Almanac Features

Gov. Maura Healey's director of speechwriting for more than three years is now the official spokesperson for Bunker Hill Community College. EOIN CANNON has been hired by the college as senior advisor to the president for public affairs and strategic communications, having made the move from Beacon Hill to Bunker Hill in recent weeks. He will be President Pam Eddinger's principal advisor on external relations and institutional strategy, and will be in charge of the college's engagement with government, community and the media. Cannon was previously U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh's chief speechwriter and held similar roles for Walsh in Boston City Hall. Before working in government, Cannon was assistant director of studies for Harvard University's History & Literature program and is the author of "The Saloon and the Mission," a history of addiction recovery.

IAN MACKEY has joined the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston as director of government relations. Most recently, Mackey completed his fourth and final term as a member of Missouri's House of Representatives. Missouri's legislative session ended in May, according to the Legislature's website, and lawmakers are limited to serving four terms. Mackey graduated from Suffolk University Law School in 2017 with a juris doctorate degree, and received a bachelor's degree in early childhood education and teaching from Westminster College in Missouri, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was an early childhood educator in Cambridge and worked on several campaigns in Massachusetts, Missouri and Ohio, according to a press release. Mackey was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and raised in the Missouri Ozarks, according to his archived Missouri House page.

UMass Boston Chancellor MARCELO SUÁREZ-OROZCO plans to step down Feb. 1, 2027, after nearly seven years leading the bayside campus. He told the Dorchester Reporter this week that the time was right for him to depart the top role because "the campus is stabilized in ways that we haven't been for a long, long, long time." A dean at the University of California Los Angeles when he was named as the sole finalist for the UMass Boston presidency in January 2020, Suárez-Orozco quickly became a regular partner to state and local government officials, especially around global climate change and resilience. Under his leadership, UMass Boston says it has "strengthened its standing as the region's leading public research university, dedicated to holistic student success, deep community engagement, and impactful research that addresses complex urban challenges, health disparities, and the urgent issue of our time—building climate resilience." Also this week, Massasoit Community College Interim President BILL MITCHELL announced that he will retire at the end of the 2026–2027 academic year, capping off his decades-long career in higher education at an institution he first entered as a student in 1980. The Brockton native has served as interim president since April 2024. As a student in the 1980s, Mitchell also pursued a professional baseball career in the St. Louis Cardinals system, the college said in a press release, and eventually earned an undergraduate degree from Bridgewater State University. In 1994, he went to work for UMass Dartmouth as assistant controller and eventually became associate vice chancellor for financial services before returning to Massasoit in 2012 as vice president for administration and CFO. He served as interim president from September 2017 through July 2018 before stepping back into that role in April 2024.

LINDSAY KENNEY, legislative director at the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, has been tapped as the organization's next chief of staff. Kenney joined the organization in 2020 as a political and legislative coordinator and later became legislative director. Before joining Mass. AFL-CIO, Kenney was an associate director of operations for the Massachusetts Democratic Party from 2019 to 2020. In 2018, Kenney was Sen. Paul Feeney's campaign manager, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently named four new senior leaders at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: JARED SEEHAFER as the first deputy commissioner for technology and artificial intelligence; Dr. MICHAEL DAVIS as director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research; KARIM MIKHAIL as director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; and BRET KOPLOW as director of the Center for Tobacco Products. "These leaders will drive the reforms needed to confront our nation's most serious health challenges and strengthen American leadership in medical innovation," HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. said in a press release. Seehafer is set to lead the creation of the FDA's strategy in technology, software and AI. Davis was CDER's deputy director from June 2025 to May before stepping in as acting director, according to his LinkedIn page. Since May, Mikhail has been acting director of CBER and before then, he was a senior advisor for the FDA commissioner in May 2025, according to his LinkedIn profile. Koplow has also been acting director of CTP since May and first joined the FDA in 2011 starting as senior advisor for oversight for the commissioner, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Luedke

Sen. Jamie Eldridge's office has two new hires. JOSHUA LUEDKE is now the Marlborough Democrat's environmental policy adviser and director of constituent services. A 2026 alumnus of Emmanuel College, Luedke has worked as a legislative fellow for Eldridge since January. He also previously interned at U.S. Sen. Ed Markey's office. ADRIENNE VIARENGO, who earned her law degree last year from Suffolk University Law School, is Eldridge's new counsel. She previously worked as U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's political director and held a string of roles in Warren's office, including special assistant, grants coordinator, regional director and staff assistant. Viarengo also worked on Warren's presidential campaign and had a stint as the New Hampshire Democratic Party's political director for the 2018 midterms. 

