Diana Brennan
Title: CEO, Building Impact
Age: 32
Experience: 10 years
Diana Brennan took over in June as CEO of Building Impact, a Boston-based nonprofit that helps commercial property owners and tenants organize charitable efforts that benefit community organizations. Building Impact works with owners of 53 properties that house more than 600 companies, helping them aid hundreds of local nonprofits through events and in-kind services. Previously, she served as executive director of the Melrose YMCA. Building Impact was founded in 1998 by Boston-based Paradigm Properties and spun off as an independent organization in 2004.
Q: Was your career goal to remain in the nonprofit sector?
A: I grew up in the YMCA system and was the only girl on an all-boys’ basketball team at the age of 5 – my dad was the coach. It was an organization I was really drawn to. I was given the opportunity to be the executive director of the Melrose YMCA in 2010. That really changed my view of nonprofit management. It was coming in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy and I was charged with revitalizing the organization. A gentleman was found guilty of sexually abusing two children in our program. After two years we had turned that around and eventually merged with the YMCA of Lynn. I thought, “How much better could have I have done if I knew what I was doing?” That’s when I decided to pursue my degree and was accepted into MIT’s executive MBA program. That was two years of drinking from a firehose and so transformational for me as a leader. In my career search I looked at everything from investment banking to startups, and I also looked in the nonprofit space.
Q: What tipped the scales in your decision?
A:Three things for me were important: To be in a small company that was growing, and the second was to be in a role that allowed me to pursue my passion of working with people. Lastly it was representing a product that I wholeheartedly believed in.
Q: What have you learned about the real estate industry in Boston?
A: The community is so tight-knit and has been so incredibly supportive of my start. There’s so many different facets of it. The residential space is so much different from the commercial space, and then you have the smaller niche properties and developments. But it’s manageable from a networking perspective. Boston in general is not a huge city, and that’s what I love about it.
Q: How did the organization evolve from Paradigm’s leadership to independence?
A: In the late 1990s, Kevin McCall, who is the founder of Paradigm, realized the tremendous potential of the people who work in these major properties in Boston and how much good could happen if they could harness this manpower for social change – to direct support through donation drives or volunteering activities. This became a real tenant amenity that contributed to a dynamic workplace culture in buildings. There was interest outside of Paradigm. That’s when Kevin had the selflessness to allow Building Impact to spin off as its own private nonprofit.
Q: What are some of the more unusual programs your clients have mobilized?
A: We recently helped (Cambridge-based) Technology Underwriting Greater Good (TUGG) source about 2,000 volunteer opportunities at 40-plus projects. Those ranged from a playground clean-up to homeless shelter renovation to helping a nonprofit with their social media strategy. So really skill-based volunteering. That’s really the space we’re excited about for 2015: Matching the talent we have at our fingertips and their expertise to nonprofits’ needs in a way that makes long-lasting change.
For more information about Building Impact, click here.
Top 5 Boston Holiday Happenings:
- The interest and generosity shown in Building Impact’s toy drive.
- Indulging with family, friends and colleagues.
- The garlands and bows around the gas lamps in Beacon Hill.
- Burdick’s hot chocolate (preferably with peppermint schnapps).
- Using Uber to bring an oversized tree to my undersized apartment. #cityliving
