Shining Stars: 2021 Diamond Award honorees

HANNAH GINLEY NANCY PALMER JO ANN SIMONS JUDY CRANNEY LAURA KURZROK SARA STANLEY

2021 Diamond Awards celebrate women of influence

Innovators. Achievers. Activists. Role models.

Those are the words repeatedly used to describe the first six recipients of the Chamber’s inaugural Diamond Awards.

The honorees represent the best of a community of extraordinary women in business on the North Shore.

They are highly regarded for demonstrating a commitment and passion for leading with purpose, empowering women, serving others and making an impact in their professional and personal lives.

Most importantly, perhaps, they inspire those around them to be their best selves.

Our 2021 Diamond Award recipients are:  Judy Cranney, of Beverly, retiring vice president and chief operating officer of Care Dimensions, based in Danvers  Laura Kurzrok, of Marblehead, community advocate and retired executive director of Eastern Bank

Charitable Foundation  Hannah Ginley, of Marblehead,chief people officer of Windover Construction, based in Beverly  Nancy Palmer, of Danvers, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Northeast Hospital Corporation,

which operates Beverly Hospital and Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester  Jo Ann Simons, of Swampscott, president and chief executive officer of Northeast Arc, based in Danvers  Sara Stanley, of Rowley, executive director of Healing Abuse Working for Change (HAWC), based in

Salem

On Tuesday, Sept. 21, The Chamber will celebrate their achievements at a Diamond Awards Breakfast from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Kernwood Country Club in Salem. Eastern Bank is the title sponsor of the breakfast. Visit northshorechamber.org for details.

On the pages ahead, we shine a spotlight on our honorees, offering a glimpse into their diverse careers and how they have chosen to make a difference in the world around them.

DIAMOND AWARD

North Shore Chamber of Commerce

Inspiring a culture of greatness

Hannah Ginley takes pride in helping everyone reach their full potential

When Hannah Ginley was hired by Windover Construction in 2010 to make its now 100 percent employee-owned construction management company even more employee-centric, she couldn’t have been more surprised to find there was no desk, no computer, no phone, not even a pencil waiting for her on her first day of work.

That night, Ginley who left a prized job at Harvard Business School, shed tears of doubt, but by morning, she was ready for action. The Marblehead native vowed no future Windover employee would ever have a similar experience.

Since the Beverly company identifies “having fun” as one of its three founding principles, she was determined to merge fun and function. Today, 12 years later, Ginley is the company’s Chief People Officer and is credited with creating an employee culture to which other companies aspire.

The impact Ginley has had on the 17-year-old company, its employees and the communities it serves hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Newbury resident received multiple nominations for one of the Chamber’s inaugural Diamond Awards, including one from Stuart Meurer, Windover’s president and CEO, himself.

“We are our people and Hannah leads us daily to ensure that we are consistently caring and nurturing our people,” wrote Tracey Hartford, vice president of client services at Windover, in her nomination of Ginley.

Photo by Amy Sweeney Hannah Ginley, chief people officer at Windover Construction, is a strong believer that work should be fun and fulfilling. Her Beverly office is adorned with items that bring her joy, including a painting created by her mother, which hangs in the background.

Courtesy photos

Hannah Ginley is thanked by a veteran during a Memorial Day cookout honoring local men and women for their service.

Ginley, right, picks crops with Windover’s Social Sustainability Committee.

While Ginley says it was a leap of faith on her part to join a company she believed trained its lens on employees, it became her role to bring that lens into sharp focus. In those early days, she shadowed founder Lee Dellicker, the current board chairman, to understand what was important to him and his co-founder, Steve Dodge. There were just over 22 employees then. Windover’s team has since grown to more than 80 today.

Ever humble, Ginley says the credit goes to the company and its leaders who think enough of its employees to create a C-suite, executive-level position that focuses on them. Today, her position is all encompassing. Her role from day to day may include interviewing prospective new hires, performance management, staff engagement, budgeting, recruiting, onboarding, offboarding and benefits management.

