different ideas as we can get.” As SCFG prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary this fall, Chow is determined to expand its reach even further, encouraging young women and minorities to pursue educations that will prepare them to participate in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) economy.
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DID YOU KNOW? Forecast calls for growth in Massachusetts STEM jobs
There are expected to be 300,000 STEMrelated jobs in Massachusetts by 2018.
Boston, Newton and Fitchburg) and in Pokuase, Ghana. Chow has plans to increase SCFG’s partnerships with area college students as mentor-scientists, and to grow the opportunities that SCFG teens have to pursue school-year and summer internships like those recently offered by Boston
Job vacancies between 2008 and 2018 will create over 1 million new jobs, and 707,000 of those will require post-secondary credentials — 277,000 for high school graduates and 80,000 for high school dropouts. Massachusetts ranks first in the number of jobs in 2018 that require a bachelor’s degree, and is ranked 39th in jobs for high school drop outs. African American students in Massachusetts are significantly more likely to say they are interested in civil engineering than African American students nationally. Female students in Massachusetts are more likely to say they are interested in a biology career than female students nationally
How do we tap into this potential?
Increase student interest in STEM
Increase STEM achievement of pre-K–12 students
With 80 percent of the fastest growing jobs in the next decade requiring STEM capabilities, SCFG’s efforts to increase interest and promote career awareness in these fields is essential to ensure economic security for underrepresented groups and their communities. And, with an increasing number of “boomer scientists” retir-
Between 2008 and 2018, new jobs in Massachusetts requiring post-secondary education and training will grow by 148,000 while jobs for high school graduates and drop outs will grow by 25,000.
The Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council is a 40-member body, chaired by the lieutenant governor, with members from government, academia, industry, foundations and nonprofits. The Council was created to serve as an advisory body to align public and private sector STEM education initiatives. Some of their goals are:
Increase the percentage of students who demonstrate readiness for college-level study in STEM fields Increase the number of students who graduate from post-secondary institutions with a degree in STEM field
Data provided by © 2013 ASTRA, The Alliance for Science & Technology Research in America www.usinnovation.org and www.aboutastra.org and www.stemconnector.org.
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Connie Chow with Cathy Wissink (Microsoft NERD) at the Science Club for Girls 2013 Catalyst Award Celebration. (Photo: Dana Quigley)
ing each year, the STEM economy can’t afford to overlook attracting and training women and minorities to enter its ranks.
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n her eight years at the helm of the Cambridge-based nonprofit, Chow has seen the program’s impact as the perfect convergence of women’s and social justice issues. “Ultimately, SCFG is here to create culturally-literate scientists and science-literate citizens by offering girls interesting and engaging programs where they feel like they belong and can be part of the STEM enterprise,” she says. “We’ve been ahead of the curve on the issue of promoting women and minority participation in STEM careers. And now I’m happy to see other, newer organizations enter the playing field, and to see more corporations who are leading philanthropic initiatives and encouraging their employees to volunteer in our programs.” SCFG’s K-12 science and engineering programs connect girls with volunteer mentor-scientists in a fun, nurturing, interactive environment. More than 1,000 girls participate annually in a variety of free programs offered in five Massachusetts cities (Cambridge, Lawrence,
University, Harvard University, Boston Children’s Hospital, Simmons College, and Bocoup (an Open Web development company). “I’m excited that the STEM business community has been so supportive, and we are increasingly seeing the financial services sector step up as they realize their need to attract women and minorities to math-based careers,” adds Chow. But what Chow remains proudest of is that SCFG’s mission is centered on developing the “whole girl.” “We have one to two hours a week to change a girl’s mind and affect her future,” says Chow. “We take girls wherever they are — super interested in math or science or just exploring — and we put them where they can interact with real scientists in hands-on activities with their peers. This is how they gain the courage and confidence they need to overcome obstacles and to believe that they can succeed in a STEM career, or in whatever they choose to do.” In the past 10 years, Chow estimates that about 55 percent of SCFG high school graduates have chosen STEM college majors. To learn more about SCFG and its 20th anniversary celebration plans visit scienceclubforgirls.org. ■
WOMEN IN TECH
CEO CONNECTS SHOPPERS TO LOCAL PRODUCTS BY MARTIN DESMARAIS
WHEN MAI LIBMAN LAUNCHED HER MOBILE APP SAVIONE SHE WANTED A WAY TO PROMOTE LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD STORES AND HELP THEM COMPETE WITH THE LIKES OF AMAZON AND WALMART. WHILE SHE KNEW THAT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS DID NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO USE TECHNOLOGY THE WAY GIANT RETAILERS COULD, SHE HAD NO IDEA HOW ENTHUSIASTIC RETAILERS WOULD BE ABOUT USING A COMMUNITY-DRIVEN PLATFORM TO DO SO. SHE ALSO HAD NO CLUE THAT THE APP’S BIGGEST ADOPTERS WOULD BE FARMERS’ MARKETS, AN INDUSTRY MOSTLY CONSIDERED AS FAR AWAY FROM TECHNOLOGY AS ONE CAN IMAGINE.
