UMass Boston Magazine - Spring 2022

“ My story can be a story of empowerment for many other women like me, because it shows that it is possible to achieve against all odds.”

Natalicia Tracy ’05, G’05 is working to make safe and inclusive workplaces a reality for millions

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atalicia Tracy’s career speaks for itself.

A double Beacon who went on to earn her PhD, become a UMass Boston professor, and lead Boston’s Brazilian Worker Center as executive director, she has spearheaded labor initiatives in Boston and around New England, and now has the chance to affect change on a national scale.

Tracy ’05, G’05 was recently appointed to serve as senior policy advisor for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).

It is success that she has earned over years of tireless effort on behalf of workers. But what truly makes Tracy’s story stand out is what she had to overcome to achieve it.

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UMass Boston Spring 2022

GRAY MILKOWSKI ’18

Originally from Brazil, she was brought to the United States at the age of 19, speaking little English and having very little formal education.

In her first years in the country, she worked in disparate conditions as a nanny, where she was paid far below minimum wage while working more than 90-hour weeks.

hand in making safe workplaces a reality for millions. Working alongside the assistant secretary, Tracy has been part of the team responsible for issuing COVID-19 safety and health standards and guidance for the nation’s jobsites, with an eye on keeping workers as safe as possible during the pandemic.

“I always felt that I had gone through hell and back,” said Tracy, recalling what she endured. It was an experience that would go on to shape a career focused on making sure no other person would have to go through the same things she did.

Another key part of her role is focused on the department’s diversity and inclusion agenda, specifically, “assessing what we can do to expand our efforts to protect our workers, including workers who have been historically underserved and have been susceptible to more dangerous working conditions.”

Today, as she approaches her fifth month working with the Department of Labor, she is in an unprecedented position to have a

Reflecting on her work and everything she has accomplished, Tracy credits her family for instilling in her the