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: 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.

Happy Birthday to Pillar Search & HR Consulting!

It is hard to believe that it has been five years since I started Pillar Search & HR Consulting. It has been a labor of love, a source of joy and purpose. My nonprofit and mission-driven clients are awe-inspiring and do amazing work in education, workforce development, the arts, sustainability, women’s rights, economic empowerment, and so much more. I consider myself so fortunate to help them to advance their missions by hiring for their important roles and developing and empowering their teams.

I intentionally chose July 16, 2015 as my founding date because it was the birthday of one of my best friends, Sharon Mulcahy, who had died unexpectedly the year prior. Sharon and I met the day we moved into Regis College as freshman, and were friends for over 25 years. Sharon was an entrepreneur and cofounder of Jackrabbit Design. Watching her grow her business, which included many nonprofit clients, taught me so many wonderful lessons that have helped me in my own entrepreneurial journey. In the past few years, when I face a challenge, I often wonder “what would Sharon do?” and feel her somehow guiding me in the right direction. 

In honor of Pillar’s 5th anniversary and my dear friend who inspired its founding date, I have made a donation to Regis College’s Diverse Educator’s Scholarship, which honors the mission of Regis and its commitment to diversifying the education profession by offering a select group of undergraduate education students the opportunity to attend Regis through merit-based aid. Upon graduating, these students serve underrepresented populations in education.

Thanks to all who have helped me along this journey. Here’s to another exciting five years!

A woman-owned company based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search 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 contact Cindy Joyce at cindy@pillarsearch.com.