Search Success! Emma Concepcion Joins UTEC as Chief People Officer

UTEC and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are excited to announce that, following an extensive and competitive candidate search, Emma Concepcion has joined UTEC as their new Chief People Officer.

Reporting to UTEC’s CEO, Emma will be responsible for leading UTEC’s people and talent strategies, managing and mitigating organizational risks, and continuing the development of their human resource-related strategies, policies, and procedures. She will be a strategic advisor to senior leadership on a variety of issues, including employee relations, leadership development, organizational culture, and talent management, and will be play a key leadership role in supporting UTEC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of management and embodying UTEC’s DEI vision in their work and workplace culture.

Emma joins UTEC from Bay Cove Human Services, where she was their Vice President of Human Resources and earlier was the organization’s Director of Human Resources. As a member of the Bay Cove leadership team, she established the workforce development team, was Co-Chair of the DEI committee, designed and implemented HR initiatives, enhanced staff retention and engagement, and aligned HR strategies with organizational objectives. While Emma was Bay Cove’s Vice President of Human Resources, the organization achieved recognition as one of Boston’s Top Places to Work for five consecutive years. Prior to her tenure in Human Resources at Bay Cove, Emma spent a decade as their Director of Housing. In addition to her human resources and human services expertise, Emma also has extensive mediation experience, as she spent several years participating in court mediation and mediation training as a member of the Harvard University Mediation Program, handling cases related to civil, housing, and harassment prevention orders.

About UTEC: UTEC is a nationally recognized program for justice-involved young adults. The program starts behind the walls of correctional facilities and intensive street outreach/gang peacemaking and transitions into an intensive program in the community post-release. The nature of their educational services, wraparound supports and counseling, social enterprise/workforce development, organizing/policy work, training institute, and innovative partnerships creates a variety of impacts in the lives of the individuals and communities they serve.

Last year, UTEC served over 600 young adults including a range of outreach activities, and approximately 150 young adults intensively through their comprehensive program. During this fiscal year, 75% of young adults at UTEC avoided arrest. With over 20 years of experience, UTEC is a catalyst, innovating in the way they serve young adults (ages 17-25) who are criminally and/or gang involved in Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley. Learn more about UTEC at https://utecinc.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Search Success: Maridel Perdomo Joins Families First as the Senior Director of Programs!

Families First and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are excited to announce, following an extensive and competitive candidate search, that Maridel Perdomo has joined Families First as the Senior Director of Programs.

This is an exciting time for Families First, as they are seeing incredible outcomes from their programs and are in the process of expanding across the state. With the launch of a 5-year business plan, the organization looks toward significant growth in the coming years.

Reporting to Family First’s Executive Director, Sue Covitz, Maridel will be responsible for the oversight and implementation of Families First’s regional programming in Greater Boston and Western MA. Through this work, she will prioritize Families First’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging by engaging parents and the Families First team to inform regional and programmatic growth as the organization expands.

In addition, she will oversee Families First’s alumni services, support the evaluation and quality strategy, and support the program curricula and training strategy. She will serve on the leadership team to advance organizational goals and cross-departmental priorities and will execute and monitor expansion plans as a part of the 5-year business plan.

Maridel joins Families First from Schools for Children, where she was the Director of Extended Learning Programs. There, she was responsible for multi-site programs for 200 students and leading 30 staff members. Prior roles have included Site Director of YMCA at Gardner Pilot Academy, Preschool Director at Pine Village Preschool, and roles as Job Developer and Youth Program Director with Centro Latino. Maridel earned her master’s degree in public administration from Framingham State University, her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Salem State University, and also holds a degree in Human Resource Administration from Cecilio Acosta University in Caracas, Venezuela. Recently, Maridel served on the Board of Trustees of Watertown’s New Rep Theatre, where she was a member of the Diversity Committee and was involved in fundraising, budgeting, and the annual planning process.

About Families First: Families First’s mission is to partner with parents to amplify their power so they can positively impact the lives of children and communities through their groundbreaking programs. Their model includes parenting education and support, parent leadership, family engagement, and alumni services.