Ginley’s role is as diverse as her background. She grew up in Marblehead, where her parents owned their own commercial lobstering business. In fact, her dad owned the Andrea Gail and Hannah Boden fishing boats of “The Perfect Storm” fame. For a few years, her family lived on Deer Isle, Maine, before returning to the area.

After graduating from Marblehead High School, she attended UCLA in California for the predominance of her undergraduate education and then came back east to complete her bachelor’s degree in psychology and special education at Boston University. She married, started a family and did some teaching for two years.

For the next five years, she worked for her mentor, Martha Jones, and her software development company before becoming chief of staff for Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter.

All of her experiences have converged to make her who she is today. But perhaps it is the discipline instilled in her as a classically trained ballerina that makes her work seem effortless.

“I just love teaching people things and raising them up in their careers,” she says. “Inspiring someone to reach their potential excites me.”

The 57-year-old’s talents are not limited to Windover. She is active in a variety of facets within the community. She currently serves as a vice chair of the North Shore Chamber’s Board of Directors and was a recent member of the North Shore Regional Advisory Board of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.

Despite her busy schedule, Ginley, who lives in Newbury with her partner, Anthony Sanchez, always makes time for family.

The creator of a high-achieving culture, trailblazer, mentor and motivator are just a few of the ways colleague Valerie Lausier Collins, manager of training and development at Windover, describes Ginley — not to mention empathetic, approachable, enthusiastic and integrity.

Ginley turns the attention back to Windover’s leadership and its team.

“Work should be fun, engaging, with no Sunday night blues,” Ginley says. “I was able to find my niche. The company allowed me to channel talent. We have a great team of people who have great respect for culture and inclusion. You can feel the excellence in the room. They really care for one another.”

Her greatest professional achievement by far, she says, has been the creation of Windover’s six-year-old Social Sustainability Committee, in which a majority of the employees participate.

“The company and its employees give back to the community — to our neighboring veterans and those who are less fortunate, particularly women, children and families in need. Our fundraising is grassroots,” she says. “It’s a great way for us to come together as a company.”

— Ellen Small Davis, Impact contributor I

DIAMOND AWARD

North Shore Chamber of Commerce

A champion for a healthy community

Nancy Palmer has set a shining example in her leading role as a volunteer leader

Nancy Palmer’s rose and perennial garden will soon be receiving some extra attention now that she is easing toward retirement. If she tends to them with the tenacity with which she has built her professional and volunteer careers, they should be award-winning blooms in no time.

At the end of 2021, the 72-year-old is stepping down after 14 years as chairman of the Northeast Hospital Corporation Board of Trustees, of which she has been a member for nearly three decades. She will remain on the board through 2022.

The former manager for EG&G and General Electric has been a champion for the highest quality of health care on the North Shore, guiding hospital expansions, ensuring fiscal success and promoting safety and top-level performance, while fostering a culture of respect and kindness.

Her crowning achievement has been shepherding three local hospitals into the creation of a full-spectrum health care system, all while maintaining a community feel.

She is credited with leading the organization through several significant mergers over the last 29 years — starting in the early 1990s with Beverly Hospital’s acquisition of the former Hunt Hospital in Danvers, then the merger of Beverly Hospital with Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester and formation of Northeast Health Systems — all with unprecedented growth and success as a result, according to Northeast Hospital

Photo by Amy Sweeney Nancy Palmer, chairman of the Northeast Hospital Corporation Board of Trustees, enjoys a moment in the Healing Garden at Beverly Hospital. In addition to her commitment to maintaining quality health care in the region, Palmer has been steadfast in her support of the people working at every level of the organization.

Corporation President Tom Sands, who submitted Palmer’s nomination for a Diamond Award.

