Margaret Tantillo Named Executive Director of O’Dell Women’s Center

SPRINGFIELD — The O’Dell Women’s Center, Springfield’s first nonprofit women’s center, appointed Margaret Tantillo as its executive director. The O’Dell Women’s Center, dedicated to helping low-income women secure educational and career opportunities, is a philanthropic initiative founded in 2023 and located at 45 Lyman St.

In her previous position as executive director of Dress for Success Western Massachusetts, Tantillo directed five distinct programs designed specifically for low-income women that resulted in hundreds of women finding gainful employment. These programs included workforce development, mentorship programming, and trainings in financial literacy, digital literacy, and dressing for the workplace.

Toward the end of her tenure, she relocated Dress for Success Western Massachusetts to 45 Lyman St. as the anchor institution of the O’Dell Women’s Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization that offers low- and no-cost residency spaces to nonprofits that support its mission.

Tantillo started her career working for the Girl Scouts. During her 13-year career with that organization, she rose through the ranks, started the first Girl Scout Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., and served in a senior leadership position, transitioning five independent nonprofits into one statewide organization with more than 65,000 members.

“Margaret’s effective and passionate advocacy for low-income Western Massachusetts women aligns perfectly with our mission,” said Keely Krantz, founder of the O’Dell Women’s Center. “With Margaret’s leadership, I am confident the O’Dell Women’s Center will become an integral part of the Springfield community devoted to economic upward mobility for women.”

Tantillo’s volunteer leadership roles in Springfield include serving on the core economic mobility hub of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts and the coordinating committee of the Alliance for Digital Equity, and as a member of the core partners of Springfield WORKS. She earned her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and her master’s degree from Springfield College.