Joe Kriesberg leads the charge at MassINC to address income inequality

Solving income inequality and the struggles of the state’s middle class aren’t easy challenges. Good thing we have MassINC around to shine some light on those matters.

Leading the charge at the Boston nonprofit is chief executive Joe Kriesberg, who presided over its biggest fund-raiser in a decade on May 14 at the State Room. That night, the organization drew a crowd of around 350 people, raising some $600,000.

Now that that 30th anniversary party is over, it’s back to work for Kriesberg and his 20-person team, a group he has grown by six employees since joining in early 2023. The organization is essentially split three ways: an online newsroom focused on government news called CommonWealth Beacon and led by Laura Colarusso, a policy center directed by Ben Forman, and a polling group run by Steve Koczela.

Next on the horizon: a June launch of Massachusetts’ own version of Gigafacts, in which CommonWealth Beacon publishes 150-word “fact briefs,” often debunking misinformation in the public sphere. Also this summer, MassINC will launch leadership training for Gateway City leaders, a seminar series named after the late Greg Bialecki. And a periodic, detailed breakdown of the economic health of the state’s Gateway Cities — a term coined by MassINC to describe small- and midsized cities with below average income levels — is in the works.

MassINC is unusual among civic organizations because of its nonpartisanship. Its $4.5 million annual budget is funded largely by a mix of foundation grants, polling fees, individual donations, and corporate sponsors. The main mission hasn’t changed since its founding in 1996: tackling income inequality and ensuring economic opportunities are available to all, a mission that feels more important today than ever.

“We’re proud of what we’ve done over the last 30 years, but we know we have a lot more work to do,” Kriesberg said. “You can’t solve the problem if you don’t understand the problem. We’re in a unique position to make us all smarter about what’s going on.”

For Kriesberg, leading MassINC represents a natural extension of the work he did overseeing the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations for around 30 years. That job, like this one, involved cultivating more economic opportunities for working-class residents.

“I’m really excited to be in a different role [providing] platforms for conversations that bring people together,” Kriesberg said. “It feels like the right place for me at this stage in my career.”

Sonia Chang-Diaz reemerges at the Y

Nearly four years after dropping out of the race for governor, Sonia Chang-Diaz is reemerging into the public arena with a high-profile role at the YMCA of Greater Boston.

Chang-Diaz, the former state senator from Boston, is stepping into a newly created position as the nonprofit’s first chief external affairs officer, driving strategy across public and private partnerships, policy, communications, and fund-raising. She starts on June 4.

The goal, said Greater Boston YMCA chief executive David Shapiro, is to raise the organization’s profile beyond just being a “gym and swim” and to become a partner that works with government, business, and civic groups to solve systemic problems. A model is Pine Street Inn, a service provider that shapes policy on homelessness.

“People need to know we’re more than a gym,” said Shapiro.

Already, YGB — which is the state’s largest Y with 13 centers — provides early child care, affordable housing, food access, workforce training, and teen employment.

Chang-Diaz, who has been an independent consultant for social impact groups, enjoyed staying out of the spotlight after serving 14 years in the Legislature, where she was the state’s first Asian-American legislator and its first Latina in the Senate. But when her former chief of staff flagged the YGB posting, Chang-Diaz knew it was right for her.

A longtime Y member, Chang-Diaz recalled how the Y has been a constant in her life — from working out in college to using its “Child Watch” program for free child care as a young mother.

Chang-Diaz said the new YGB role reminds her of being an elected official – interacting with individual Y members, while working with stakeholders to achieve community-level outcomes.

“I did not leave a cynic,” the Jamaica Plain Democrat said of getting out of politics. “I feel really proud of the things that I got done during that time, but it’s not the end-all be-all. It’s not the only way to do social change.”

New pilot takes over at Logan Airport

Massport aviation guru Ed Freni is handing the controls over to his copilot, Sharon Williams.

The port authority board on Thursday approved a succession plan in which Williams will take over for Freni as executive director of aviation on July 1; David Ishihara will hop in the copilot seat as deputy aviation director.

Freni, who is in his 70s, steps down this summer after 26 years overseeing Massport’s airports: Logan, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional. He’s become a legend in the aviation field, and earns high praise for his professionalism by airline executives.

“He’s an institution, he’s beloved, he lives and breathes this airport,” Massport chief executive Rich Davey said in an interview. “It’s a huge loss for us. . . . At the same time, we all know this is a much-deserved retirement.”

Williams has worked 32 years at Massport, including 12 overseeing Hanscom, and is currently director of aviation facilities and passenger service at Logan. (She also earned her pilot’s license at age 17.)

When Davey joined as chief executive two years ago, Freni was filling in as chief executive but did not want to pursue that top job. Davey knew he would need to plan for Freni’s succession. He said he brought Williams back to Logan from Hanscom to see if she would be a good candidate.

Williams will be the second woman to lead aviation at Massport after Jane Garvey, who eventually became head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Davey said Williams is an incredible leader and a great mentor. She also shares his goal of ensuring Logan can become more customer friendly, without compromising safety.

“She’s got all the right tools, attitudes, leadership skills, and respect that will allow us to build on Ed’s legacy,” Davey said.

Williams briefly spoke about her upcoming promotion during the board meeting on Thursday, saying: “There’s no doubt I have very large shoes to fill, but I do have an incredible team of aviation professionals [to help].”

Keeping an eye on public sector growth

Gary Blank spent five years in key roles within the state government machine. Now, he’s at the Pioneer Institute, criticizing the growth of that machine.

Last week, the libertarian-leaning think tank released a report that Blank authored, comparing private payroll employment with government employment in Massachusetts. The bottom line: The government sector has grown significantly since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, while private sector jobs still have not recovered.

There were 471,000 federal, state, and local government employees in the state in 2025, roughly 15,000 more than in 2019. However, private sector employment was stuck at 3.2 million, just below 2019 levels.

Blank suggests a modest solution to the ballooning government sector: trimming about one-quarter of open positions through attrition, to avoid hiring freezes or layoffs that can make it challenging to hire the best talent. For the 46,000 workers who report up to Governor Maura Healey, that would translate to not filling about 1,000 positions each year.

Blank worked in administrative roles under former governor Charlie Baker, first in the Department of Revenue, and then at the Department of Transportation, before leaving in mid-2023. Before joining the Baker administration in 2018, he worked in public affairs at Fidelity Investments.

Pioneer is in the news lately because it’s a key player in the effort to bring a statewide income tax cut to the ballot box in November. But Blank, who joined Pioneer in January as a part-time senior fellow, said his research wasn’t influenced by that campaign.

“Either way, even if it fails,” Blank said of the ballot question, “we still need to be smarter about hiring people and growing these agencies.”