Later, as board chair, Palmer co-led the merger of Northeast Health System and Lahey Clinic, culminating in the formation of Lahey Health in 2012. Most recently, she has been at the fore of the merger with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, along with other community hospitals and organizations, to become Beth Israel Lahey Health, with the hospitals and the health systems serving as “models for successful affiliations.”

“A great deal of credit goes to Nancy’s leadership in bringing our hospitals through three mergers,” Sands wrote. “Nancy’s contributions to the system’s ethos, her firm belief in the ‘Just Culture’ model, her dedication to maintaining excellent quality and her leadership on key physical improvements at the hospitals are all critical to (our) success.”

Palmer came to her extensive volunteer career the way so many success stories happen — by accident. A graduate of Lynnfield High School and Katherine Gibbs College in Boston, she attended both Marymount College and Niagara University in New York. She later earned her bachelor’s degree in organizational behavior from the Program in Management for Business and Industries at Lesley College in Cambridge while working at GE.

She worked in a variety of sales, marketing and public relations roles before deciding to leave the corporate world shortly after remarrying to spend time at home.

“Immediately, I was bored,” she says.

Volunteering seemed like the answer. On her first day volunteering at the former Hunt Hospital, she learned the director of volunteers was retiring that day to pursue a career with Joann Patton, the daughter-in-law of Gen. George S. Patton. Joann Patton was launching a startup, Patton Consultant Services, to work with and assist nonprofits in strengthening and excelling in management and volunteerism.

Palmer went on to orchestrate a smooth merger of Hunt Aid Association with Beverly Hospital during the merger of the two health care facilities. Her efforts gained notice and she was invited to join Beverly Hospital’s Board of Trustees. Simultaneously, she was tapped by Patton as a consultant, which

Courtesy photo Nancy Palmer, right, poses with Denis Conroy, the former CEO of Northeast Health Systems, and his wife, Jeanne, during Northeast Hospital Corporation’s 2018 Awards Dinner.

Photo by Maura Wayman Photography Palmer celebrates the opening of the Emergency Department at Lahey Health in 2016.

provided an opportunity to travel and attend workshops and conferences led by industry leaders in volunteer management.

That education in volunteer management has served Palmer well in her many roles as a current or past board member of the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Care Dimensions, North Shore Music Theatre, the United Way, Board of Overseers at Salem State University, past chair of the cooperative education board at Gordon College and trustee emerita of St. John’s Prep,

Palmer believes her success has come because, “I am visible. I listen. I observe, and I build relationships.”

“Anything I have ever done is something I could be passionate about or I wouldn’t do it,” she says.

Sands says Palmer epitomizes what it means to be a volunteer leader through her dedication to serving her community. She has also set an example, helping to boost female representation on Northeast Health’s Board of Trustees, along with building more racial and ethnic diversity to better represent the population the health system serves, while also championing for women in leadership positions.

Although Palmer had planned to retire as board chair in 2020, she agreed to remain an additional year to see the hospitals through the COVID-19 pandemic. She also wanted to lead the national search for Beverly and Addison Gilbert hospitals’ new president, which culminated with Sands’ hiring this past spring. The two share a strong focus on supporting the people behind the organization at every level.

Retirement will mean more opportunity to tend to her gardens and other hobbies, as well as to enjoy more time at home in Danvers with her husband, Joe, and their golden retriever, Bennie. The couple share three grown children and two adult grandchildren.

Palmer says she was inspired in her advocacy and service work by Patton, who became her unofficial mentor. Palmer, in turn, hopes she inspires professionals who are developing their resumes and creating career paths.

“I encourage them to get involved in something. Find an interest and volunteer and see what difference you can make,” she says. “Find a mentor to help and guide you.”

Volunteering aside, Palmer’s advice to all is to be prepared.

“Always be prepared,” she says. If you are prepared, you will always shine.” — Ellen Small Davis, Impact contributor I

DIAMOND AWARD

North Shore Chamber of Commerce

‘I didn’t choose my career. My career chose me.’

