Advisory Board

Randy Albelda, Ph.D.
Paula Alexander
Lisa A. Brothers
Julie Chen, Ph.D.
Kristin Esterberg, Ph.D.
Roslyn L. Feldberg, Ph.D.
Joyce Taylor Gibson, Ph.D.
Louise Griffin
Evelyn Murphy, Ph.D.
Barbara Rosenbaum

Randy Albelda, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Massachusetts Boston

Dr. Randy Albelda is a professor of economics at University of Massachusetts Boston where she teaches in the economics department and the department of public policy and public affairs.  Her research and teaching covers a broad range of economic policies affecting low-income families.  She writes on family well-being, poverty, welfare reform, paid family leave policies, racial and gender divisions in occupations, and the distribution of family income and earnings. Her work includes the edited volume Lost Ground: Poverty, Welfare Reform, and Beyond and the books Economics and Feminism: Disturbances in the Field; Glass Ceilings and Bottomless Pits: Women's Work, Women's Poverty; The War on the Poor: A Defense Manual; and Unlevel Playing Fields: Understanding Wage Inequality and Discrimination.

Dr. Albelda is a Vice President of the International Association for Feminist Economics and works with a wide range of state and national community organizations promoting economic access and equality for women and low-income families.  Dr. Albelda received her Ph.D. in economics from University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Paula Alexander
Human Resource Director
Eastman Kodak Company

Paula Alexander recently retired from the Eastman Kodak Company as the Human Resource Director of Global Functions.  She has thirty five years experience in Human Resources which included the positions of HR Director for Kodak Park the largest Kodak manufacturing site where she had HR responsibility for 20,000 employees.   She has served on various community committees as well as the Board of Director for J. B. Thomas Hospital, the Center for Addictive Behavior, the Citizen for Adequate Housing, and St. Luke Community Project in Rochester, NY.

Her major professional accomplishments include: development and implementation of employee teams now functioning in Eastman Gelatine Corporation located in Peabody,MA, a division of Eastman Kodak Company; human resource planning; worksystems redesign; church leadership development in a Biblical context; Black male-female workshops, supervisory development, Deacons Workshops;  Young Adult workshops; Parents’ Workshops; Women ‘s workshops; Couples Ministry,  strategic planning; ISO 9000 implementation; An alternative to violence program for young women in a locked facility; development of a career center for transitioning employees out of Kodak,  development of Human Resource Competencies for Eastman Kodak Company, development of Human Resource Transformation Strategy for Kodak.  She also served as a Quality Leadership Process consultant for Eastman Kodak Company and Quality Consultant for Peabody School Department in Peabody, Massachusetts.

Paula has research experience in Manufacturing Process Variables, Quality of Worklife analysis, Organizational Culture Change, Cultural Diversity, Balancing Home and Worklife issues, Impact of Institutional Racism on Black Males, Impact of Afrocentric Education on self-concept of African American Youth, Black Church Culture and Developing an Alternative to Violence for Incarcerated Teenage Girls.

She was awarded the Pastor and Deacon Awards at the St. John’s Baptist Church.  She received honorable mentioned in the Working Women’s Magazine for her parent’s workshops at Mary McLeod Bethune Institute in Boston. Paula was awarded the Mary Upton Ferrin Award by the Peabody Chamber of Commerce for the outstanding women of the year. Paula also received the Woman of Courage and Conviction Award from the National Council of Negro Women, the Jane Lamphear Award from Eastman Kodak Corporation, and was a CEO Diversity Award Finalist, Eastman Kodak Company.

Paula holds a BS Degree in Personnel and Industrial Relations, MA in Community Social Psychology from UMass Lowell, and a Master of Divinity from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School

Lisa A. Brothers
Vice President  & COO
Nitsch Engineering

As one of the owners of Nitsch Engineering, Inc., Lisa Brothers brings over 20 years of experience in the design, construction, and management of roadway, site development, and infrastructure-related projects to the firm. Having started her engineering career working construction for the Massachusetts Highway Department, Ms. Brothers obtained an extensive background in construction, which complements her design and project management background.

 Ms. Brothers uses her strong technical abilities and management and people skills to make vital contributions within Nitsch Engineering, to clients of Nitsch Engineering, and to the operation of the professional engineering societies she helps lead. As Chief Operating Officer, Lisa is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Nitsch Engineering. As Principal-in-Charge on many of Nitsch Engineering's projects, she deals with contract negotiations, technical review and support, and project tracking to ensure project deliverables are completed on time and within budget.