For more than 35 years, Families First has been a leader in providing parenting education across the Greater Boston area. The organization was founded in 1988 with the goal of helping parents navigate the diverse challenges of raising children by providing research-based parenting education services.

Today, Families First provides Massachusetts’s most comprehensive model for early childhood parenting education, family engagement, and parent leadership: The Power of ParentingTM program and The Ripple Program TM.

As a result of Families First’s high-impact, multi-tiered program model, parents will support the development of their children’s social-emotional and cognitive skills, embrace their role as the most important force in their children’s learning and well-being, and gain new skills and resources to support and advocate for their children as they grow. Learn more about this amazing organization at www.families-first.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Search Success: Bree Arsenault Joins the Maine Community Foundation as Vice President of Philanthropy!

Maine Community Foundation and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are pleased to announce the appointment of Bree Arsenault to the position of Vice President of Philanthropy. Bree joined the organization in June, 2023.

She will lead the foundation’s development department in all new fund and donor acquisitions to drive the organization’s mission to build a better Maine.

Bree joins Maine Community Foundation from the Clinton Foundation, where she was the Senior Director, Development & Philanthropy. Previously, Bree was with Teach for America and The Kennedy Center. Bree is a resident of Maine. She earned her M.B.A. from the University of Cincinnati and her bachelor’s degree in music and chemistry from Middlebury College. She has held a variety of volunteer roles, including on the Board of Directors of 1% for the Plant.

About Maine Community Foundation: The Maine Community Foundation brings people and resources together to build a better Maine through strategic giving, community leadership, personalized service, local expertise and strong investments. To learn more about the foundation, please visit https://www.mainecf.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston (with roots in Maine!), Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. Pillar’s founder, Cindy Joyce, is a Certified Diversity Recruiter. For more information about Pillar, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Search Success: Lorna Campbell Joins the B.A.A. as Head of Public Relations!

The Boston Athletic Association (the “B.A.A.”) and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are thrilled to announce the appointment of Lorna Campbell to the position of Head of Public Relations.  

As the founding Head of Public Relations, Lorna will be tasked with building a best-in-class Public Relations strategy and function for global impact and will be a key driver in advancing the effectiveness and vision of the B.A.A. Reporting directly to the B.A.A.’s Chief Executive Officer, Jack Fleming, she will be part of the organization’s senior leadership team.

Most recently, Lorna was Head of Communications for the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Prior, she was the Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Public Relations & Sports Marketing with Hill+Knowlton Strategies based in Singapore. With more than 20 years’ experience in PR and communications in Asia, Europe and the US, Lorna has worked on some of the world’s largest sporting events including the London, Rio and Tokyo Summer Olympic Games; the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, the Wimbledon Championships, 2014 Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games from 2006-2018 with Team Scotland.

Lorna earned her bachelor’s degree in Physical Education, Sports Science & Geography from England’s Loughborough University and is a Certified Digital Marketing Professional through the Digital Marketing Institute.

About the B.A.A.:  The B.A.A. is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A. is committed to a world where all people can access and benefit from running and an active lifestyle. The B.A.A. advances its mission and vision in a variety of ways, such as organizing mass-participatory running events like the Boston Marathon, creating or supporting community fitness events, and sponsoring a running club that serves the greater Boston area.

The B.A.A. believes that everyone—no matter their race, gender, or background—should be able to advance their well-being safely and without fear or discrimination of any kind. The organization is committed to fostering a workplace and community that is diverse, equitable, inclusive and promotes a sense of belonging for all. To learn more about this wonderful organization, please visit www.baa.org.  

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business and Certified Diversity Recruiter based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information about Pillar, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Search Success: Chelsea Lynn Joins Fab Foundation as General Manager!

Fab Foundation and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are proud to announce the appointment of Chelsea Lynn to the position of General Manager. Chelsea joined Fab Foundation on January 4, 2023.

As General Manager, Chelsea will oversee the daily operations and administration of the organization, coordinate with the K-12 Education team, the Academany teams, and the International Operations teams to ensure the steady functioning of the organization across all portfolios. She will help design better and more efficient workflows and operational strategies for the organization.