Jo Ann Simons is personally driven to improve the world for people with disabilities

You can’t possibly tell Jo Ann Simons’ story without acknowledging the role her eldest child played in it.

When Jonathan Derr was born 42 years ago with Down syndrome, he became her personal and professional muse. Conversely, she became his loyal, determined advocate and eventually, by extension, the advocate of thousands of individuals with disabilities.

To say the Swampscott resident who today is president and CEO of Northeast ARC has made an impact on the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families is truly an understatement.

Since the moment her son entered the world in a hushed delivery room of a Boston hospital, she has been learning, planning, organizing, scheming, begging, cajoling and so much more to advance the quality of disabled individuals’ lives as well as the lives of their families.

A social worker by way of education, the Wheaton College undergrad earned a master of social work from the University of Connecticut.

It was through motherhood that she became a recognizable disability advocate.

Just hours after Jonathan was transferred to Boston Children’s Hospital following his birth, Simons asked about visiting him. She was coldly and callously told she was free to walk the city block from the hospital where she delivered him to Boston Children’s and

Photo by Amy Sweeney Jo Ann Simons, president and CEO of Northeast Arc, set out to “disrupt the world” more than 40 years ago. Over those four decades, she has worked to change the system to make it accountable and accessible to people with disabilities and their families.

maybe she could secure herself a wheelchair there.

This was followed by a visit from a social worker who was ill-equipped to help a 26-year-old, first-time mom of a baby with Down syndrome.

Simons quickly learned this wasn’t the exception. This was the rule. There were little, if any, services in place for children with Down syndrome or parents like herself and her husband, Chet Derr.

“I started making calls and realized the life I envisioned didn’t exist,” Simons, 68, says. “I didn’t want anyone else to go through what we were dealing with.”

Armed with a legal-sized pad of yellow paper and pen, she began tracking the deficiencies in a broken support system. Their collective experiences and insights resulted in Simons becoming involved in family support services and amassing an impressive resume in the intellectual and developmental disabilities field over the last four decades.

Starting in the 1980s, Simons worked for nearly a decade as director of Community Division and Family Educational Services for North Shore Arc, before it became Northeast Arc. She is crediting with starting the first Family Support Program in the state, in addition to a speaker series and an adaptive equipment exchange.

She then returned to the state arena, serving as deputy facility director for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation at the former Walter E. Fernald State School, followed by fifteen years leading the Arc of East Middlesex (now Communitas) as its executive director, which afforded her the opportunity for “remarkable, innovative, out-of-the-box thinking.”

From there, Simons further expanded her comfort zone. As president and CEO of the Cardinal Cushing Centers on the South Shore, she worked for seven years with the “formidable and devoted” Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi aiding children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

In January 2016, she rejoined what today is Northeast Arc based in Danvers, helping it grow to become the largest Arc in New England and the second largest nationally.

In a field that is faced with a wide variety of challenges, Simons is leading the charge to support some of the most vulnerable members of society in Massachusetts, says Noah Leavitt, director

Courtesy photo Jo Ann Simons shares a moment with her son, Jonathan Derr. She has dedicated her life to developing and improving services and opportunities so that her son and others with disabilities are afforded the chance to enjoy vibrant lives.

of marketing and communications for Northeast Arc.

“Jo Ann Simons is an inspiration because she is laser focused on working to change the lives of the 15,000 infants, children, adults and families the Northeast Arc serves who face the challenges of disability each day,” Leavitt wrote in nominating Simons for the Diamond Award.

“Jo Ann makes sure the Northeast Arc is there when families need the organization to provide services and support. ... When a support system does not exist, the agency will often create one.”

Simons has been instrumental in launching many progressive initiatives at Northeast Arc.

The Arc operates its own coffee shop, Breaking Grounds in downtown Peabody, where its Project Perk provides employment training in food services for individuals with disabilities.

