40 Under 40 Class of 2018

Hayley Dunn

Manager, Community Relations, Eversource Energy; Age 39; Education: BA, Providence College; MPA, Suffolk University

Hayley Dunn

Hayley Dunn

Dunn works with a team at Eversource Energy that serves the needs of Massachusetts customers and communities. She is a member of the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade Committee, where she serves as spokeswoman, and was honored with the 2018 Rohan Award. She is also a board member of the Holyoke Board of Registrar of Voters, the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Holyoke Children’s Museum. A graduate of Leadership Pioneer Valley in 2015, Dunn and her husband, Frank, live in Holyoke with their four children: Frankie, Charlotte, Eloise, and Harry.

How do you define success? For me, success is defined by having a happy and healthy work-life balance. My career allows me to constantly learn, network, and enhance my skills, but it’s being an advocate for customers and communities that makes my job so rewarding. Serving on boards and engaging in civic activities provides me the creative and social outlets I crave, yet, at the end of the day, it’s the hugs from my husband and four children that make it all worthwhile. It’s important for my children to see me work and to positively make an impact on their community. Their love and the infinite possibilities for their future are what keep me going.

Whom do you look up to, and why? As a mother, I think it’s only natural to want to be (and do) the best for your children. I look up to all parents, particularly my friends and family, from whom I am always seeking advice and support. It may be cliché, but I truly believe it takes a village to raise a family. I’m so grateful to the parents who raise their kids to be good and kind friends, offer to carpool, and are always there to lend an ear, a laugh … or a glass of wine.

What person, past or present, would you like to have lunch with, and why? I would have loved to have spent time with Maureen O’Hara, the talented and classically beautiful Irish actress. I can only imagine the wonderful stories she would tell (in that famous Irish brogue!) about growing up in Ireland and of making movies during the golden days of Hollywood. She was fierce and passionate with just a dash of sass — all qualities I often find in myself.