SUSAN WEST LEVINE, Lowell Community Health Center's longtime CEO, was elected chair of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers' board of directors. Levine previously worked as a top advisor and chief of staff to the provost at Johns Hopkins University. Earlier in her career, Levine held executive roles at UMass Medical School's consulting division and was chief executive of UHealthSolutions, a nonprofit affiliate of the medical school. Michael Curry, the league's CEO, said Levine "will make a meaningful impact in helping the Mass League strengthen health center sustainability and protect comprehensive care in the communities we serve."

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation tapped LIZ SANCHEZ as director of its Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute. She succeeds KATHERINE HOWITT, who was named the foundation's vice president of policy and research. Sanchez will monitor developments that affect MassHealth, guide policy research, produce policy briefs and collaborate with state leaders, healthcare stakeholders and advocacy organizations. The foundation has previously predicted that new Medicaid work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will double the state's uninsured rate. Sanchez worked for nearly 13 years at the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, most recently as vice president of government affairs and public policy.

After receiving 160 applicants, the Boston Foundation has hired NATALIE HERTER as its chief investment officer. Herter will oversee the investment of the foundation's $2.7 billion in assets. She replaces GEORGE WILSON who last fall announced his intention to step down after more than 18 years guiding foundation investments. Herter recently worked as director of investments for the Mount Holyoke College Investment Office. She previously worked for more than ten years at Cambridge Associates where she was managing director and investment team lead in the endowment and foundation practice, managing clients and portfolios with total assets of roughly $4 billion. The foundation said its assets more than tripled under Wilson, from just over $700 million in 2007 to more than $2.7 billion. 

Peabody-based nonprofit social and human services organization Bridgewell promoted JOANNA HUNTINGTON to senior vice president of operations. "I am committed to supporting staff in delivering the care necessary for individuals to lead self-directed lives and working with leadership to develop and maintain the infrastructure to make that possible," she said. With more than a decade of experience at Bridgewell, Huntington most recently was vice president of housing, recovery and community supports. Huntington was also interim clinic director at Bridgewell Counseling Services in Lowell, as well as clinical director of the Women's Recovery Program at Johnson Street, a Bridgewell residential treatment program for women with substance use disorders. A licensed independent clinical social worker and a certified school social worker, Huntington holds a master's in social work from Salem State University. Huntington has also worked at the Department of Children and Families and operated a private psychotherapy practice, according to her Bridgewell bio.  

The Children's League of Massachusetts has a new director of public policy in RYAN TELINGATOR. He previously was a staff director to the Joint Committee on Public Health under Rep. Marjorie Decker. Telingator was also Decker's campaign manager in 2014. In his new role, Telingator will be responsible for managing the league's legislative and budget agenda, coordinating task forces, and representing the league on outside coalition. Telingator recently earned his master's of public administration from Syracuse University. 

COURTNEY PELLEY was hired as the first director of strategic initiatives at The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts. She's tasked with supporting the organization's advocacy, capacity building, communications and community engagement activities. Pelley worked at the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center for 11 years, including as senior vice president of external affairs and senior vice president of strategic partnerships. She also previously was an administrative fellow in the Mass General Brigham system. Pelley, who was born in Worcester and raised in Leicester, earned her bachelor's degree in neuroscience from Wellesley College. She also holds a master's degree in interpreting and translation studies, with a focus on intercultural services in healthcare, from Wake Forest University.

State Street executive JOYCE BEACH was elected to the board of trustees at Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology. Beach, who's worked at State Street for 14 years, is currently a senior vice president and global head of talent acquisition. She previously was director of diversity at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. "Joyce's career-long commitment to organizational growth, community involvement, and mentorship meets the moment for the next chapter of Franklin Cummings Tech, as we welcome our first incoming class of new students into our new home in Nubian Square," board chair Rahn Dorsey said.