The Arc Tank Competition Simons created has awarded $650,000 to date to support proposals that promise to positively disrupt the system for people with disabilities, and the agency’s Evening of Changing Lives has become an annual event highlighting the capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Her biggest undertaking came to fruition this year with the transformation of 26,000 square feet of highly visible space in the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers into the Center for Linking Lives.

The center now serves as a vibrant gathering place where individuals with disabilities can reach their full potential. It includes parcels, a retail shop exclusively selling sourced products made by individuals with disabilities or by companies owned by people with disabilities.

There is no better evidence of Simons’ work than her son, Jonathan.

A graduate of Swampscott High School, Jonathan went on to earn a certificate from Cape Cod Community College. For the last 22 years, he has lived independently in a home on Cape Cod.

He has more than 15 years logged with the Roche Bros. Supermarket Company, works out regularly, participates in four Special Olympic sports and serves as a golf ambassador for Best Buddies Massachusetts. Most of all, he is an adoring uncle to his sister Emily’s three sons.

“When I look back, I realize we accomplished more than I ever even imagined,” Simons says. “There are limitless opportunities for people with disabilities. Every day, we are shattering stereotypes and barriers.” — Ellen Small Davis, Impact contributor I

DIAMOND AWARD

North Shore Chamber of Commerce

‘Keep an open mind regarding your possibilities’

Judy Cranney found calling guiding families through their darkest moments

Judy Cranney has spent a lifetime caring for others.

Since earning her registered nurse diploma from the Salem Hospital School of Nursing in 1977 (she was in the school’s second-to-last graduating class), Cranney’s career in health care has extended from the hospital setting to long-term care, home care, education, elder affairs and, for the last 20 years, hospice and palliative care.

But it was three years ago when the impact of her work truly hit home.

Cranney found herself on the opposite side of hospice care — as her mother, Madeline Redmond, spent the final days of her life at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, which Cranney helped to develop and open in 2005.

Cranney says she was in awe of the staff who not only took care of her mother, but tended to her needs as a daughter, too.

The experience illustrated the rewards of a career choice Cranney made in 2002 when she left her position as director of health services at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs to join Hospice of the North Shore.

Over the next two decades, Cranney is credited with helping to grow the agency now known as Care Dimensions into what is the largest hospice and palliative care organization in Massachusetts.

While rising to become Care Dimension’s vice president and chief

Photo by Amy Sweeney Judy Cranney, retiring vice president and chief operating officer of Care Dimensions, says she is blessed to have had a career that has brought personal fulfillment while serving others.

operating officer, she fostered partnerships with numerous health care institutions; trained hundreds of clinicians and established a first-of-its kind nurse residency program; introduced innovative programs for children, veterans, centenarians and everyone in between; and expanded services to ease the endof-life experience for not just patients, but their families.

During her tenure, Care Dimensions has become a $70 million-a-year operation that has grown from aiding around 150 patients a day to close to 2,000 patients daily across 100 communities.

“I think I got out of it more than I gave,” Cranney, 65, says. “What we’ve had the honor of doing is coming into their lives at a vulnerable time and making a tough situation better on some level. It’s been an honor to do that and very, very rewarding.”

Looking back on her career as she prepared for her retirement this past August, Cranney said she’s pleased to see that hospice is now viewed as a valued component of the health care field and has become better understood and accepted within the community.

“Ninety percent of success in any industry, but particularly in health care, is related to relationships,” she says. “It takes time to build trust. But over time, there’s been an understanding that we’re in this together and want the best care for the patient and their family.”

Cranney says much has changed in health care over the last 45 years and the business has grown more closely monitored and regulated. Still, she says, the principles she learned at age 17 continue to guide her today.

“It’s about remembering why we’re here. We’re here to take care of patients and families … to be professional and put the patient and family first,” she says. “That’s not changed ‘til today.

