July 15, 2024 / Boston, MA – At MassINC’s annual meeting in June, the board of directors approved the addition of six new members representing various sectors of business and industry, and bringing additional regional, political, racial and gender diversity to the now 25-member board.

 

Michael Goodwine is a Lead Government Relations Advisor on the State Government Relations team at Springfield-based MassMutual. Michael is responsible for advocating for the company on state legislative and regulatory issues and the development of state public policy positions and strategic outreach.

 

Lizzy Guyton is a veteran communications strategist with more than a decade of experience in high-stakes issues at the state and national levels. Before founding South & Hill Strategies, Lizzy served as Communications Director to Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito.

 

Mike Heffernan served as Secretary of Administration & Finance for Governor Baker and as Commissioner of Revenue for Governor Baker. Prior to his government service, Mike had a distinguished career in the private sector, including nearly 20 years at Citi.

 

Joe Kennedy currently serves as President of Citizens Energy Corporation and was formerly a U.S. Representative in Congress serving the 4th district from 2013 to 2021. In addition to leading Citizens Energy, Joe is President Biden’s special envoy to Northern Ireland. Please note that Joe’s board service will begin December 1, 2024.

 

Chrissy Lynch is President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Prior to becoming president in 2023, Chrissy served as the Secretary-Treasurer and Chief of Staff of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. In this role, she was the Chief Financial Officer and responsible for ensuring the ability of the President to exercise his duties by managing staff and operations to maximize effectiveness in strategic alignment with unions and allies.

 

Reed Passafaro currently serves as chief of staff to Lisa Wieland, President of National Grid New England, which is responsible for the safe, reliable, and affordable delivery of energy to National Grid’s customers in New England while being at the heart of the clean energy transition. Prior to joining National Grid, Reed was the chief of staff at Massport and, before this, served as director of speechwriting for Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

 

“A key factor in our ability to make Massachusetts more inclusive and vibrant, both economically and civically, is having different perspectives on the board to inform our work,” said Joe Kriesberg, MassINC CEO. “These latest additions help ensure that our approach remains non-partisan, open-minded, collaborative and focused on elevating reliable information and effective solutions.”

 

“Over its nearly 30 years, MassINC has sought to bring smart people together to help the organization achieve its mission through substantive, data-driven research, insightful polling and informative journalism,” said Eileen O’Connor, MassINC Board Chair. “We are proud that these distinguished civic leaders will be joining our board at this time when MassINC continues to grow and evolve to meet the complex challenges facing the Commonwealth.”

 

 

About MassINC

MassINC’s mission for nearly 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 civic and business leaders who believed that Massachusetts was missing accurate, thorough, and unbiased information to inform policymaking. MassINC conducts its work through three independent units: the MassINC Policy Center, CommonWealth Beacon and the MassINC Polling Group. 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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