Prior to joining Fab Foundation, Chelsea was the Local Health Liaison Team Manager with Partners in Health, working to implement the Community Tracing Collaborative contact tracing program during the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Earlier in her career, Chelsea was a Procurement Specialist in Washington, DC and New Delhi, India with XLA, a firm that
provides technical and administrative solutions to the federal government.

Chelsea earned her Master’s in Women Peace, and Security from the London School of Economics, a Master’s in Intelligence and International Security from King’s College of London, and her undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from American University.   Chelsea currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

About Fab Foundation: The mission of the Fab Foundation is to provide access to the tools, the knowledge, and the financial means to educate, innovate, and invent using technology and digital fabrication to allow anyone to make (almost) anything. They create opportunity. Learn more about Fab Foundation at https://fabfoundation.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Search Success: Rodney Williams Joins Fab Foundation as Program Manager!

Fab Foundation and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are proud to announce the appointment of Rodney Williams to the position of Program Manager. Rodney joined Fab Foundation on January 4, 2023.

As Program Manager, Rodney will manage and implement educational outreach projects with corporate and private partners.  Rodney will primarily be responsible for US-based projects and select international projects.  In this role, he will develop key stakeholder relationships for the various partnerships formed for the relevant outreach projects and manage the overall day to day operation of the program(s). Rodney will work closely with project personnel, such as instructors, lab managers, teachers and others to implement outreach projects.

Prior to joining Fab Foundation, Rodney was the Director of Marketing and Communications with The Ancona School and began his tenure with the school as the Technology Integration Coordinator. Earlier in his career, Rodney was the Technology Specialist with the William K. New Sullivan Elementary School.

Rodney earned his Ed.D. in Educational Psychology and Technology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, his Master of Science in Applied Technology from DePaul University, and his undergraduate degree in Youth Development from DePaul University. Rodney resides in Chicago, IL.

About Fab Foundation: The mission of the Fab Foundation is to provide access to the tools, the knowledge, and the financial means to educate, innovate, and invent using technology and digital fabrication to allow anyone to make (almost) anything. They create opportunity. Learn more about Fab Foundation at https://fabfoundation.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Craig Misner Named the New Director of Academic Services with JVS!

JVS Boston and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are proud to announce, following an extensive and competitive candidate search, the appointment of Craig Misner to the position of Director, Academic Services.

This is a well-deserved promotion from Craig’s most recent role with JVS as Manager of Coaching Services, Academic Services.

Craig will be responsible for executing and leading agency Academic services based on identified needs of clients, employers, funders, and other stakeholders. In collaboration with the Vice President, Craig will manage the performance expectations of Academic Services programs, teams, and staff. He will be responsible for collaborating with the VP around the fiscal health of Academic Services programs, program budgets, and budget modifications, as well as annual revenue and expenditure projections and assisting with development efforts to support academic services.

Craig brings extensive workforce development and leadership experience to the role with JVS. Earlier in his 8-year tenure with JVS, Craig was the Academic Coach and Outreach Specialist with their Bridges to College and Careers Program. Prior to joining JVS, Craig work in Human Resources with a focus on learning and development with Starbucks and Town Sports International. Craig earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Massachusetts, Boston.

About JVS Boston: For 80 years, JVS has helped tens of thousands of individuals with barriers to economic success secure financial independence through training, education, and employment services.  As the largest provider of adult education and workforce development services in the region, JVS is a nationally recognized leader in workforce development, and is a key part of the poverty alleviation strategy for the greater-Boston area.  In order to reach people in need of assistance on their pathway to meaningful employment and financial independence, JVS targets most of its services to low-income individuals who are unemployed or underemployed and to low-wage workers in need of career advancement services.  Many have multiple support needs ranging from limited English proficiency and lack of education to disabilities, criminal records, lack of childcare and transportation.  JVS operates on annual budget of more than $15 million, of which is derived equally from public and private sources. For more information, please visit www.jvs-boston.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.