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“The overall mission is to have an impact, but owever, less than a year after the release easier and that is how you lose people,” Libman of the first version of Savione — which said. “You can order something from Amazon ultimately we need to generate revenue for the went live in November 2013 — the and in a day or two it is here. Because of this, customer and for us,” she said. Libman and Yaacoby have funded the comsecond version of the app is out and is heavily local merchants are going out of business, and buoyed by the success with farmers markets. diminished sales are becoming more and more pany on their own so far, and are encouraged by the potential size of the market. Its users include: SOWA Farmers Market, West of a trend. Libman points to figures from the SBA that “If this continues to happen it will lead to Roxbury Farmers Market, Brookline Farmers Market, Natick Farmers Market and The Mar- more and more empty towns,” she added, saying show the retail small business market in Boston is a $3.5 billion indusSavione wants to do ketplace at Simpson Spring. try. She also points to The Brookline-based Savione offers an app its part to help stop U.S. Department of that is designed to help consumers shop in local this from happening. Agriculture numbers Town of Brookstores with a platform that connects shoppers that suggest the farmwith products and deals. The app provides a way line officials suggested ers market industry in to get shoppers to come into brick-and-mortar to Libman that she Boston is worth $222.5 stores, but it is still linked with the most up-to- test the app with the million, with the overdate prices, deals and inventory that are the ben- Brookline Farmers all U.S. farmers market Market, which Saviefits of e-commerce platforms. industry topping $7 The app gathers a network of shops, offering one did last winter. In billion. current products and views of the store that vary doing so, they stumShe expects that depending on a user’s location. From Back Bay bled on tremendous Savione will need to to Coolidge Corner to West Roxbury, the app market segment for raise outside funding has hundreds of stores in its database. Users can the app. at some point in order As Libman explains, search for the specific types of products, from to expand company women’s fashion to men’s fashion to local pro- with a farmers’ market Mai Libman, CEO and co-founder of operations, but they containing as many as duce and artisanal foods. Savione. (Photo courtesy of Savione) are being cautious on With its mission of boosting the business of 30 to 40 vendors there this front. local retailers, Savione is not just another place is no easy way to get a “I want to make to locate every retail option in the area — like sense of who is selling sure it is proven and Yelp. As such, you will not find Staples or what and where it is we can get to a certain Walmart or Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks with located in the market. the app. The stores the app promotes must be Part of the experience of a farmers’ market is point and say we are ready to raise X amount,” independent brick-and-mortar stores with no just to show up and see what you can find, but it she said. A graduate of Bowdoin College in May 2000 is often hit or miss. Savione reduces the uncermore than a couple of locations. “I founded Savione with a goal of helping tainty because the vendors can let consumers with a bachelor’s degree in government and local merchants because they can’t compete with know exactly what kind of products they have a minor in economics, Libman also received a master’s degree in development economics from Amazon and Walmart,” said Libman, 36, who that day and how much is left. Princeton University in May 2002. grew up in Lawrence and now lives in BrookShe spent the earlier years of her career in line. “The whole entire platform is about build- Working with farmers’ markets even triggered ing community and supporting local. The whole the evolution of Savione, as they are now work- the public sector working for World Bank, the social mission of it is to help these local mer- ing on features that will allow consumers to buy United Nations Development Programme and products through the app that will then be held the Social Security Administration. She traveled chants so we can help build a local economy.” Libman, who serves as the company CEO, for pick up at the market or to pre-order spe- the world with these jobs, but decided to return to Boston in 2007 not long after her daughter founded Savione with Sagi Yaacoby, an expe- cialty items for pick up. For consumers, the Savione app is download- was born. She also has a four-year-old son. rienced business development, operations and While raising her young children, she dediproject management executive with experience able for free from the Apple App Store. The Savin Internet and consumer goods. Yaacoby serves ione platform is also provided free to businesses. cated