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 about the Community Foundation of Western Mass., and which she had come to respect from afar — or not really that far at all, depend- ing on your take; she’s a resident of West Springfield.
And that helps explain why, when the agency’s long-time presi- dent and CEO, Katie Allan Zobel, announced in the spring of 2022 (just a few weeks after Burke’s walk in downtown Springfield) that she would be stepping down at the end of the year, Burke became interested in the position, at the same time she was being recruited for it.
After several rounds of interviews, during which she would see and hear more things that impressed her, Burke was tapped to fill Zobel’s very large shoes, thus beginning an intriguing new chapter in a career marked by more than two decades of work in nonprofit management, philanthropy, fundraising, and advocacy, with a par- ticular focus on equitable access to economic opportunities and human rights.
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Her career has included work on issues ranging from advancing LGBTQ+ rights in a Latin American country, Nicaragua, to continu- ing efforts to ban landmines globally, to the challenge of leveling the playing field between those in urban and suburban communities in Northern Connecticut.
Summing it all up, Burke said it has been invigorating and rewarding work, which she is anxious to take to the 69 communities served by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts.
In a wide-ranging interview with Business- West just a few days after she began work in those offices on Bridge Street, Burke said her broad goal is to build on all that’s been accom- plished over the past several years to take CFWM well past check writing and into a role as convener and catalyst for positive change.
“Ihavealotto learn. I think I bring a lot to the job, but I have a lot to learn from the community about what they think is important and what they believe we should be doing better.”
 “I really want to spend at least the next
three months getting to know the folks who
are involved in the Community Foundation
and who’s not involved, and opening our doors even wider,” she explained. “And listening to people — I have a lot to learn. I think I bring a lot to the job, but I have a lot to learn from the community about what they think is important and what they believe we should be doing better.”
She said the Hartford Foundation has been able to mobilize resources and support efforts to more equitable economic and social mobility, and one of her goals is to amass similar forces and create momentum on that same front in Western Mass.
“In both Hartford and Springfield, and in pockets of the regions more generally, success for people is often more closely correlated to the zip code in which they were born than their own talents, cre- ativity, and hard work,” she said. “And I think that’s where the expe-
BusinessWest
<< FEATURE >>
FEBRUARY 6, 2023 5
 Megan Burke was amazed by the transparency she witnessed when looking in the windows of the Community Foundation offices on Bridge Street. It’s a tradition she intends to continue.
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