It is with great pride and some sadness that we announce that Colleen Dawicki, the PPC's Director of Urban & Community Development, will be leaving us to become the Senior Community Development Analyst with the Regional and Community Outreach team at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In her new position, Colleen will be supporting the implementation and future development of the  Working Cities Challenge, an initiative designed to improve the lives of low-income residents of smaller cities in Massachusetts and New England through the advancement of collaborative leadership. 

In recent years, Colleen led the way as the Urban Initiative (UI) became the Commonwealth's go-to organization for community-based research and technical assistance related to Massachusetts' Gateway Cities, with a special focus on Fall River and New Bedford. Since assuming leadership in 2011, Colleen has spearheaded the development of the  Southcoast Urban Indicators Project (SCUIP), which promotes informed decision-making through a user friendly website containing timely and relevant data and resources on a wide variety of topics.  She has also shaped the PPC's urban and community development research agenda which has included in-depth reports on topics such as education, public transit, housing, veterans affairs, and economic development. Throughout her time at UMass Dartmouth, Colleen's efforts have been aimed at helping local organizations build capacity and empowering community members to become actively engaged in improving outcomes for themselves, their neighbors, and their communities.

 But Colleen's most lasting achievement may be the cadre of past and current graduate students, undergraduate research assistants, and high school interns all of whom benefited greatly from her collegiality and mentorship while gaining valuable real-world experience working on various projects. Whether it was traipsing up and down Acushnet Avenue conducting surveys in the rain, meeting with clients, presenting results at various forums, or morning chats at our 128 Chase Road offices, her insight, leadership, and good humor were always present.  She will be sorely missed by her colleagues and our students.

And so we bid Colleen farewell and wish her the greatest success in her exciting new role.  We remain committed to continuing the great work that she started and look forward to future opportunities to work with you to help continue the wonderful tradition of excellent urban and community development work that she has been such an important part of creating.