40 Under 40 The Class of 2011

Scott Foster: 39

Attorney, Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP

Scott Foster

Scott Foster

Scott Foster says that, when it comes to work within the community, he’s not involved in many things, at least in his estimation.
“But when I do get involved … I get in deep,” he told BusinessWest. “I think you can only be successful if you’re really invested.”
This sentiment definitely applies to his work with the Forest Park Zoological Society, which he has chaired for five years running. In that role, Foster has helped the zoo achieve a level of stability and steady growth — in both revenue and population, including some pending arrivals that he couldn’t talk about just yet.
That ‘really invested’ description also fits his work with the Family Business Center at UMass Amherst, as well as the university’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, for which he has been a frequent lecturer. And it would sum up his efforts with regard to something called Valley Venture Mentors Inc., a nonprofit organization he co-founded in 2010, which connects talented Pioneer Valley entrepreneurs with mentors in the business community.
This is an important economic-development initiative, he said, designed to build relationships that may eventually keep more businesses — and jobs — from leaving Western Mass. for other regions.
“There are a lot of really neat, interesting people under 30 coming up with very interesting ideas and concepts for new businesses,” he explained. “And one of the issues we’re facing in the Valley is that young people come into the colleges and the graduate schools, they come up with ideas, they start to flush out a business concept, they get some advice from people in the area — and then they leave. And they leave because there’s no infrastructure for them; there’s no path for them to follow.”
When not doing all this work in the community, Foster is, of course, really invested in his day job as an attorney with Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, where he specializes in general corporate, business, and finance matters, including mergers and acquisitions and other commercial transactions.
He’s really invested in one more thing, his family — his wife, Stephanie, and son, James.
— George O’Brien