Color Magazine Online

The BCCJ's network of socially responsible leaders is changing the way we do business in Boston

Baez, was first exposed to BCCJ when she participated in their leadership program for high school students, InIt, in 2007. Like many who have completed a BCCJ program, she has stayed connected with the organization ever since.

"At BCCJ, the best thing I've learned is that change is possible. By working together you can make a difference in your community," Baez said. (Her school absence was actually excused; she was on her way to an internship at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.) And when asked if she would recommend BCCJ Programs to her friends, her answer was unequivocal, "I've been telling them to do it ever since I finished the program."

While Baez is beginning her career, and the LeadBoston class she observed was comprised of mid- to senior-level professionals, most BCCJ alumni share similar sentiments.
"I've participated in three other leadership programs in Boston and I find LeadBoston to be my niche, because it's all about the social entrepreneurial aspect of leadership," said Michael James, director of diversity and community relations at Boston Architectural College (BAC).

The 56 members of the LeadBoston class of 2009 attended ten daylong classes, over the course of a year to graduate. For their capstone projects, teams chose a disadvantaged neighborhood and created a hypothetical community development plan; James and his team proposed a supplier diversity initiative to encourage companies in and around Chinatown to do more business locally.

"LeadBoston is unique in that we get to experience (communities) first hand," James said, "But at the same time you go back and have real discussions. Not about how to brand yourself... but how you are. It teaches you true leadership qualities."

These qualities are evident in the powerful alumni network BCCJ has built since its inception in 1943 when it was the National Conference for Community Justice (NCCJ). For example, James's boss - BAC President and LeadBoston alumnus, Ted Landsmark - strongly encouraged him to attend the program.

Since BCCJ became an independent organization - as opposed to an NCCJ chapter - the organization has emphasized their alumni network.

"We are always looking for ways to leverage this fabulous group of people who are our alums," said Todd Fry, BCCJ executive director and LeadBoston alumnus. "Particularly starting in 2008, we have told them not think of this as just a program, think of this as a gateway experience to an ongoing community of socially responsible people."

The BCCJ also offers customized services to companies in their business network, including trainings, assessments, internal program development, consulting and external bridge building. "Our whole mission is developing a community of socially responsible leaders," Fry explained.

Not surprisingly, when the class presented their final projects there were alumni there to critique it, like Bank of America senior vice president Wendell Chestnut.

"I'm a big Batman fan and I always equate BCCJ to the Bat Phone. Once you go through this and become an alum, you can pick up the phone and whoever you get on the end of the line will literally come to your rescue if they have been through this program," Chestnut said.

Members of the BCCJ network, like Chestnut, are the vigilantes of the corporate world, and while they don't wear masks or capes to work, they do wear their passion for community justice on their sleeves.

For more information visit: www.bostonccj.org.