 Ms. Brothers is on the Board of Directors for the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC/MA), as well as serving on the ACEC/MA Transportation Agencies Liaison Committee and Government Affairs Committee;  she serves on the College of Engineering/Industrial Advisory Board at UMass-Lowell where she is the youngest and only woman member; she is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE); and she is a registered professional engineer in Massachusetts.  Previously, Ms. Brothers was an appointed member of the Town of Wilmington Conservation Commission (1995-2005) and the Past President of the Women's Transportation Seminar-Boston Chapter. The Boston Society of Civil Engineers presented her with its 2004 Citizen Engineer Award. In 2003, the University of Massachusetts--Lowell recognized her contributions and presented her with the Francis Academy Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. She was honored with a 2002 Pinnacle Award as an Emerging Executive from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. In 2001, Lisa received the BSCES Lester Gaynor Award in recognition of her exemplary service as a public official in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Ms. Brothers holds a BSCE from the University Massachusetts-Lowell and an M.B.A from Northeastern University. She is also a 2004 graduate of ACEC National's Senior Executive Institute.

Julie Chen, Ph.D.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Co-Director, the UML CHN/NCOE Nanomanufacturing Center; Co-Director, the Advanced Composite Materials and Textile Research Laboratory
University of Massachusetts Lowell

Dr. Julie Chen is currently one of the three co-directors of the UML CHN/NCOE (Nanomanufacturing Center of Excellence) Nanomanufacturing Center and the co-director of the Advanced Composite Materials and Textile Research Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Chen was the Program Director of the Materials Processing and Manufacturing and the Nanomanufacturing Programs in the Division of Design, Manufacture, and Industrial Innovation at the National Science Foundation from 2002-2004.

Dr. Chen has been on the faculty at Boston University, a NASA-Langley Summer Faculty Fellow, a visiting researcher at the University of Orleans and Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Arts & Metiers (ENSAM-Paris), and an invited participant in the National Academy of Engineering, Frontiers of Engineering Program (US, 2001, US-Germany, 2005, and Indo-US, 2006). In addition to co-organizing several national and international symposia and workshops on composites manufacturing and nanomanufacturing for NSF, ASME, ASC, and ESAFORM, Dr. Chen has also served on editorial boards, advisory committees, and review panels for several journals and federal agencies, including NSF, NIH, the National Academies, ARL, and AFOSR.
 Dr. Chen has over 20 years of experience in the mechanical behavior and deformation of fiber structures, fiber assemblies, and composite materials, with an emphasis on composites processing. Examples include analytical modeling and novel experimental approaches to forming, energy absorption, and failure of textile reinforcements for structural (biomedical to automotive) applications. Recently, Dr. Chen’s research has also expanded into the area of nanomanufacturing, with a focus in electrospinning and controlled patterning of nanofibers.

Dr. Chen received her PhD, MS, and BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

Kristin Esterberg, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
University of Massachusetts Lowell

Dr. Kristin Esterberg is a professor of sociology at University of Massachusetts-Lowell, where her work focuses on gender and sexuality, social identities, and qualitative methods for social research.  Her books include Lesbian and Bisexual Identities: Constructing Communities, Constructing Selves, and Qualitative Methods in Social Research.  She has published numerous books and articles on gay, lesbian, and bisexual identities and social movements; lesbian parenting; and qualitative research methods. 

Dr. Esterberg served as Associate Provost and as Deputy Provost at UMass Lowell from 2004 to 2007.  Previously, she served as Chair of the Sociology Department at UMass Lowell and as Director of Women’s Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she was also an advisory board member of the Women’s Leadership Institute.  She is currently a member of the Advisory Board for the University of Massachusetts Confucius Institute and the Middlesex Regional Council of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. 

Dr. Esterberg received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Cornell University. 

Roslyn L. Feldberg, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Division of Labor Action
Massachusetts Nurses Association

Dr. Roslyn Feldberg, Associate Director at the Massachusetts Nurses Association, works with nurses to negotiate and administer their union contracts. Prior to her 22 years at MNA, she taught sociology and women’s studies at Boston University. Her research on comparable worth,  women’s employment, changing technologies and women’s relationship to unions led her to her work at the MNA.

Dr. Feldberg received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan.