“… I don’t want to say there hasn’t been profound sadness in this. You’re not doing it right if you’re not saying, ‘I cannot do this another day,” and then not waking up the next day saying, ‘I can’t imagine not doing this.’”

While she’s proud of most everything she’s accomplished in her career, she says she feels especially gratified knowing that she’s mentored those who will take care of her someday and that she’s leaving Care Dimensions in good hands.

“Judy’s positive influence, values

Courtesy photos Judy Cranney, second from right, attends an event in support of Care Dimensions with, from left, Moses Mugwanya, Steven Mullin and Alecia Dufour.

Cranney, right, and her therapy dog Redmond, seen with her assistant, Cheryl MacDonald, have been a comforting pair at Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers.

and character are felt throughout Care Dimensions, extending across the breadth of the organization and reaching down through every department and role,” wrote Jean Graham, Care Dimensions’ senior director of marketing, in Cranney’s Diamond Award nomination.

“She is known nationally for her invention and creativity in developing programs that benefit our patients and their families, the communities we serve, and the employees who follow her lead. Judy embodies leadership, achievement, ingenuity and integrity and is a role model to all who know her.”

Cranney hopes to explore some new volunteer opportunities in retirement, as well as enjoy more moments with her large extended family and her two goldendoodles, Redmond and PJ, who are both trained therapy dogs. She and her husband, Patrick, who is retired from the insurance field, recently sold their home of 30 years in Beverly and are relocating to Kennebunk, Maine.

She advises those just beginning their careers to avoid pigeonholing themselves. She says she never expected when she was graduating from nursing school that she’d find such fulfillment in the hospice field or go on to become a top-level administrator.

“Follow a path in doing things that you love and have a passion for,” she says. “I’ve had a wonderful career with great experiences and great opportunities, and what I learned in one position helped me in the next.” — Sonya Vartabedian, The Chamber I

DIAMOND AWARD

North Shore Chamber of Commerce

‘It takes a village to impact change’

Laura Kurzrok has helped to fulfill countless dreams and missions through her charitable work

Laura Kurzrok has never been afraid to walk through doors.

With each door she’s entered, she’s gained new opportunities, pushed the boundaries of herself and helped scores of people in the process.

Her career has taken her from the retail industry to the legal sector to the philanthropic arm of the banking field.

It’s in that last arena where she truly found her passion as executive director of the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation.

During her 19-year tenure with what is now simply Eastern Bank Foundation, Kurzrok helped to funnel more than $120 million into the community to support myriad nonprofit organizations throughout eastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

She says working for the Foundation allowed her to use her business lens to partner with her banking colleagues and direct the earnings of a for-profit corporation into doing great work in the community.

“What gave me satisfaction in doing that job was getting dollars into the community that were impactful,” she says, “and making the connections — connecting one organization with another or helping one person better understand resources that were available to them.”

Joining the Foundation was not part of Kurzrok’s life plan. A native of

Photo by Amy Sweeney Laura Kurzrok, retired executive director of Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, continues to serve the community, including the Salem-based, culinary-driven program Roots.

Newton, she went to work in the executive training program for Macy’s after graduating from Vassar College in New York with a degree in psychology. The next 12 years were spent as a women’s sportswear buyer for various retail organizations, including Filene’s and Talbots.

After taking some time off after the birth of her first child, Kurzrok went to work part-time as a paralegal for Goldman & Goldman in Swampscott. She toyed with the idea of going to law school before deciding that wasn’t the right path. But she says the job, which she held for seven years, afforded her a chance to develop a range of skills that later proved invaluable.

In 2001, when Eastern Bank was seeking a dedicated director for its charitable foundation, Kurzrok opened the door.

“It really filled many gaps with me,” she says. “I loved my time in retail traveling all around the world. It was very exciting. But it wasn’t helping to make the world a better place.”

Eastern Bank had started its charitable foundation with a noble vision to direct 10 percent of its net earnings annually to charitable causes.

