A Passion for Service

• Published in: BusinessWest Vol. 41; no. 12; pp. 4 - 38
• Main Author: Bednar, Joseph
• Format: Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicopee BusinessWest 14-10-2024
• Subjects: Children & youth; Community colleges; Corporate presidents; Education; Initiatives; Older people; Personal profiles; Small business; Young adults; United States > US
• ISSN: 1049-9822

[...]it feels good" After longtime (as in 49 years) President and CEO Henry Thomas announced his retirement in the spring of 2023, Frisby was named to that role on an interim basis, and on Aug. 1 of this year, the board of directors concluded an extensive, national search by simply removing her interim tag. The first woman to lead tae organization in its 111-year history, Frisby was deemed the best choice to advance the organization's mission of economic empowerment, equality, and social justice in the Greater Springfield area "Yvette is the ideal choice to lead the Urban League during this transformative and historical period," said Maurice Powe, board president. Ashley Bogle, assistant general counsel and director of Legal Services at Health New England; LaMar Cook, deputy director of Gov. Maura Healey's Western Mass. office; Anthony Moore, director of Membership Programs at the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts; and Kiyota Woods, dean of Student Initiatives, Academic Advising, and the Transfer Center at Springfield Technical Community College. Another program, launched about five years ago with the help of a significant MassMutual grant, is the Black Business Support Initiative, which has helped more than 30 entrepreneurs develop skills and access resources to turn an idea into a business or create a business plan to take an enterprise to the next level. The Urban League also partners with other organizations on two job fairs at the Basketball Hall of Fame each year, partners with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts on food distribution at the Dunbar Community Center, maintains an employment-opportunity program with some of the region's largest employers, offers scholarships to local students, and ... well, much more.