time to the Dorchester nonprofit Viet-Aid The company generates revenue through the and consulted for the Urban League of Eastern as the company chief operating officer. They started with local Coolidge Corner mer- extra tools and services it offers to support or Massachusetts. She also hatched the idea of creating her own chants to find out how they could better connect enhance the Savione platform, such as the buy consumers with stores in the face of an online button or mobile commerce system, as well as business with the hope that it would have an retail industry that puts almost any product and data analytics services. The mobile commerce impact on her community. “When I first dived into the startup world system will generate a commission of every transthe best deals only a click away. people were like, ‘You are supposed to live and They found a need to develop a social media- action, as well as a fee for processing payment. According to Libman, the company is cur- breathe your startup. How can you even work driven platform that could allow small retailers to compete with the giants but still offer the rently testing and working with vendors on an on your startup if you have two kids?” Libman appropriate pricing model. She said she expects said. “But it doesn’t matter that I am a mom. I promise of a small, local retail experience. “People want to support local, but people don’t to roll out a fee structure for the mobile farmers am going to work hard regardless. Having Savione is like having a third child.” ■ end up finding a way to do it. Online is just market platform shortly. baystatebanner.com/bannerbiz 21
WOMEN IN BUSINESS
(l– r) Cassandra Campbell and Jackson Renshaw, co-founders of Fresh Food Generation. (Photo by Maureen White.)
ENTREPRENEURS COMMISSIONS FOCUS EFFORT ON WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS BY MARTIN DESMARAIS
T Megan Costello, executive director of the Boston Office of Women’s Advancement and chair of the Boston Women’s Commission. (Photo courtesy of the Boston Office of Women’s Advancement.)
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he new Boston Office of Women’s Advancement and the recently revitalized Boston Women’s Commission have a broad mission aimed at improving the lives of women and girls throughout the city in a number of different areas. However, for Boston’s businesswomen the first big target is increasing pay equity and making sure the city has greater opportunity for women entrepreneurs. Megan Costello, who leads the Office of Women’s Advancement as executive director and also serves as chair of the Boston Women’s Commission, said that in a city where women make up 52 percent of the population there is a social and economic need to ensure equal opportunities for women.
Currently, the office has generated a list of Costello points to the most current Employer Diversity and Inclusion at Federal Reserve Bank Information Report, known as the EEO-1 Report, of Boston; Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, CEO of about 1,200 businesses that it communicates with that shows Boston women make about 83 cents Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción; Diana Hwang, directly, but Costello wants to connect with all on the dollar compared to their male counter- founder and executive director of Asian-Ameri- the women-owned businesses. “We need to grow that number,” she said. “Also, parts — numbers that the Office of Advance- can Women’s Political Initiative; Colette Phillips, ment and the Boston Women’s Commission are president and CEO of Colette Phillips Commu- asking businesses to help promote us so we can nications; and Robert Rivers, president and chief connect with more people is really important too. not willing to just accept. We are building a network right now. We are Working with the Boston Women’s Work- operating officer of Eastern Bank. working on a foundation.” force Council, the Office of Advancement has Costello admits the overall task is not easy but launched a data project this summer to find out resh Food Generation co-founder Caswhat companies in the city are doing to make sandra Campbell is also a member of the issues are serious enough to warrant a longterm effort. sure they advance women. The office is asking the women’s commission. “We know we are companies to sign on and look internally at the For her it offers a chance to tackle not going to solve the data and analyze what is effective in supporting issues she is very passionate about. problem of pay equity economic equity for women and what needs to “I have always been focused on in the next year but be fixed to remedy disparities. equity across race, gender, class, age. we need to find some While pay equity is often the first thing tar- And I like that the mayor is trying concrete steps to start geted, Costello said it is just part of the bigger to create a more equitable Boston to solve the problem,” picture. and is creating an arm of the city she said. “It is not just about