When Kurzrok joined the Foundation, the value of the endowment was $17 million, and it contributed $800,000 in donations to the communities the bank served.

Nineteen years later, under Kurzrok’s direction, the endowment increased to over $130 million, with nearly $10 million in philanthropic support provided annually.

There are few human service, social service and youth organizations that have not been touched by the Foundation’s generosity over the years. Funds have supported everything from Little League teams and local Chambers of Commerce to community health centers, Boys & Girls Clubs, food pantries and women’s shelters.

Recently, when Eastern transitioned from a mutual bank to a publicly traded entity, it made a sizable contribution to the Foundation, significantly increasing the depth of its philanthropic work and community impact.

Kurzrok says she’s especially proud that the Foundation has helped to bring programs and services once available only in Greater Boston to the North Shore. The Posse Foundation, which gives low-income students opportunities to attend college, is one such

Courtesy photo Laura Kurzrok, second from right, has helped to advance many charitable causes, including filling backpacks for students supported by the Cradles for Crayons program.

example.

“I’ve had the opportunity and privilege to work with a spectrum of organizations that change the trajectory of families,” she says.

Joe Riley, executive vice president of retail banking services for Salem Five, credits Kurzrok for her tremendous compassion, strong business acumen, pragmatic and strategic thinking, and rock-solid commitment to all her endeavors.

“Laura has always generously given of herself and her knowledge to educate others in achieving their goals,” Riley wrote in nominating Kurzrok for a Diamond Award. “She is someone who has spent a professional lifetime giving awards, which results in the oversight of someone so deserving not receiving them.”

Beyond her work at Eastern, Kurzrok has held volunteer positions with the Marblehead Schools, Temple Emanu-El in Marblehead and Girls, Inc., of Lynn, and she has served as a mentor to North Shore youths.

She and her husband, Steven, a retired cardiologist at North Shore Medical Center, have lived in Marblehead for 30 years, where they raised their two children, both of whom are recently engaged.

In retirement, Kurzrok, 67, hopes to continue giving back while carving out more time for traveling and the many outdoor recreational pursuits she enjoys.

She recently was appointed to the Board of Directors of North Shore Community College’s Foundation. During the pandemic, she put her cooking skills into action for Lasagna Love, a volunteer effort that helps to provide warm meals for locals in need.

She’s also working with the Salembased ROOT, an entrepreneurship program in the culinary arts for young adults, to find ways to engage community members in the initiative.

Kurzrok believes strongly that it takes a village — a collaboration of many individuals and organizations from the business and nonprofit worlds all working together — to make a difference and ensure a vibrant community.

She encourages all young adults to follow their passion, to work hard and to not be afraid to net-work.

“Any door you open is going to present a whole spectrum of opportunities that you may not have anticipated,” she says. “… Not everybody has the privilege or opportunity to spend their working life fulfilling a passion, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it in some other way. Volunteer or join groups you like or just do something nice for a neighbor in need. There’s always an opportunity to give back.”

— Sonya Vartabedian, The Chamber I

DIAMOND AWARD

North Shore Chamber of Commerce

A proven ally in their corner

Sara Stanley is a fierce advocate for survivors of domestic violence

Even before she had earned her law degree, Sara Stanley was working on behalf of survivors of domestic violence.

So it’s no real stretch of the imagination to find the 2007 Suffolk Law School graduate in the role of executive director of Healing Abuse Working for Change (HAWC), a North Shore domestic violence nonprofit.

The 43-year-old organization provides comprehensive services to survivors of domestic violence living in 23 cities and towns throughout the region.

A typical year sees HAWC aiding 2,300 survivors, although last year, during COVID-19, the agency served closer to 1,500 clients.

While numbers tell one story, the impact the 41-year-old has had on survivors of domestic violence is immeasurable, going back to her early days in law.

As a law school student, she volunteered with Shelter Legal Services at Rosie’s Place, a women’s shelter in Boston, and helped survivors apply for abuse prevention orders at the Suffolk County Courthouse.

