For Immediate Release

November 10, 2022

Joe Kriesberg to Become President & CEO of MassINC

Experienced leader with proven management skills and expertise around creating vibrant communities and nurturing economic vitality to take helm in January

 

BOSTON, MA – Joe Kriesberg has been named the next President and CEO of MassINC, a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to making Massachusetts a place of civic vitality and inclusive economic opportunity. Today’s announcement follows a recent Board vote to unanimously approve a Search Committee recommendation following a highly competitive search process.

Kriesberg will oversee all strategic planning, fundraising and operations for the organization’s work across multiple disciplines, including research and civic programs, and will serve as Publisher of CommonWealth, MassINC’s civic news outlet. The organization also includes the MassINC Polling Group, or MPG, a for-profit subsidiary of MassINC.

Kriesberg will join MassINC after nearly 30 years at the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, or MACDC, an organization which he has led as President and CEO for the past 20 years. MACDC is the policy and capacity building arm of the community development movement in Massachusetts and has 100 non-profit member organizations across the state. As President, Kriesberg was responsible for the overall management of the agency, including financial management and fundraising, program development and implementation, policy advocacy, staff supervision, board management, and strategic planning.

In his role leading MACDC, Kriesberg has been a strong advocate for vibrant communities, and has advanced issues such as economic opportunity, affordable housing and innovative development – all of which align with MassINC’s dedication to civic vitality and economic inclusion.

“With his background at MACDC, proven track record of results and deep expertise on the most timely issues facing the Commonwealth, I can’t think of a better person than Joe to build upon MassINC’s success over the last 27 years and carry this incredible organization into the future,” said Greg Torres, MassINC Board Chair and Co–Chair of the Search Committee. Torres also served as President of MassINC from 2007 to 2016.

“MassINC needs a leader who not only understands the issues that matter here in the Commonwealth, but who also understands and shares the organization’s core values around economic opportunity, a deep commitment to inclusion, and the power of community leadership and collaboration,” said Michael Hunter, Co-Chair of the Search Committee. “We are thrilled to have someone like Joe coming on to lead this organization.”

“MassINC plays a unique and vital role in maintaining Massachusetts’ leadership in our democracy,” said Kriesberg.  “At a moment when our Commonwealth is working to build a more inclusive and equitable economy and respectful public discourse, the need for high quality, fact-based research, collaborative civic engagement and exceptional journalism that a nonpartisan organization such as MassINC offers has never been more important. I am thrilled and honored to lead this work, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Kriesberg, who will officially start in mid-January 2023, will replace Lauren Louison Grogan who was most recently MassINC’s President and CEO. Maeve Duggan, currently Chief Operating Officer of MassINC, has been Acting President and CEO since June 2022.

Kriesberg first joined MACDC in 1993 as Vice President and served in that capacity until he became President in July 2002, overseeing advocacy work with public and private sector entities, capacity building work with members, long-term strategic planning, collaborations, partnerships and internal operations. He launched several innovative new programs at MACDC, including the Community Investment Tax Credit, the Mel King Institute for Community Building, the biennial MACDC conventions and the Community Development Innovation Forum.

During his tenure, Kriesberg helped to pass many important bills through the state Legislature, including the groundbreaking Insurance Industry Community Investment Act (1998,) the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (2000,) the Small Business Technical Assistance Program (2006,) a comprehensive anti-foreclosure law (2007), a new law to help preserve “expiring-use” affordable rental communities (2009), and the Community Investment Tax Credit (2012).

In 2016, Kriesberg was Chair of the “Yes for a Better Boston” campaign that passed the Community Preservation Act in the city of Boston. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he played a leadership role in advocating for small businesses, working closely with MassINC and many others to successfully advocate for the largest small business relief program in the country and to ensure that it was equitably designed to serve the needs of BIPOC, women and low-income entrepreneurs. He also helped co-found the Coalition for an Equitable Economy.

Kriesberg is frequently asked to speak on community development issues and trends in Massachusetts and around the country. Prior to working for MACDC, he worked on energy and environmental issues for nonprofit organizations in Washington, DC and Boston, MA. Kriesberg has a B.A. from Binghamton University (New York State) and a J.D. Degree from Northeastern University in Boston.

About MassINC

MassINC’s mission over the last 30 years has been to make Massachusetts a place of civic vitality and inclusive economic opportunity by providing residents the nonpartisan research, reporting, analysis, and civic engagement necessary to understand policy choices, inform decision-making, and hold government accountable. The organization was founded in 1996 by a small group of civic and business leaders who believed that Massachusetts was missing accurate, thorough, and unbiased data to inform policymaking. They set out to create an organization that produced public policy research focused on building ladders to the middle class for all Massachusetts residents. Over the years, MassINC has achieved impact through rigorous, nonpartisan research, expert polling, and independent reporting of politics, ideas, and civic life.

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