Page 37 - BusinessWest October 27, 2021

Liz Dineen with the most recent Springfield Police Academy class, which made a donation to the YWCA’s programs.
Bay Path’s Criminal Justice department, she pursued and landed that role in 2009.
“I reinvented the department,” she said, “with a strong emphasis on developing women leaders within the criminal-justice arena.”
But in 2015, it was time to shift gears again, and this time, for the first time in her adult life, she took six months off to really think about the future. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next, and I knew
I was too young to retire,” she said, so she asked people who knew her well what they envisioned for
her. “The answer that kept coming backwastogofora judgeship.”
So, with encouragement from judges and others she had interacted with,
she applied for
a Superior Court judgeship in December 2015. But then something unexpected happened — something that would completely alter Dineen’s life and career, but made perfect sense along her journey as a Woman of Impact.
of the Y’s programmatic issues, like domestic violence and sexual assault. “It was a real learning curve in terms of how nonprofits work, how to go about maintaining the funding we already have, obtaining new funding, and seeking new opportunities to expand.”
In March, just a few months into the job, the state’s Judicial Nominating Committee contacted Dineen, wanting to interview her for that judgeship. When she told the executive committee of the YWCA board, they didn’t want to lose a good thing — and offered her the CEO position permanently. She said she’d need some time to think about it.
“But the more I thought about it, the more I thought, ‘if I take this position, I can be proactive.
If I’m on a bench, I have to be reactive, meaning I have to wait for cases to come to me.’ And you can’t be political at all if you’re a judge. You have to be very selective in terms of who you’re associating with so you avoid any appearance of impropriety or preference. So I said, ‘OK, let’s try it. Let’s stay here and see what happens.’”
Importantly, she noted, “I saw it as an opportunity to continue to serve women and children. I saw it as an opportunity to grow this organization and to be
a changemaker in the nonprofit arena, especially on issues relating to women and children. And I have not regretted it.”
Besides growing the organization from 70 employees to 150 in just five and a half years, she has developed and expanded a number of programs, all with the YWCA’s mission — to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote social justice — in mind.
The YWCA offers 22 programs, residential and non- residential, to support women and girls, including a large domestic-violence shelter, residential housing
Opportunity Knocks
It was the YWCA of Western Massachusetts, which was looking for an interim executive director, and reached out to ask if she would consider the role.
Coincidentally, Dineen had just finished reading Year of Yes, a book by TV production powerhouse Shonda Rimes. “The whole message was, ‘don’t be afraid to say yes, even if you’re not 100% qualified,’” she said. “Men will say ‘sure,’ while women make sure every ‘T’ is crossed and every ‘I’ is dotted. So I said, ‘sure — I will throw my hat in that arena.’”
Two weeks later, she was on the job — with no nonprofit experience, but plenty of exposure to some
SPN 4641-1021
Women of
Where You Lead.
We are proud to support the Women of Impact honorees
who are making a difffffffffference every day by leading and driving change in our businesses and communities.
Congratulations to the 2021 Women of Impact honorees:
Jessica Collins, Executive Director, Public Health Institute
of Western Mass.
Elizabeth Dineen, CEO, YWCA of Western Mass.
Charlene Elvers, Director, Center for Service and Leadership, Springfififififield College
Karin Jeffffffffffers, President and CEO, Clinical and Support Options
Women of
Women of IMPACT
(413) 787-4000 | healthnewengland.org/community
IMPACTA PROGRAM OF BUSINESSWEST
A PROGRAM OF BUSINESSWEST
Women of IMPACT IMPACT A PROGRAM OF BUSINESSWEST
OCTOBER 27, 2021 37
Elizabeth Keen, Owner, Indian Line Farm
Madeline Landrau, Program Engagement Manager, MassMutual
Shannon Mumblo, Executive Director, Christina’s House
Tracye Whitfififififield, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Offiffiffiffifficer,
Town of West Springfififififield
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