Joyce Taylor Gibson, Ph.D.
Professor of Education
University of Massachusetts Lowell

Joyce Taylor Gibson has been a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Lowell for thirteen years in the Graduate School of Education where she has taught courses in Leadership, Organizational Change, and Managing Diversity.  Joyce was appointed Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Services at UMass Lowell in 2004, and was promoted to Interim Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management & Student Services in 2007.  Originally from Mississippi, Joyce has lived in Massachusetts for the last 28 years, and hails from a family committed to education and community service.  Joyce enjoys reading, yoga, working with plants, and being a new grandmother.

Dr. Gibson received her doctorate from the University of Florida with a major in educational leadership and a minor in cultural anthropology. 

Louise Griffin
Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance
University of Massachusetts Lowell

Louise Griffin was appointed to the position of Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance in January 2004. In this capacity, she is responsible for the overall management of all campus financial and human resource controls, internal and external reporting requirements, and compliance with all University policies, state and federal laws, and regulations including tax codes and audits.  She has primary responsibility for the Budget Office, Comptroller, Auxiliary Services, Human Resources, and Office of Research Administration.

Prior to her appointment as Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance, she served as the Managing Director, External Funding, Technology Transfer and Partnering. In that capacity, she was primarily responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Research Foundation trust, an administrative unit of the University responsible for external funding and technology transfer.

Ms. Griffin is a past chair and treasurer of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) and is a member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers. She is also the University’s administrative representative to the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP).

Evelyn Murphy, Ph.D.
President
The WAGE Project, Inc.

Resident Scholar, Women’s Studies Research Center, Brandeis University
Evelyn Murphy is the Founder and President of The WAGE Project, Inc., a national organization to end wage discrimination against working women, and Resident Scholar on Leave in the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University, where she researched and authored a book on women’s wages entitled Getting Even: Why Women Don’t Get Paid Like Men and What To Do About It, published by Simon & Schuster in October 2005.  Today, women in dozens of communities and major metropolitan areas have started their own initiatives to gain equitable treatment at work through grassroots action – a direct outgrowth of the book and her work to empower women to get paid fairly.

Dr. Murphy is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company and a Director of Citizens Energy Corporation. In her civic role, she serves as a founding Director of The Commonwealth Institute, a Trustee of Regis College, Honorary Chair of the Lost Coin Women’s Fund, Inc., a Director of The Polaris Project, and on the Advisory Board of Rosie’s Place, a shelter for homeless women in Boston.

Previously, Dr. Murphy has served as Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs; the state's Secretary of Economic Affairs; Lt. Governor (the first woman in the state’s 210 year history to hold constitutional office);  Managing Director of Brown, Rudnick, Freed & Gesmer, a New England law firm; and corporate director of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Shawmut National Banks of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, Fleet National Bank, Fleet Mortgage Company, and Fleet Credit Card Corporation.Blue Cross named her Executive Vice President to manage all federal and state, media and civic relations; while Executive Vice President, she founded and became President of the health insurer’s HealthCare Policy Institute.

Dr. Murphy is also a member of the International Women’s Forum and the Boston Club; for the last eight years, she has co-chaired the annual fundraiser for Rosie’s Place. She is the recipient of 11 honorary degrees and over one hundred national, state, and local awards. In her spare time, she has run the Boston Marathon many times and can be seen in the bleachers of Fenway Park cheering for the Boston Red Sox.

Evelyn Murphy earned a BA from Duke University in mathematics; a MA in economics from Columbia University; and a PhD in economics from Duke University.

Barbara Rosenbaum
Independent Consultant

Recently retired, Ms. Rosenbaum served for 25 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of Boston’s Jewish Vocational Service (JVS), a large urban, multi-purpose, nonprofit nonsectarian agency dedicated to workforce development and training issues. Ms. Rosenbaum is serving a three-year term on the Governor’s Workforce Training Fund Board, which awards employers training grants to increase workforce competitiveness. She has served on advisory committees of the State Workforce Planning Board, Boston Foundation, the Boston Chamber of Commerce and MassInc. Her passion is to eliminate generational poverty and she has worked nationally and regionally to advocate for policy solutions and programs that address this complex issue.
 
Career highlights include designing and operating innovative workforce programs that are replicated nationally such as Family Literacy, Micro enterprise Training and Loan, Boston’s first competitive One Stop Career Center, and the Center for Careers and Lifelong Learning, one of the first-in-the-nation initiatives to take the working poor “from first job to next job” through collaborations with employers, colleges, and support service providers.
 
As a consultant, Barbara wants to focus her attention on forming stronger connections between higher education and business. Her vision is to more effectively prepare students for current and future labor market opportunities. 

She is an MPA graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a Littauer Fellow.

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