AMIHAN MATIAS is the Massachusetts Asian American and Pacific Islanders Commission's new executive director. Matias was a founder of MAP for Health and the AAPI Alliance of Western Massachusetts, according to the commission, which said she also helped to lead statewide immigrant rights work at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. She was senior director of community partnerships at the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts from July 2023 to September 2025, per her LinkedIn. "I have dedicated most of my life to creating, supporting, and strengthening Asian and Pacific Islander American (APIA) organizations and communities," Matias said in a statement. "Due to the anti-immigrant sentiment and policies that have taken root more powerfully in this country during this time, I feel even more compelled to protect the rights and safety, and uplift the voices, contributions, and humanity of our APIA communities." According to the commission, Matias' approach to leadership is informed by kapwa, which it described as "a Filipino concept of shared humanity and interconnectedness."

Nonprofit health and human services organization Vinfen has a new vice president of policy and strategy in MELISSA SHANNON, who most recently worked as vice president for government advocacy at Boston Medical Center. Before BMC, Shannon spent three years as director of government relations and public affairs at Commonwealth Care Alliance; two years as director of state government relations at Boston Children’s Hospital; and four years as director of intergovernmental affairs for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. She also spent two years at Health Care For All, two years in Sen. Mark Montigney's office as general counsel and legislative director, and three years as associate counsel for Senate Ways and Means. Shannon is expected to help shape Vinfen's strategic priorities and public policy agenda.

Bunker Hill Community College has named KIRUBA MURUGAIAH as alumni trustee on the school's Board of Trustees. Murugaiah earned an associate's degree in computer science from BHCC before becoming an associate professor at the school and teaching a wide range of math courses, according to her LinkedIn page. She was also an adjunct faculty member and research assistant at BHCC from 2022 to 2025. Murugaiah works now as an independent consultant for Kalvi Advisors, where she offers educational guidance to nongovernmental and United Nations agencies in conflict-affected settings, according to BHCC. Murugaiah has also been an education advisor with the International Rescue Committee, where she worked on educational opportunities for refugees and displaced people across sub-Saharan Africa. "Kiruba embodies the very best of what Bunker Hill Community College makes possible," BHCC President Pam Eddinger said. "As a student, faculty member, scholar, and global education leader, she has devoted her career to expanding opportunity while never losing sight of the community that helped launch her journey. Her deep commitment to educational equity, student success, and public service will make her an extraordinary voice on our Board of Trustees."

Boston Senior Home Care has named TODD SPENCER as its chief financial officer. Before joining BSHC, Spencer was finance director of Mass General Brigham's Healthcare at Home division. He has also held financial leadership positions at several other healthcare organizations, including Boston Medical Center, UnitedHealth Group and The Providence Center within Care New England Health System. BSHC also named two new members of its Board of Directors: JILL LACK, CEO of the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership, and ERICA JABLONSKI, researcher and evaluator specializing in aging and family caregiving. "For more than 50 years, Boston Senior Home Care has evolved to meet the changing needs of our community," said Meg Hogan, BSHC CEO. "These appointments are another step in that evolution, bringing the leadership and expertise that will help shape our future to serve our community."

Longtime Boston attorney RICHARD GLOVSKY recently joined The Baker Center for Children and Families as general counsel. An affiliate of Harvard Medical Center, the center is focused on improving mental healthcare for children and families. Glovsky has represented and advised the center for more than two decades and brings more than four decades of legal experience to the job. He'll support the center as it works to bolster access to mental healthcare, special education and system-level support for organizations. "Dick's appointment to General Counsel builds on years of trusted advice and support for The Baker Center and our mission," Bob Franks, the center's CEO, said. "He understands our organization, the complexities of our work and the responsibility we have to the children and families who rely on us." Glovsky most recently worked as general counsel at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, where he advised employers on workplace issues and represented clients in employment-related litigation. He also worked for the U.S. Department of Justice for seven years earlier in his career, including as assistant attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Glovsky holds a law degree from Boston College Law School.