Guimel DeCarvalho recognized as one of the region’s Most Influential Business Leaders of Color
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 22, 2023
Contact: Betsy Freedman Doherty
774.287.6418 (cell)
Betsy_FreedmanDoherty@WaysideYouth.Org
Framingham, Mass. – Wayside Youth & Family Support Network’s Vice President of People and Culture and Chief Diversity Officer, Guimel DeCarvalho has been recognized as one of the region’s Most Influential Business Leaders of Color.
The list was produced by the Charles River Regional Chamber in collaboration with Colette Phillips and Get Konnected! and aims to shine a light on the remarkable, but too often unnoticed and overlooked, businesspeople of color and the companies that are making a difference in Greater Boston’s Western Suburbs.
The collaboration produced two lists: “50 Most Influential Business Leaders of Color in the
Charles River Metrowest Region” and “20 Emerging Leaders of Color,” focused on those under 40 working in the same footprint. To qualify for either list, honorees had to work and/or sit on a board for a business or nonprofit that is physically located in Newton, Needham, Watertown, Waltham, Wellesley, Natick or Framingham.
Both lists were released May 19 and published online at charlesriverchamber.com and in a special printed publication. The Chamber and Get Konnected will partner on events in the months to come spotlighting the honorees and opportunities and challenges surrounding nurturing a diverse workforce.
Honorees were selected from a field of 200 nominations from area businesses and individuals and selected by a prestigious panel of judges, including Maggie Baxter (VP Programming at NBC Boston, NECN, and Telemundo Boston); Nicole Obi (CEO, Black Economic Council of MA); Eneida Román> (CEO, Amplify Latinx); Qingjian (Q.J.) Shi (Director of the Asian Business Empowerment Council, The Boston Foundation); Darryl Settles (CEO, Catalyst Ventures Development); and Saleha Walsh (VP, Insource Services, Inc.)
“This year’s lists are truly remarkable and unprecedented,” said Phillips, president & CEO of Colette Phillips Communications and founder of Get Konnected! “By honoring 50 of the ‘Most Influential Business Leaders of Color’ in Greater Boston’s western suburbs and 20 ‘Emerging Leaders of Color,’ we as a community are actively joining together to amplify and celebrate the positive and impactful contributions people of color are making to our Commonwealth.”
“Rather than their success going unnoticed, lists like these are deeply impactful and demonstrative of the diversity, equity, and inclusion that exists in our western suburbs. I applaud the Charles River Regional Chamber for this bold initiative and partnership,” Phillips added.
“Greater Boston’s western suburbs are often dismissed for their homogeneity. But the truth is, it’s a region that draws people of all ethnicities from all points of the globe. Our goal is to honor some of the many outstanding individuals who are making a positive contribution to our economic and social fabric while also starting a frank conversation about where we fall short,” said Charles River Chamber President Greg Reibman. This year’s lists are an updated — and expanded — version of the original list first published by the collaboration in 2020. The list became an essential resource for corporations and nonprofits looking to hire, looking for board members, looking for expert commentators, and looking for thought leaders across the region and it is expected the new edition will be beneficial in a similar way.
