Weekes to Step Down as President and CEO of the Providers’ Council

In full transparency, the following is a press release submitted to SOURCE media.

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FRAMINGHAM – The Providers’ Council, the largest human services membership association in Massachusetts, announced today, February 1, that President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Weekes will step down later this year after 25 years leading the organization.

Throughout his tenure at the Providers’ Council, Weekes established important relationships with state elected officials, ensuring that human services agency members of the association have always had a clear and consistent voice representing them on Beacon Hill and beyond. He strengthened the financial health and stability of the organization, navigating through economic downturns and the recent pandemic, while fighting for increased reimbursement rates for provider agencies and improving wages and higher education opportunities for workers in the human services sector.

Most noteworthy, Weekes helped lead advocacy efforts that resulted in the passage of Chapter 257 in 2008, the landmark rate-setting law that has transformed the Massachusetts human services sector by securing hundreds of millions of dollars in new state reimbursements that improved both the wages of human services professionals and the services delivered to state residents.

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“Over the last quarter century, Michael has led the building of respect and trust for the community-based human services sector while securing vital state funding for essential services that are provided to hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents,” said Sandra McCroom, chair of the Providers’ Council Board of Directors and President and CEO of Children’s Services of Roxbury.  “We are extraordinarily grateful to Michael for all that he has accomplished and continues to do on behalf of the Council’s members.”

Weekes was a driving force in the creation of the Providers’ eAcademy, an online learning management system that is used by over 50,000 learners at more than 100 organizations.  He also relaunched “The Caring Force,” a grassroots advocacy initiative that rallied more than 31,000 members to help create a stronger economy with the pay, recognition and respect that human services workers deserve.

“I am proud of the Council team and our members, who are committed to engaging in actions that strengthen our sector and leading us to a Commonwealth guided by principles of equity, diversity and fairness,” Weekes said.  “I am confident that my team’s record has framed a path to even stronger relationships with government and private sector leaders.

Weekes joined the Providers’ Council in 1998 after serving as deputy commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Social Services (now the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families) and working for many years at a human services agency in western Massachusetts.  He has served on the board of many nonprofit organizations in that time.

“Few people can say they’ve had as profound and lasting impact on the people of Massachusetts as Michael Weekes,” said Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, a longtime advocate of the human services profession in Massachusetts.  “For over two decades he has been the steady hand and compassionate heart of the Providers’ Council, during which time we have seen incredible gains for persons with disabilities and people with mental and behavioral health needs – and the people who care for them – throughout the Commonwealth.  I am particularly proud of the work we did together on rate increases and loan repayment for the human services workforce and mental health reform.”

Weekes plans to depart this summer.  The board will begin a process for selecting the next president and CEO and ensuring a smooth leadership transition.

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“Michael Weekes is a Renaissance man,” said Dr. J. Keith Motley, Consultant President/CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts.  “He’s a leader who continues to impact the future of this Commonwealth because of his intergenerational efforts as an economic first responder.  He has championed innovative efforts to educate and develop a diverse workforce for decades using strategies centered on changing lives, organizations and empowering communities.”

The Providers’ Council, formally known as the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, Inc., is an association of community-based human services agencies in Massachusetts. Founded in 1975, the Council has more than 220 members across the state.  The Council is located in Framingham.

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