Dave Madan is back at The Builder Coalition, and making it bigger than ever.
In 2017, the real estate developer started what was then the Builders of Color Coalition in his living room, to bring more people of color into the construction and development sectors. Eventually, it morphed into a full-fledged nonprofit that offers six-month fellowships for aspiring builders and networking opportunities.
Madan stepped away a few years ago to work on his development ventures, and to spend time in Greenville, S.C. Then the group’s first full-time executive director, Colleen Fonseca, stepped down last fall to join Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration, as the equity and inclusion manager in the city’s housing office. Pretty soon, Madan’s former colleagues on the coalition board were asking him to return as its new executive director.
Under Madan’s leadership, the group shortened its name to The Builder Coalition, or TBC. The focus, he said, is on opening doors “for all talented individuals, especially those who have historically lacked access to key networks and resources.” Its mission now includes a “TBC Innovation Center” think tank, essentially consulting and convening services that it offers to help other communities diversify their development sectors. The first national Innovation Center event will be held in September, at the Seaport Hotel, to bring together real estate finance experts from around the country.
Madan leads a four-person staff, and hopes to add a fifth by early 2026, with an annual budget of around $1 million. The organization is also awaiting action from the Healey administration on a state budget earmark for another $150,000.
The coalition celebrated its new phase of growth Friday by hosting a fellowship kickoff event at the Bruce Bolling building in Roxbury and a tour of affordable housing sites where previous TBC fellows have foundations in the ground and wood frames going up.
Speakers included Representative Russell Holmes and Senator Liz Miranda (co-sponsors of the budget earmark), city housing chief Sheila Dillon, and Sabrina Correia from sponsor JPMorgan Chase & Co.
For Madan, it was inspiring watching this new class of 25 fellows — each one gets matched with two industry mentors — meet with previous fellows and observe how they’re changing the city in their own way.
“It’s a pretty incredible thing,” Madan said. “There were just big smiles when everyone got off the buses. They were like, ... ‘This is the real deal. Seeing is believing.’”
Banking on more English classes
When the findings of a MassINC report about the need for more career-focused English classes were announced a year ago at the UMass Club, those in the room looked around at each other and said, essentially, “We can solve this.”
The report showed that funding in Massachusetts for English proficiency classes was not keeping pace with the pressing need: One in 10 working-age adults in the state still had limited English skills.
“That report was really a galvanizing moment,” said Rahn Dorsey, chief executive of the Eastern Bank Foundation, a lead sponsor of the MassINC report.
Now, the report is translating into action. The Eastern Bank Foundation last week announced it is committing $10 million over three years to support English teaching programs in the state, with an eye toward filling workforce gaps. The news, announced at the State House, happened alongside the Healey administration’s announcement that the Legislature had pledged a separate $10 million for English proficiency work in a recent supplemental budget.
Foundation board chair Bob Rivers, who spoke at the State House event, said in an interview that it’s just a coincidence that the dollar amounts are the same.
The Eastern Bank Foundation recently hired Eva Millona as a foundation fellow to help lead this new initiative, with assistance from Jerry Rubin, the former chief executive of Jewish Vocational Service and another foundation fellow. Millona is back in Boston after serving in the US Department of Homeland Security. Previously, she led the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.
MassINC chief executive Joe Kriesberg said he was impressed to see the foundation’s financial commitment to this cause, saying it “supercharges” the Healey administration’s efforts.
“It’s certainly of a scale that you do not see very often from any kind of foundation or philanthropy,” Kriesberg said. “[It’s] courageous for Eastern ... to take this leadership role at a time when not everybody is standing up to support our immigrant communities.”
Getting machines to talk at SharkNinja
Making a “smart home” even smarter was one of the top missions for Mike Harris during his seven years at Amazon. Now, it will be one of his top missions at SharkNinja.
The Needham-based company has recruited Harris from Amazon to be its first-ever chief innovation and technology officer, as it tries to keep growing in the household products industry. Harris is moving here from the Philadelphia suburbs.
Harris said he’s been impressed with the pace of activity at the headquarters, with engineers tinkering with products around almost every corner, to improve on the flagship lines of Shark vacuums and Ninja blenders, as well as new lines ranging from smoothie makers to hair dryers.
The road to Amazon for Harris started at a startup called Zonoff, which specialized in connected-home software. Smart-home device company Ring acquired Zonoff’s staff in 2017, bringing Harris on board. Amazon gobbled up Ring roughly a year later.
Harris will lead SharkNinja’s electrical engineering and software efforts related to connectivity — figuring out how to get various electronic devices to talk with each other. He’ll report to Ross Richardson, SharkNinja’s chief design officer.
Now that he’s furnishing his new home in the Boston area, he may be in the market for SharkNinja products. He’s already hearing from others who want to place orders.
“All my friends and family have been sending me lists,” he added. “I’m going to have to set up a warehouse just to fulfill [their] needs.”
Rest-stop rivalry draws lobbyists
A redevelopment lease for 18 highway service plazas happens to be one of the biggest state contracts up for grabs this year. So naturally, the competition would draw a few of Boston’s biggest lobbying firms into the fray.
In the final round, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation ended up picking Irish retailer Applegreen over Waltham-based fuel supplier Global Partners.
Global has long been represented by Dorchester lobbyist Bobby White, whose firm, Robert F. White Associates, has several other fuel sector clients. On June 18, the day Applegreen was picked as the preferred bidder, Global also hired O’Neill and Associates, Boston’s third-busiest lobbying firm. Spokesman Reid Lamberty said Global has relied on White’s expertise over the years, and the company tapped O’Neill to “help us navigate MassDOT’s final decision on the RFP — specifically to gain insight into the process and receive guidance as we moved forward."
Global continues to make the case to MassDOT and Governor Maura Healey’s administration that its bid is better, primarily because it contains a higher rent price and because of Global’s local ties.
On Applegreen’s side, the Blackstone-backed company hired Smith, Costello & Crawford, the city’s busiest lobbying shop, last year to help craft the bid. Recently, Dempsey Associates, the city’s fourth-busiest lobbying firm, has been involved as Applegreen contractor Suffolk Construction’s adviser.
Jim Smith of Smith, Costello & Crawford said his firm’s advice to Applegreen was to be responsive to the top priorities of the Healey administration, namely to launch a major redo of the tired plazas — Applegreen will tear down and rebuild nine, and renovate the other nine — and to help spur more electric car usage. (Applegreen has pledged to install more than 750 new charging stations over the 35-year life of the lease.)
Smith, a Tesla owner, said the primary reason electric vehicles are not being more widely adopted is the concern over finding places to charge up when batteries are running low. The service plaza bid, he said, represented an opportunity to address that issue. Plus, the existing state plazas “are not in particularly good shape [and] are frankly embarrassing for a commonwealth that really relies on tourism” to help the economy.
“It wasn’t complicated at all,” Smith said. “Yeah, money was important but there were other things that were more important.”
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.