the wage gap and rais- of Boston that is just focused on In addition to ing wages, but it is about making sure there looking at women and making sure effor ts to advance are other opportunities to make sure women they have equal access in Boston,” women’s equity, the can be successful,” she added. “We also have to Campbell said. Office of Women’s consider the barriers that prevent women from The Roxbury-native’s Fresh Advancement will also leadership roles.” Food Generation is a company focus on understandBy examining such issues through the focused on providing healthy, ing and reporting on Office of Advancement the hope is it will give affordable, cooked foods in low-inthe status of women a broader platform for the context of the impact come neighborhoods through and girls in Boston on women. catering services, as well as a food t h ro u g h d a t a a n d “This isn’t about women saying we need this truck that serve on-the-go meals research; and promotfor us. This is women saying we need this for made with ingredients from local ing women’s health our families and we need this for the society. farms. and safety. The office This is good for us all,” Costello said. “This is Campbell has a background in will oversee and coorabout companies making more money and being food justice advocacy, as well as dinate Mayor Martin more profitable and at the same time helping to community and economic develop- Cassandra Campbell of Fresh Food Generation. Walsh’s initiatives to advance women and their families.” ment. She stressed she has a compromote equal rights The Boston Women’s Commission will also mitment to a better Boston, which and equal economic, serve as a support system for women entrepre- is also served by her work with the social, political and neurs and businesswomen throughout the city women’s commission. with its members serving as mentors. “The mayor’s commission really fits right into educational opportunities for all women and The commission is not new, but in June it my vision, and wanting to work toward equity girls throughout the city. Housed in the Health and Human Services appointed new members for the first time in in Boston and a greater Boston — a Boston I almost two decades in a move to revitalize its want to see — and I can definitely make time for cabinet, the Boston Women’s Commission will advise the mayor on issues pertaining to women impact as a vehicle to support policy change that that,” she said. impacts women for the better. It is comprised of As a startup entrepreneur, she also recog- in Boston. “I am thrilled to have the Office of Women’s female and male leaders in business, academia nizes the need for a support system for young and the nonprofit sector. With room for up to 30 businesswomen and hopes she can help mentor Advancement and the Boston Women’s Commembers, 19 have been appointed so far. others to chase their entrepreneurial dreams as mission in place to help make Boston America’s premier city for women. I strongly believe that Commission members have a wide range of she is doing. experience that they can bring to bear as lead“Being an entrepreneur can be tiring. It is not when women succeed, Boston succeeds,” Walsh ers in support of a new Boston for women and easy to do if you don’t have support around you, said in a statement at the launch of the Office as mentors. especially support from people who reflect you of Women’s Advancement. “I am particularly excited to have such a diverse and experienced Members include: Alicia Canady Adamson, or can relate to you,” Campbell said. senior director of affinity programs and events According to Costello, there are almost women’s commission to work with me on this at United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Mer- 18,000 women-owned businesses in Boston and, important issue. The equal treatment of the rimack Valley, and also founder of The Young in addition to supporting their effort, the Office people of Boston impacts all of us — women Black Women’s Society Inc.; Marques Benton, of Advancement also wants to unite them in the and men alike — and with the new commission, we are bringing all these voices to the table.” ■ vice president and director of the Office of push for greater economic equity for women.
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WOMEN IN BUSINESS
SBA HELPS WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES
BUILD CAPACITY BY MARTIN DESMARAIS
Anne Hunt, deputy district director of the Massachusetts District Office of the SBA. (Photo courtesy of the SBA)
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Since the late 1990s, women-owned businesses have grown more than all other privately held companies in the United States, but women-owned businesses continue to struggle to expand past $1 million in annual revenues. In New England, the growth of womenowned businesses ranks lower than in most other parts of the country. As a result, organizations in the Boston area are ramping up efforts to correct this woeful statistic.
