Kiley O’Meara

SPRINGFIELD — The directors of the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation announced that Kiley O’Meara has been named the new executive director of the foundation. She will oversee the foundation’s strategic initiatives and brings with her three decades of experience in philanthropy, policy, and education.

For the past year, O’Meara has served the Davis Foundation as director of Strategy and Learning. She previously worked as a senior researcher at Stanford University at the PACE (Policy Analysis for California Education) research center. In that position, she supported continuous improvement in policy and philanthropy through research, data-based insights and analysis, and strategic planning.

Specializing in improving education for low-income youth, O’Meara has conducted pivotal research on initiatives supported by major foundations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Her diverse career spans roles such as director of Policy and Research at GreatSchools, program officer at the Stupski Foundation in San Francisco; and policy director of the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative, part of the national Hewlett-Annenberg Challenge school-improvement effort.

She served as an AmeriCorps member after graduating college, teaching inmates at the Suffolk County House of Correction in Boston. She then went on to be a TK-12 educator before entering the realm of policy and research.

“I am grateful and honored to be a part of the Davis family’s tradition and legacy of giving and am excited to continue the foundation’s strong commitment to early literacy as a key lever to accessing opportunity,” O’Meara said. “I have deep respect for all those in this region doing important, challenging work every day to improve the lives of children and families.”

O’Meara grew up, studied, and worked in Massachusetts and spent 20 years in California before returning to the East Coast. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Kennedy School at Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College. In the community, she serves in leadership roles at Choate Rosemary Hall’s parent association and the Harvard Alumnae Assoc., and also volunteers at Healing Meals in Simsbury, Conn.

“We welcome Kiley to this critically important leadership position at the foundation. We identified her as a vital resource to the foundation when bringing her on board last year,” said Laurel Ferretti, Davis Foundation director. “She has played an important role in helping us develop our strategic priorities. Most of all, her work experience demonstrates her passion and her alignment with the goals of the foundation in advancing early learning, innovation in education, and helping people in our region access the tools necessary for their own economic success.”

SPRINGFIELD — The directors of the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation announced the appointment of Paul Belsito as executive director of the foundation, succeeding Mary Walachy, who has served in the position for the past 23 years. Belsito will begin his new role on June 1.

Belsito most recently worked for the Hanover Insurance Group in Worcester, where he served as president of the Hanover Insurance Group Foundation and assistant vice president for Community Relations. In his nearly eight years at Hanover, Belsito led charitable giving, community relations, and employee giving and service in the company’s efforts to improve the lives of Worcester’s youth.

The Hanover Insurance Group Foundation places special emphasis on programs designed to strengthen schools and propel youth to higher levels of success. One of Belsito’s signature initiatives was supporting the Advancement Via Individualized Determination college readiness program in Worcester Public Schools.

During her tenure, Walachy guided the foundation in establishing several signature initiatives, including Cherish Every Child, the nationally-recognized Reading Success by 4th Grade initiative, the 413families/familias community texting initiative, and the advocacy group Springfield Business Leaders for Education. Most recently, she led the effort to establish and build the innovative Educare Springfield early-education center, which opened in the fall of 2019 near the campus of Springfield College and Brookings Elementary School.

Walachy will continue to represent the Davis Foundation in its role as philanthropic lead for Educare Springfield, the 24th Educare in the country and the first in Massachusetts, through the end of 2020.

“I am honored to join the Davis Foundation to advance our shared goals of improving the lives of children and families in Hampden County,” Belsito said. “In our present time, the commitment of the Davis family has never been more important, and I am excited to expand on the great foundation that Mary and the board have established. The legacy of Irene and George Davis remains vital as we rethink and reimagine how our community can best meet the needs of all of its residents. I am excited to listen, to learn, and build on this legacy in partnership with the board.”

A native of Worcester, Belsito has long been deeply involved in his community, serving on numerous nonprofit boards, including corporator of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, associate trustee of the Nativity School of Worcester, and presently as chair of the board of the EcoTarium. In the last few months, he co-led the city of Worcester’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in support of COVID-19 pandemic response.

Belsito brings a diversity of professional experiences across higher education, politics, and government to the Davis Foundation in addition to his significant experience in philanthropy and community engagement. Prior to joining Hanover, he served in the Office of the President at Assumption College as executive assistant for Government and Community Relations, and as a district director in the Massachusetts State Senate. He holds a bachelor’s degree in management and an MBA, both from Assumption College.