June 29, 2023: Cyber Awareness Training

Come learn about the biggest cybersecurity risks businesses face today, the most common methods hackers & thieves use and what you can do to defend yourself and your organization.

Presenter: Mike Bistis is a Service Desk Manager at OunceIT. Mike joined OunceIT in November 2022 after 11 years of providing IT support for independent financial advisors. While his degree may be in Communication, he spent many of his formative years tinkering with PCs and small electronics, leading him to pursue a career in IT during undergrad.

May 25, 2023: RAPID Decision Making Framework

Description: Over the years, Bridgespan has helped scores of nonprofits and NGOs learn about their RAPID® decision making framework.  The RAPID® framework can help your team create a shared language for decision roles and bring transparency to your decision processes. It helps clarify who provides input to a decision, who shapes the decision and ultimately decides on it, and who carries out the decision once it is made. Bridgespan has found it to be highly effective, and also easily adaptable to different situations, team sizes, and types of organizations

Presenter: Lindsey Waldron is a principal in Bridgespan’s Boston Office. She has worked with a variety of nonprofit and philanthropic clients on strategic planning and execution. She has also worked on the development and facilitation of Leading for Impact®, Bridgespan’s two-year consulting and capacity building program for nonprofit executive teams.  Prior to joining Bridgespan, Lindsey was a fellow with Education Pioneers, spent time in the classroom as both an English professor at a university in Santiago, Chile and as a Citizen Teacher in the Boston Public School System, and spent many years at PwC and Bain & Company.  Lindsey earned her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Richmond. 

Latest RAPID Article + video explainer

April 27, 2023: Employee Financial Wellness

It is widely recognized that worker’s financial lives impact their work lives – either in reduced productivity, increased absenteeism or turnover. This is especially true for workers who live on low and moderate incomes, who are disproportionately people of color and women. The question that will be discussed in this session is what can employers do to support the financial health of workers and how do you balance workers’ privacy and employer’s interests. This will be an interactive session where Melissa will lead a discussion about what the research says about the specific problems that workers face and what you all are seeing; the benefits that most employers already offer that could be redesigned to support financial health, and the current specific workplace financial wellness products that are in-market and your experiences with their efficacy.

Melissa Gopnik brings over 20 years of strategic nonprofit leadership to this role. Throughout her career, she has combined her talents in strategic planning, program and product design, research, and public speaking to promote justice and equity. A longtime member of MPFM, more information about Melissa can be found on her website www.melissagopnik.org.

March 30, 2023: Office Real Estate in Boston and Beyond

Three years into the pandemic, how and where we work continues to evolve. Nonprofits are still grappling with questions of how they will use office space, and when to make their next move. In October of 2020, Rick Lowe of Cresa Boston gave us a helpful overview of how our organizations could strategically manage real estate options. He and his colleagues are back to refresh our picture of a changing Boston market. They will touch on how different segments of the market are trending, how the pandemic is affecting downtown vs suburban markets, what to expect if you’re looking to sublet – or looking for a subletter, and what to bring to your next lease negotiation.

Presenters:
Rick Lowe is a Principal at Cresa Boston. As a member of the urban advisory team, Rick focuses his efforts in the Financial District, Back Bay, Seaport and North Station markets. Rick is a skilled negotiator who’s able to leverage his experience and industry relationships for the benefit of his clients—which range from nonprofits to architecture firms to venture capital firms.

Olivia Weckwerth is a member of the downtown Boston advisory team. She works with clients across industries to define real estate objectives and deliver impactful solutions that address short-term and long-term needs. Olivia provides transaction management services including new business development, market research, strategic planning, financial analysis, and lease negotiations for occupiers in the downtown market. 

Andrew Orpik joined Cresa in 2013 and is a member of the urban advisory team, providing transaction and account management services to tenants in the Boston marketplace. He specializes in developing new business, strategic planning, market analysis and negotiating lease transactions.

Cresa is the world’s largest commercial real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents occupiers and specializes in the delivery of fully integrated real estate solutions.

Meeting Materials

Winter / Spring Boston Suburban Report 2023

Winter / Spring Boston Report 2023