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ccording to the 2013 AMEX Open Report, between 1997 and 2013, women-owned firms have exceeded the growth of all other private companies in number (up 59 percent), employment (up 10 percent) and revenues (up 63 percent). As of 2013, there are an estimated 8.6 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., generating $1.3 trillion in revenues and employing nearly 7.8 million people. However, the concern pointed out by the AMEX Open Report, is that women-owned firms still employ only 6 percent of the country’s workforce and contribute less than 4 percent of overall business revenue. And the shocking part is that, despite outgrowing all other private businesses in the United States in the last decade-and-a-half, the percentage of overall U.S. employment and revenue that women-owned businesses make up is about the same share as it was in 1997. The report suggests the root of the problem is that women-owned businesses hit growing pains when they reach the size of five to nine employees and $250,000 to $500,000 in annual revenues. They struggle to achieve growth rates beyond 100 employees and $1 million in annual revenue. With the Boston Metro area ranking second to last among large cities in the growth of women-owned companies, organizations such as the Massachusetts District Office of the U.S. Small Business Association are working to help women-owned business get started and continue to grow past the hump that stops most of them. According to the AMEX Open Report, one of the reasons behind the struggle of women-owned businesses to grow past the $1 million in revenue stage is that women, in general, have a greater fear of failure then men and this may lead to the choice to maintain smaller business ventures. Women have low expectations about their chances for acquiring resources to grow their business, especially growth capital and initial funding. The Massachusetts District Office of the SBA, through its small business loan programs, has made 381 loans to women-owned businesses for a total of $65.7 million in the first 10 months of its fiscal year, which ends in October. This number is an increase from the last year total of 243 loans to women-owned businesses for $37.6 million. “It is definitely on the rise, so that is a great thing,” said Anne Hunt, Massachusetts deputy district director for the SBA. “Obviously, we want to see more but we are definitely tracking in the right direction.” In addition, to its lending programs, another main way SBA assists small businesses is its program to help certify them for government work. Because the government has quotas on work it must do with minority-owned and women-owned businesses, Hunt pointed out there is tremendous potential for women-owned businesses to expand their revenue through government contracts. The SBA started its Women-Owned Small Businesses Program in 2011 to do precisely that. The SBA’s overall goal is to have 23 percent of all federal contracts go to small businesses, and this past year the target was hit for the first time in almost a decade. “We want to increase the number of firms that are getting the dollars,” Hunt said. “We are setting up new programs to help women increase their percentage of the pie in terms of getting government contracts.” The SBA also has a network of approximately 100 Women’s Business Centers around the country, which are designed to assist women in starting and growing small businesses. Funding from an SBA grant led to the founding of the Center for Women in Enterprise, which has offices in Boston, Worcester and Providence, R.I. The center provides opportunities for women entrepreneurs and women in business to increase professional success, personal growth and financial independence through education programs, training, technical assistance and women’s business enterprise certification. baystatebanner.com/bannerbiz 25
WOMEN IN BUSINESS
Since 1995, the center has trained more than 30,200 entrepreneurs and helped them generate over $982 million in wages. In 2013, the center trained and counseled almost 3,000 entrepreneurs, helped them create over 2,800 jobs and generate $80 million in wages. The number of entrepreneurs the center has worked with annually has increased about 32 percent in the last half-decade. The 2013 AMEX Open Report suggests that another reason behind the struggle of women-owned businesses to grow past the $1 million in revenue stage is that networks of women entrepreneurs and business owners are generally smaller and less diverse than those of their male counterparts. Also, women tend to draw more on their personal relationships, particularly family, than on other sources — conditions that were associated with lower innovation and lower growth expectations. According to Gina Marciano, program manager in the Boston office of the Center for Women in Enterprise, the center directly addresses such issues. “There are more men in positions of power in the U.S. and women just don’t naturally have access to that same network,” Marciano said. “We provide a safe environment for women to share their ideas and feel really comfortable about expressing their hopes and their dreams and their goals. “There is a different dynamic when you have a group that is a majority of women. They are more empowered and comfortable to speak their minds,” she added. Marciano said one of the center’s most popular programs is its Exploring Entrepreneurship workshop, which is held every month. The workshop gives entrepreneurs the basics on business ownership.
