Dear Members,

Please join me in welcoming new MBR member, Pamela Goldberg, CEO of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. We are thrilled to add Pamela's expertise and leadership of the state's innovation economy to our group.

I want to thank all of the members for your engagement and support of our priority projects. This year is already off to a blazing start with significant opportunities in STEM education, workforce development, health care, economic competitiveness and transportation.

Best,
JD

MBR's Transportation Task Force Chair, Jay Doherty, CEO of Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, convened a meeting of the group to discuss transportation reform and long-term funding challenges. 

Transportation Secretary Richard Davey met with members of the task force on Thursday, January 26, 2012 in Boston. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), which Secretary Davey oversees, is looking to MBR for guidance in developing a strategy of outreach to the state's business leadership regarding the development of a long-term, sustainable financing plan. Following a robust discussion, Secretary Davey thanked the members and encouraged MBR to convene the business community to discuss how the Commonwealth can address its transportation needs and enhance our economic competitiveness.

MBR teamed up with several member companies and the Boston Globe for its public affairs series, Building a Better Commonwealth, focused on strengthening the talent pipeline in Massachusetts. The events were streamed live on Boston.com and brought together business leaders from a wide variety of sectors to discuss recruiting/retaining talent and the importance of STEM education. 

The series was sponsored by Suffolk Construction, in association with John Hancock and Citizens Bank. MBR Chair Donna Cupelo participated in the roundtable discussion on talent held at the Harvard Business School on January 17, 2012. MBR member Mark DiNapoli kicked off the panel discussion on STEM moderated by Globe Business Editor Shirley Leung at Microsoft's NERD Center on January 25, 2012. MBR's Marcy Reed and JD Chesloff both served as panelists and numerous MBR companies participated in the event including Raytheon, Northeastern, Skadden Arps, MTC, MITRE and the Museum of Science. For more on the series, visit online at www.bettercommonwealth.com.

Governor's Economic Development Council Submits Plan to Legislature: "Choosing to Compete in the 21st Century" 
MBR Chairwoman Donna Cupelo joined UMass President Robert Caret, AD Makepeace CEO Michael Hogan and Citizens Bank Massachusetts President Jerry Sargent serving on Governor Patrick's Economic Development Council. The Council developed the new plan, which was filed with the State Legislature by Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki. It leverages and builds on the Commonwealth's competitive advantages and re-focuses on its disadvantages with more than 50 specific action steps in five major areas including: Advancing education and workforce development for middle-skill jobs; Supporting innovation and entrepreneurship; Investing in regional development through infrastructure and local empowerment; and Increasing the ease of doing business; and, Addressing our cost competitiveness challenges. 

The Boston Business Journal featured an op-ed in its January 19th edition of the newspaper from Donna Cupelo outlining the key elements of the state's strategy to compete more effectively in the 21st Century.

READ the Op-Ed  |  Read the Strategy

The Patrick-Murray Administration recently announced that Massachusetts was awarded one of nine federal grants in President Obama's Early Learning Challenge (ELC) competition. MBR's Education Task Force helped to support and strengthen the state's application. The $50 million grant will help expand high quality early education services and close achievement gaps in education.

This is a significant milestone for the Patrick-Murray Administration, the Department of Early Education and Care, and the early childhood field, whose collective vision made the Massachusetts application the second highest scoring application in the country. 

mbr's Marcy Reed honored by Boston Chamber of Commerce
MBR congratulates National Grid Massachusetts President, Marcy Reed, on receiving the Greater Boston Chamber Women's Network 2012 Pinnacle Award recognizing eight outstanding female professionals across different industries.

new member featured
MBR's newest member, Pamela Goldberg, was recently featured in the Boston Globe's "On the Hot Seat" talking about her organization's role to strengthen the innovation economy and support entrepreneurs creating new companies in Massachusetts. 

READ Globe Article   |  Read Pamela's Biography