As WFBoston becomes the primary vehicle for investing in women and girls in Greater Boston, we’ve seen first-hand the many benefits of women entering the workforce with new skills. Working adults have the lowest poverty rate, and yet, in Boston, 80% of families living in poverty are women and their children. Therefore, helping women and girls receive workforce training to prepare them for employment is especially important and can have a lasting positive impact on the entire family.
Investing in Women to Enter the Workforce
The Women’s Foundation of Boston (WFBoston), whose mission is to economically empower females in the Greater Boston area, understands that workforce development is a critical aspect of leading women out of poverty. WFBoston has invested in two nonprofits offering programming to advance workforce skills—Mujeres Unidas Avanzando (MUA) and Project Hope Boston.
MUA Program Provides a Career Path
Mujeres Unidas Avanzando (MUA) provides low-income Latina and other women English language learners tools to empower themselves through mentoring, education, and job training. MUA, a new grantee partner for WFBoston, received a 2022 one-year Catalyst Grant to fund a pilot program for training women as medical administrative assistants—the goal of giving women the skills needed to reach their full potential.
Project Hope Boston Fostering Change for Women and Families
Project Hope Boston, a multi-service agency that moves Boston families up and out of poverty, provides access to education, jobs, housing, and emergency services to women with children. The organization fosters personal transformation and works for broader systemic change. Project Hope Boston has been a WFBoston grantee partner since 2018, and WFBoston most recently funded a three-year full-time Technology Specialist position to train participants in technology skills. Advancing these skills will increase class retention rates in the workforce development program and facilitate longevity and growth once in the workforce.
Why Focus on Women and Girls
Because women reinvest 90% of their income back into their families and communities, helping them qualify for full-time employment will have a generational effect. It could be just what is needed to pull these families out of poverty and set them on the path to a brighter future.
Be a Changemaker by Supporting WFBoston
In Boston, almost two-thirds of poor adults are women. Bringing these women into the workforce provides unique perspectives and skills to companies and will help them become financially independent to care for their families. By supporting the Women’s Foundation of Boston’s mission you can help women and girls move out of poverty, with an impact that will transcend generations. WFBoston’s grantee partners educate, inform, support, mentor, and create. Please donate today and be a changemaker in the lives of women and girls in Greater Boston.
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research.
Linda Henry is the CEO of the Boston Globe Media Partners. She is a co-founder of HUBweek, a civic collaboration between the Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and MIT that explores the future being built at the intersection of art, science and technology. Linda is also an early-stage impact investor, an Emmy-Award winning television producer with two shows currently airing, and a community activist. She serves as a director of the Red Sox Foundation, is a trustee of the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, chair of the Boston Globe Foundation, and chairman of the John W. Henry Family Foundation. In addition, she is a founder of the Boston Public Market, serves on the advisory board of MassChallenge, and is on the board of the Engine at MIT. She earned a BS from Babson College and her MS from MIT.
Bekah Salwasser joined the Red Sox Foundation as the Executive Director in January of 2018. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and has extensive experience in philanthropy and both professional and semi-professional sports. After four years working as Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics, Bekah went on to lead Scholar Athletes as its Executive Director, a program that supports public high school athletes with both their athletic and academic achievements. Earlier in her career, Bekah served as a professional soccer player for the Boston Breakers and as Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center.
Kimberly Fay Boucher is a business executive who has driven high performance organizations in technology, consumer products and social enterprise/nonprofit industries over the past 25 years. She is currently the Technology Commercialization Business Leader for the CTO at Analog Devices, where she is responsible for driving new technologies from incubation stages to successful businesses. Kim is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches Disciplined Entrepreneurship in the Martin Trust Center. She holds a BS in Management Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a NCAA Academic All-American Women’s Basketball player and has been inducted into the WPI Hall of Fame.
Ami Kuan Danoff (Co-Founder and CFO) is a private investor and the trustee of a foundation. She is a Harvard Quantum Founder and a member of the Harvard FAS Dean’s Council. Ami earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Visual and Environmental Studies and holds a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and International Finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a portfolio manager in global equities at Putnam Investments and co-manager of the Putnam International New Opportunities Fund, and also worked as an international equities analyst at Fidelity Investments.
Christina Heenan Suh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and Marketing and a master’s from Columbia University. A former management consultant, her work focused on strategy and implementation projects for Fortune 100 clients. She was also an account executive at Hill+Knowlton (WPP) marketing consumer packaged goods. As an Executive Board Member of the Brookline Education Foundation, which funds professional development in the Brookline Public Schools, Christina led their Grant and Oversight Committees. She currently sits on the board of the Brookline Library Foundation and teaches ESL at Rosie’s Place in Boston.
Christina Gordon (Co-Founder and CEO) holds a dual master’s degree in International Finance and Applied Economics from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and also studied for a joint master’s degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis with a focus on women in the workplace. Christina is a former assistant fund manager and technology industry equity analyst at Wellington Management. She also worked as a stock analyst at Fidelity Investments. She is a trustee of a private foundation, a member of Women Moving Millions and currently sits on the board of Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.