“It helps them really understand what it means to be a business owner and what they are going to need to make that a reality,” Marciano said. The next step would be the Business Basics class, which includes topics such as developing business ideas, legal structures, name choice, and obtaining licensing, permits and insurance. The center also has a six-week course on building a business plan called Business Planning: Accelerating Your Business. Marciano also points out that the center works with women entrepreneurs at all stages, so it is able to connect those just starting out with those who have successfully used the programs and courses to start or expand their businesses, which helps establish a strong network of businesswomen.
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CORE, a national organization that offers free counseling, low-cost workshops and free team visits to business locations to conduct business reviews, has a Boston chapter that does about 4,000 sessions a year. SCORE is designed to help business owners increase the value of a business, solve operating problems, recognize and capitalize on new business opportunities, develop business plans and find sources of funding. Although SCORE works with all business owners and does not specifically target women, Boston chapter co-chair Paul Waldeck estimated that between 30 – 40 percent of their clients are women. “We see a great many women who want to be in business,” Waldeck said. “A very significant portion of our clients are women.” According to Waldeck, SCORE has a number of women counselors in the Boston chapter. He says these counselors are a good resource for women entrepreneurs.
“The reality is when somebody comes to us — male or female — and they want to get help. Our job is to find the counselor that can help them the most,” he said. “The real thing we bring to the table is a great deal of experience and a lot of empathy for what it takes to grow and start a business because we have all done that. And we have a great deal of empathy for when a business isn’t going well because we have all been there too.” John Kogan, the other chair of SCORE Boston, says one trend he notices with women business owners is that they have a tendency to return for more counseling services than men business owners do. “Men come in and get the story and say, ‘I can do it myself,’” Kogan said. “Women are more open to getting advice.” He also believes that women return to SCORE more often seeking mentorship, which they may not be able to find as easily in their every-day business circles. One great thing that Boston organizations can focus on is that the increase in businesses owned by women of color in the last several decades has been tremendous. The 2013 AMEX Open Report found that in 1997 there were just under 1 million firms owned by women of color, accounting for one in six (17 percent) of all women-owned businesses, but in 2013, that number skyrocketed to an estimated 2.7 million, which equates to one in three such firms being owned by women iof color. With organizations such as the SBA, the Center for Women in Enterprise and SCORE focusing on par ts of Boston, inc luding Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury that are primarily communities of color, the consensus is this increase in businesses owned by women of color will continue to be a driving factor in the overall growth of women-owned businesses. ■
NEW ENGLAND TRENDS – current state of number of women and women-owned businesses in New England. Sources: U.S. Census 2010; mchb.hrsa.org; 2013 Amex Open Report; 2013 SBA Small Business Profiles
Women Age 35 – 54 (28.5% nationally)
WomenOwned Firms
Women-Owned Firms < $50K (80% nationally)
women-Owned Firms $50 – $250K (14% nationally)
WomenOwned Firms $250K – $1MM ( 4% nationally )
Women-Owned Firms > $1MM (2% nationally)
EMPLOYER WomenOwned Firms
MA
965,500
198,000
158,400
27,720
7,920
3,960
46,000
CT
523,000
98,000
78,400
13,720
3,920
1,960
22,000
ME
193,000
40,000
32,000
5,600
1,600
800
9,000
NH
190,000
40,000
32,000
5,600
1,600
800
9,000
RI
155,000
28,000
22,400
3,920
1,120
560
7,000
VT
90,500
22,000
17,600
3,080
880
440
5,000
TOTAL
2,117,000
426,000
340,800
59,640
17,040
8,520
98,000
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THE BASE
THE BASE GIVES BOSTON KIDS A GAME PLAN FOR LIFE
TOUR THE BASE’S NEW 7,100 SQUARE-FOOT BASEBALL TRAINING FACILITY IN ROXBURY, AND YOU WILL BE IMPRESSED WITH THIS INNER CITY NONPROFIT THAT PROVIDES A BASEBALL-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM TO A PREDOMINANTLY LATINO AND BLACK GROUP OF YOUTH. BUT BASEBALL IS JUST HALF THE STORY.