As a young attorney, she represented survivors through the Middlesex District Attorney’s Pro Bono Program and Women’s Bar Foundation.

“Domestic violence survivors, even then, were near and dear to my heart,” says Stanley, who grew up in northern Vermont and earned her undergraduate degree from Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

Although she ventured into other

Sara Stanley has been working to improve the lives of women since law school. She rose from hotline volunteer to executive director of the Salem-based HAWC (Healing Abuse Working for Change) in just four years.

Photo by Amy Sweeney

areas of law, including commercial litigation and family law, it was the cases that involved empowering women and survivors that interested her. While researching one particular case, a colleague recommended that she reach out to HAWC as a resource.

“I was unfamiliar with HAWC and was blown away by its work,” she says.

In 2014, she signed on as a hotline volunteer for HAWC and offered to work pro bono for the organization’s clients. In 2015, the Salem-based agency invested in in-house counsel and hired Stanley.

“Law is such a rewarding way to help people be seen and heard in the courtroom,” she says. “There is nothing like the look on someone’s face when they walk into a courtroom with an attorney.”

There are myriad issues that often result from domestic violence, including custody, marital, financial, housing concerns and damaged credit.

“Legal issues have a huge impact on survivors moving on with their lives in a way that is safe and in a way they can thrive,” she says.

In 2017, in anticipation of HAWC’s former executive director, Paula Harrington, stepping down, Stanley was named deputy director of the organization. She assumed the lead role the following year.

Paul Kurker, senior vice president and regional team leader at Eastern Bank, who nominated Stanley for the Diamond Award, credits her for displaying “immense leadership strength” in her six-plus years at HAWC.

“Domestic violence is a complex and insidious issue, and Sara approaches the ever-shifting landscape of crisis work with a calm demeanor,” Kurker says.

“Sara rapidly grew the agency’s pro bono attorney network and legal team to best support survivors grappling with the complex court system. … She had a clear vision and goal to ensure survivors had access and equitable support within the legal system.”

While core services have remained the same under her direction, Stanley says there is an increased commitment to funding legal services in both immigration and family law.

In her three years at the helm of HAWC, Stanley has overseen the creation of a comprehensive annual corporate partnership giving program to strengthen the nonprofit’s relationships with its corporate supporters. She has

Courtesy photos

Sara Stanley, right, joins women in pledging to #PressforProgress, part of a 2018 International Women’s Day campaign focused on bolstering gender parity.

Stanley, front row, second from right, participates with HAWC in the North Shore Pride Parade.

also led the charge of securing additional foundation support to expand the agency’s innovative Parent Child Trauma Recovery Program to Cape Ann, which was an identified need within that region.

“Supporting survivors of domestic violence is the best investment you can make in a community,” Stanley says. “We (HAWC) understand the community because we are members of the community. We are very grassroots.”

Stanley is committed to championing positive public policy changes and social justice initiatives that will help prevent violence and support equity in all its forms. In addition to her role at HAWC, she is an active member of the Board of Directors of Jane Doe Inc., a statewide coalition against sexual assault and domestic violence, and serves as a commissioner on the Essex County Commission on the Status of Women. She and her husband, Joseph Atchinson, live in Rowley with their two children, Jack, 12, and Avery, 8.

“Most people don’t necessarily associate nonprofits with business leadership,” Kurker wrote, “but at HAWC, Sara and her team recognize that domestic violence is not just a social or public health problem, but also a pervasive economic and business challenge within our communities and beyond.”

For Stanley, it’s not about a lofty title. She is as hands on as the rest of the staff, even purchasing and delivering food, medicine and necessities for an ill client living in a secure hotel, as she did during the pandemic. Other times it might be a microwave for a new apartment or diapers for children or a disposable phone.

“No matter how big or small the need is,” she says, “we do our best to make it happen.”

— Ellen Small Davis, Impact contributor I