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FRAMINGHAM – Framingham State University will celebrate and honor six female leaders in Massachusetts as part of Women’s History Month in March during the annual “Women Making History Now” ceremony.
The six women honored were to have been honored in 2020, but the ceremony was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This year, in 2021, they will be honored virtually.
“This month, as we celebrate the many contributions of women throughout history, we also want to recognize women who are having a powerful impact on their communities today,” said Framingham State President F. Javier Cevallos. “Each of our honorees are passionate and driven leaders who work tirelessly on behalf of others.”
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Although it is not on her public schedule, Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer is expected to give remarks at the event.
The virtual ceremony will be held on Tuesday, March 23 at 4:30 p.m.
This year’s diverse selection of honorees are:
- Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito: Since taking office with Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Polito has visited and partnered with leadership in all 351 of the Commonwealth’s cities and towns, signing Community Compact agreements with every municipality on more than 800 smarter ways to deliver services. She has worked closely with local officials to encourage housing production through the Housing Choice Initiative, improve roadways, sidewalks, bicycle lanes, pathways, and intersections through the Complete Streets program, and invest in on-the-ground, proactive projects to address climate change impacts through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program.
- District Attorney Rachael Rollins: Suffolk County District Attorney Rollins is the chief law enforcement official for Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Massachusetts, and oversees an office of approximately 300 people handling approximately 35,000 new cases each year. She has pledged to pursue a mission of reducing incarceration, correcting racial and ethnic disparities, adopting alternatives to traditional prosecution, focusing the offices limited resources on serious and violent crimes, and improving relationships between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.
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- Tiffany Lillie: Ms. Lillie currently serves as the Director of Community Resource Development (CRD) for Framingham Public Schools. In her role, Lillie manages the Out of School Time programming for over 2,500 students and 200 employees providing high-quality STEAM, Project-Based Learning with a focus on community partnerships. The department works with over 30 local non-profits and community partners to provide equity and access for all students and programs. Prior to joining the MetroWest community, Lillie worked around the state with several Community Based Organizations and municipal governments for over 10 years including You Inc., YWCA, Girls Inc., and the City of Cambridge.
- Patricia Hohl: Hohl is the Director at Voices Against Violence in Framingham where the mission is to save lives, rebuild lives, and secure safer futures for survivors of sexual and domestic violence. Prior to taking the helm at Voices, Hohl worked as a national training and technical assistance provider implementing Domestic Violence High Risk Teams across the country as part of an Office on Violence Against Women / Dept. of Justice Demonstration Initiative.
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- Beverly Edgehill: For thirty years, Dr. Edgehill has been a transformational leader, integrator of large scale change strategies and a stabilizer for the next stage of organizational change and growth. She has proven her ability to effectively lead, guide and partner with other leaders in planning and executing transformation strategies. Dr. Edgehill’s particular interest is in the dynamic that occurs at the intersection of organizational activities and individual leadership. As a scholar-practitioner, she is a student of current research and practiced at assisting leaders to drive institutional performance.
- Colleen Coffey: Ms. has dedicated the last 25 professional years to education, community development, intentional community building, access and equity. She is the inaugural Executive Director of the MetroWest College Planning Collaborative. The CPC’s vision is for a thriving Boston to MetroWest region where educational opportunity and success exists for all students and families. Under Coffey’s leadership, the CPC has grown from a team of one to a team of fifteen superstars serving 500 underserved youth from 8 different school districts. The CPC is also a proud and passionate Early College Designation.
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Framingham State University was founded in 1839 as the nation’s first public university for the education of teachers. Since that time, it has evolved into a vibrant, comprehensive liberal arts institution offering small, personalized classes on a beautiful New England campus. Today, the University enrolls more than 6,000 students with 58 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences and professional fields. As a State College and University (SCU), Framingham State prides itself on quality academic programs, affordability, and commitment to access for all qualified students.
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In full transparency, the press release and photo was submitted to SOURCE media.
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