BY EDIE RAVENELLE
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COMMUNITY
“When I talk about The BASE, I don’t talk baseball at all,” explains founder Robert Lewis, Jr., “To me what we do here is all about building citizenship and success in life, not just baseball. The passion point is baseball, but then everything else we do provides each of our student athletes with the tools to succeed in life. Our tagline is ‘Success Lives Here.’” Lewis began The BASE as the next chapter of his 35-year commitment to mentoring and training inner city youth through the Boston
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he most critical piece of the plan is money for tuition, Lewis says. This coming year he already has secured $13 million in academic scholarship commitments from several area colleges for the 20 seniors he expects to graduate in 2015. In June of this year all 20 of The BASE’s graduating seniors announced their college commitments. And these aren’t athletic scholarships which are usually partial (and very limited for Division 1 and 2 baseball programs; Division 3 programs do not offer athletic scholarships at all) and renewed annually at the college coach’s
kids’ reach to further their education. This fall The BASE will begin hosting classes credited toward an associate degree cosponsored by Endicott College and the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology. But free of financial cost is far from free of personal commitment. In addition to being talented enough to make a BASE-affiliated team, in order to use The BASE facility and all its resources students must either stay in school, join an accredited job-training program, or pursue a GED. No school, no baseball. The purpose of this strict academic require-
Robert Lewis, Jr. gives his team their pre-game strategy at the Pastime 18U National Championship game in Indianapolis in July. Jimmy Caruso, Manager of Baseball Operations for The BASE and one of the coaches of the 18U team looks on. Photo courtesy of The BASE.
Astros, a baseball team he founded and which discretion. The BASE graduates have two- or four-year college commitments that carry full has served some 8,000 youths. The Astros won two national titles in the past three years, and academic scholarships. It’s an important, often can count 30 graduates currently attending life changing distinction for an inner city stuand playing at the college level, three playing dent athlete who may be the first in his family to in major league teams, and many more grad- attend college and who most often requires full uates who are past or present major league financial aid. “Too many talented minority athletes go prospects. To this winning baseball formula, The somewhere on an athletic scholarship that BASE adds comprehensive academic and life only pays for part of their tuition and for none skills to prepare each student athlete for suc- of their other expenses like books,” Lewis says. cess in college and beyond. Lewis estimates “They get hurt, lose their scholarship and end up back in the neighborhood walking around with that a BASE student-athlete spends 250 hours annually on baseball development and at least no degree and in debt.” The latest college-incentive perk Lewis has the same amount of time honing their academic and life skills via BASE offerings and added to the package: Lewis recently secured a commitment from SONY to provide laptops to their own initiative. “My biggest goal is to revive urban baseball each college-bound BASE graduate. Clearly, being completely affordable is a bit in America by using baseball to shift the trajectory of all our kids so that they have a game of a theme with Lewis. The BASE provides everything — baseball training, equipment, and plan for life,” says Lewis. baseball team travel expenses as well as afterTo help kids aspire to and achieve that game plan The BASE starts “talking college” early to school tutoring, SAT prep, free medical and dental check-ups, nutritional and financial couneach of its roughly 400 youths, grades 7 – 12. “BASE graduates and high school players seling and trips to college fairs — free. And Lewis is constantly seeking to expand also mentor and model success on and off the educational opportunities that will bolster his field for our younger boys,” Lewis adds. 30 Banner Biz | Fall 2 014
ment goes beyond a tough-training approach. It’s a total shift in the paradigm of urban youth success that Lewis aims to communicate to his players, his community and his all-star team of funding partners — including the Boston Foundation, the law offices of WilmerHale, the Lewis Foundation, the Riley Foundation, the Hestia fund, and area banks among them — that underwrite his $1.5 million operating budget. “I know the statistics: Only 51 percent and 55 percent (respectively) of black and Latino kids graduate high school and only seven percent of Latinos graduate college,” Lewis says. “My goal is to turn that upside down so that when people hear about our program they say ‘of course every BASE graduate is graduating high school and going to college, of course I’m interested in recruiting them for my college or my company.’ “When I talk to college presidents they know they need help attracting and retaining urban students of color and they are looking for programs like The BASE that have already prepared a student to succeed academically, not just athletically. And my funding partners know it’s not just about philanthropy, it’s about investing in the next generation of their workforce and changing the generations to come.” ■
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