We began this year by releasing our 2023 Annual Report! While the Roundtable and our members accomplished a lot together in 2023, challenges around housing, transportation, and talent remain, making collaboration with policymakers and partners even more critical.

A few weeks ago, we were also honored to be joined by Governor Healey and Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones for our first quarterly Board Meeting of 2024. In addition to hearing Governor Healey discuss issues impacting the Commonwealth's competitiveness, the Governor selected the Roundtable’s meeting to publicly announce an exciting new public-private partnership, MassSkills, which you can read more about below!

At the meeting, we also had the opportunity to conduct a “pulse poll” to provide a snapshot of top-of-mind issues impacting Roundtable members. Not surprisingly, housing and transportation continue to be the top issues impacting employers. And of note from the poll, 87% of respondents indicated the economy is improving, and 41% plan to hire in the next six months.

As we head into a busy season at the State House, we are grateful for your engagement, voice, and commitment to ensuring the Commonwealth is a place for all people and employers to thrive. With two new research reports on untapped talent, our 4^th Annual Talent and Competitiveness Survey underway, and our Talent Agenda to guide our advocacy, we look forward to a busy and impactful 2024!

Best,

JD Chesloff

This quarter, we were engaged in two workforce related policy initiatives that provide great examples of the Roundtable’s work impacting state public policy:

At the Roundtable’s March Quarterly Board Meeting, Governor Healey announced the launch of MassSkills, a new public-private partnership to promote skills-based hiring. This coalition will be co-chaired by: Tonja Mettlach, Executive Vice President at the Roundtable, Lauren Jones, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, Jerry Rubin, Fellow at Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, and Chrissy Lynch, President of the MA AFL-CIO.

Founding members of MassSkills include Roundtable companies Beth Israel Lahey Health, Berkshire Health Systems, Citizens Bank, Eastern Bank, General Dynamics, Mass General Brigham, and Vertex. If you are interested in learning more and potentially joining the Coalition, you can visit the website, call us at the Roundtable office, or use the form on the website to express interest.

Governor Healey Discusses State’s Competitiveness and Launches New Public Private Partnership

The Roundtable hosted its first quarterly meeting of the Board of Directors on March 19 and was joined by Governor Healey and Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, Lauren Jones. The Governor provided remarks on shared competitiveness priorities such as housing, workforce, economic development, and childcare. At the meeting, the Governor also announced the launch of MassSkills, a new public-private partnership to promote skills-based hiring. Thank you to the over 50 Roundtable members who joined and made the meeting so successful. An additional thank you to Roundtable member Charlie Jacobs, CEO Delaware North and CEO and Alternate Governor, Boston Bruins for hosting the meeting in the beautiful Legends space at TD Garden.

Welcome to the Roundtable

Please join us in welcoming new members who joined the Roundtable this past quarter!

Alicia Barton

CEO

Vineyard Offshore

Rebecca Chasen

New England Managing Partner

Deloitte

Jay Gonzalez

President

Curry College

Carolyne Hannan

Senior Vice President, Western New England Region

Comcast

Brian Markison

CEO

Lantheus

David McCready

President & CEO

Southcoast Health System

Justin Trudell

President & CEO

FirstLight Power Resources

Lisa Wieland

President, New England

National Grid

Going Around the Table

Sharing a few highlights from member companies!

Roundtable Fellow News: Last week, Roundtable Policy and Operations Fellow, Rebecca Yemo, successfully defended her dissertation, with distinction, Empty Promise or an Effective Tool? Exploring the Role of the UN’s Universal Periodic Review in Improving Women’s Human Rights Outcomes." Rebecca is a Doctoral Candidate at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston. Her dissertation examined how women’s rights can be advanced in Sub-Saharan African states through The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Universal Periodic Review. Rebecca has been an invaluable member of the Roundtable team all while pursuing her studies at UMass Boston. Please join us in congratulating Rebecca on this major accomplishment!

Gateway to Pre-K Announcement: In January, the Roundtable joined the Healey-Driscoll Administration, early childhood champions, including Tom Weber, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education, and Roundtable Board Chair Lisa Murray of Citizens, for an exciting announcement relative to expanding high-quality child care across Massachusetts. At the event, Governor Healey also signed an executive order to take a “whole-of-government” approach to ensuring affordable, high-quality child care, a concept that was brought to the administration by the Roundtable and the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education. The press release included statements of support from the Roundtable, the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Education, and Citizens Bank.

FCT Breaks Ground on New Campus: In March, elected officials, legislators, community partners, and more came together to celebrate the groundbreaking of Franklin Cummings Tech’s new campus in Nubian Square. It was an amazing celebration to break ground on the new facility that will create an “unparalleled education resource for Boston and beyond.” Congratulations to Roundtable member Aisha Francis, President & CEO of Franklin Cummings Tech, and the entire Franklin Cummings Team for all the work that went into getting this project officially started! Additional congratulations to all the partners that are supporting this project, including Roundtable member organization Liberty Mutual and Dan Rivera of MassDevelopment. See more pictures and read a recap of the event here.

Takeda Celebrates Mass NextGen Initiative: Congratulations to Roundtable member organization Takeda, Secretary of Economic Development Yvonne Hao, and the MA Life Sciences Center (MLSC) for announcing the next class of entrepreneurs for the Massachusetts Next Gen Initiative. The Mass Next Generation Initiative is a partnership between the MLSC and industry partners to ensure greater diversity in life science leaders and entrepreneurs. Launched more than six years ago, the program is paving the way for start-up companies, led by individuals representing diverse communities, to get the support they need to develop and scale.

Roundtable Members Honored for Their Impactful Leadership: Congratulations to several Roundtable members whose achievements were recognized at major celebrations this quarter. In January, Lucy Pérez of McKinsey & Company and Roundtable member organizations, including Nancy Stager of Eastern Bank Foundation, Yvonne Garcia of State Street, and Julie Kim of Takeda, were all honored for their leadership and achievements at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s 30^th Annual Pinnacle Awards. In February, Karan Dyson of Procter & Gamble was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame, recognizing her almost 30-year career in the field of Engineering. And in March, Anthony Consigli of Consigli Construction was inducted into the Worcester Business Journal (WBJ) Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

Expanding the Table

Roundtable member companies promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace

Roundtable Team Celebrates Black History Month: On February 14, in recognition and celebration of Black History Month, Roundtable staff visited the Museum of African American History. This reflective experience involved learning about the history of the abolitionist movement in Boston, the people involved, the community that supported it, and the places where the movement was born. We toured the Abiel Smith School, the state’s first African American public school, sat in the very room in the African Meeting House where recruits enlisted for the famous 54^th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and visited the sanctuary that housed the oldest Black church in the country. Each of us experienced the day differently, and we shared short reflections of our day which you can read on the Roundtable’s blog.

Corporate Advancement for Latino Leaders: The Roundtable was honored to serve as a member of the host committee for Latino Leaders’ Magazine’s C-Suite and Board of Directors Forum, a program hosted in January to discuss advancement opportunities for Latinos on boards and in executive leadership. Fellow Host Committee Members for the event included Roundtable members David Morales of Wellpoint and John Capone of KPMG. A capacity crowd discussed issues around mentorship, pathways to becoming a board director and joining the C-Suite, and the case for prioritizing DEI in the workplace. Roundtable members Lisa Murray of Citizens, John Capone of KMPG, and Kip Hollister of The Hollister Group participated in the discussion, along with additional insights from Roundtable friends and partners.