All it takes is one person who is willing to provide opportunities for others to learn and grow, and then scale from smaller projects to bigger ones. And developer Ralph Parent and his mentor Merrill Diamond show how success just begets more success.
We often work with our clients to understand that for development to truly be inclusive, it must be authentic, transparent and grounded in community engagement. It also helps developers meet their diversity, equity and inclusion goals in a sustainable way.
This will be the year when people who hold the levers of power must respond to a changing electoral environment, let go a little and allow different flowers to bloom.
Vying for one of the last Big Dig remnant parcels in Boston, six development teams are balancing the usual decisions about a market-ready mix of property uses with new elevated standards for diverse design and project ownership teams.
Two weeks ago five of the nation’s largest banks did an about-face, asking shareholders to vote against proposals calling for third-party racial equity audits. But here’s the truth: What you don’t measure, you can’t manage.
Developing new products with CDFIs and other nontraditional financial institutions will limit risk to banks and open doors to new customer bases in a responsible way.
A former top executive at Berkshire Bank who left in the wake of former CEO Richard Marotta’s sudden departure this summer has landed at MIT’s Sloane School of Management.
On the same day as Malia Lazu’s departure, Berkshire Bank took steps to fill some of the roles previously held by its leading voice on diversity and inclusion.
Less than a month after Berkshire Bank’s CEO stepped down, Malia Lazu has left as well. The bank’s executive vice president and chief experience and culture officer, Lazu will leave Berkshire Bank effective today “to expand her work building more diverse, inclusive and prosperous companies and communities,”
Despite losses that have left Boston-based Berkshire Bank needing regulatory approval for shareholder dividends, the bank said it remains committed to Richard Marotta’s strategy for growing the bank, including his diversity and equity initiatives.
Black executives at a pair of leading Massachusetts community banks and one of its biggest contractors have joined with other corporate leaders of color in Massachusetts to launch a social justice fund to support minority communities.
With panelists participating in a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce panel on racism calling for action to change the systems that allow racism and inequality to persist in the business community, Berkshire Bank’s Malia Lazu said business leaders still need to take time to listen and learn.
Two local bankers have expressed support for the Black community in response to last week’s death of George Floyd.
Malia Lazu joined Berkshire Bank a mere 10 months ago with no prior banking experience. But in that short time, she’s become a driving force in the bank’s efforts to transform its workplace culture – and a regional president.
When Berkshire Bank’s Malia Lazu talks about entrepreneurship, she evokes a kitchen table, the place where family members and friends first talk about investing in the business. For entrepreneurs of color, the wealth gap between whites and people of color in America means these conversations, and the business itself, often never happen.
Berkshire Bank has solidified “its commitment to deepening relationships with the communities [it serves]” by hiring longtime community organizer and activist Malia Lazu as its new chief experience and culture officer and executive vice president.
