Tom doesn't just talk about what needs to happen - he's spent his career making it happen. From championing immigrants as job creators at MassTLC to founding the Net Zero Institute to expanding college access on the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, he's built coalitions across business, government, and nonprofits that deliver tangible results. His track record proves he can turn progressive values into real change that creates opportunity for everyone.
TRACK RECORD:
A Record of Bringing People Together and
Delivering Results
ECONOMIC & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (2008-2022)
As President & CEO of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council for fourteen years, Tom built coalitions across business, government, education, and nonprofits to create opportunity and grow Massachusetts' innovation economy.
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Workforce Development & Opportunity
Tom championed workforce pathways that opened doors for people from all backgrounds. He worked with education institutions to help them align training with employer needs, advocated for policies that expanded access to careers in technology, and built bridges between communities and opportunity.
Under his leadership, MassTLC connected employers with workforce development organizations, supported training programs, and helped create conditions for Massachusetts' innovation economy to add tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic value, growth that created opportunities across income levels and communities.
Immigration Advocacy
Tom's commitment to immigrant rights is both personal and professional. His grandfather immigrated from England and worked as a janitor at Seattle Power & Light, building a better life for his family through hard work and sacrifice. Tom's other grandfather was a truck driver who never finished high school. Both believed deeply in education as a pathway to opportunity.
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Growing up, Tom's parents approached their church about sponsoring a Cambodian refugee family. When the church wasn't able to take on the sponsorship directly, they agreed to support Tom's family in becoming direct sponsors. The congregation rallied with donations, clothing, and assistance. Tom helped his mother with resettlement work, connecting families to services, helping with paperwork, and building genuine friendships.
The experience was so rewarding that Tom's family became a model, inspiring other families in the congregation to sponsor refugees the following year. Their families visited each other's homes, their children vacationed together in the Adirondacks, and Tom attended one of their children's weddings in Lowell with his mother. When Tom visits home, he often stops by their booth at the local farmers market. Tom's family's involvement with the local refugee community continues to this day, more than 40 years later.
As President of MassTLC, Tom brought this perspective to his professional advocacy. Following divisive national rhetoric about immigrants, he organized the business community to make clear that immigrants are job creators, innovators, and essential contributors to Massachusetts' economy.
He commissioned economic research documenting immigrant contributions to Massachusetts and the nation, then led MassTLC in filing amicus briefs in federal district courts, appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the important role of immigrants. The economic analysis was cited by Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor in footnotes in Supreme Court dissenting opinions.
When the Trump administration implemented the Muslim travel ban, Tom stood with then-Attorney General Maura Healey and organized business leaders to push back against discriminatory policies that harmed families and damaged our economy.
Inclusive Innovation
Tom designed and launched the Board-Ready Bootcamp, an award-winning program preparing women, LGBTQIA+, and leaders of color to serve on corporate and nonprofit boards. The program has graduated hundreds of participants and helped increase diversity in board leadership across Massachusetts.
Following George Floyd's murder in 2020, Tom convened over 100 technology companies to commit to a Tech Compact for Social Justice, focusing the industry on concrete actions to advance racial equity in hiring, promotion, supplier diversity, and community investment.
Under his leadership, MassTLC achieved gender parity (50% women) and 25% BIPOC representation on its own board, modeling the diversity it advocated.
Public-Private Partnership Leadership
Tom co-chaired the Legislative Tech Caucus Working Group supporting Tech Caucus Founder & Senate Chair Karen Spilka, later succeeded by Senate Chair Brendan Crighton when she became Senate President, and the late House Chair Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, engaging public and private sector leaders around initiatives to accelerate growth and opportunity.
As a leader in the innovation community during the formation of the Mass Life Sciences Initiative, MassChallenge, and the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, he was able to see first hand how public-private partnerships created jobs and strengthened Massachusetts' competitive position.
IMMIGRATION ADVOCACY & ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Tom has been a consistent champion for immigrants as essential contributors to Massachusetts' economy and communities.
At MassTLC, he commissioned comprehensive economic research documenting immigrant contributions to the Massachusetts and national economies. This research was cited by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor in their dissenting opinions challenging the Muslim travel ban.
When the Trump administration implemented discriminatory immigration policies, Tom stood with then-Attorney General Maura Healey and organized business leaders to push back. He led MassTLC in filing amicus briefs in federal district courts, appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the critical role of immigrants as innovators and job creators.
He organized the business community to make clear that immigrants are not just workers to be tolerated, but essential contributors who strengthen our economy, create jobs, drive innovation, and make Massachusetts competitive globally.
CLIMATE LEADERSHIP
Net Zero Institute (2023-Present)
In 2023, Tom founded the Net Zero Institute to accelerate corporate decarbonization by building community among sustainability leaders working inside companies to drive change.
The Institute has grown to over 500 participants, corporate sustainability leaders working in or with companies across all sectors and coming together to share challenges, learn from each other's approaches, and build the business case for climate action as core strategy.
Unlike organizations that protest or pressure companies from outside, the Net Zero Institute works within businesses to help leaders share insights and make the case for decarbonization as economically smart, not just morally right. This inside-out approach recognizes that business must be part of climate solutions, and that sustainability leaders need community and support to succeed.
Tom leveraged open-space methodologies to enable peer learning and collaboration, hosting both structured sessions and their popular unconferences to foster discussions featuring sustainability executives from companies like Biogen, Akamai, PTC, UKG, and dozens of others. The Institute bridges business community and climate action in practical, results-oriented ways.
Winchester Climate Leadership (2021-Present)
As Winchester School Committee member and former Chair, Climate Advisory Committee liaison, and Energy Management Committee member, Tom championed local climate solutions that deliver both environmental and economic benefits.
Net Zero School Building
Tom advocated for Winchester's first all-electric net-zero building with town-owned solar. At key decision points, he pushed for full net-zero (not just "net-zero ready") and direct town ownership (not third-party PPA), ensuring maximum long-term taxpayer benefit and environmental impact.
The project includes rooftop and ground-mounted solar arrays that will generate a significant cost savings for the town while eliminating fossil fuel use. It demonstrates that climate action and fiscal responsibility align when approached with systems thinking.
Policy Advocacy
Tom was a key advocate on the School Committee in support of the Specialized Stretch Energy Code, a precursor for the approval of Town Meeting, which was needed to become a Climate Leader community. Beyond advocating for our net zero school, he has been a champion for ongoing electrification, decarbonization, and building efficiency improvements across town facilities.
Community Education
Tom has presented multiple times on climate and other matters at Town Meeting, educating fellow citizens on the business case for climate action, long-term cost savings, and opportunities to reduce emissions while saving taxpayer money.
Systems Thinking on Climate
Tom's climate leadership demonstrates his core approach: see the big picture, build coalitions, use data, find shared interests, get things done.
He understands that climate action creates jobs, from HVAC technicians to solar installers to electricians. That energy efficiency saves money. That clean energy is economic development. That businesses can be partners in climate solutions when you help them see their interests align with environmental goals.
This isn't choosing between environment and economy. It's recognizing they strengthen each other when approached with systems thinking.
EDUCATION & ACCESS
Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (2014-2019)
Appointed by Governor Deval Patrick and reappointed by Governor Charlie Baker, Tom served on the 13-member Board of Higher Education during a transformative period for Massachusetts public higher education. He served on the Executive Committee and chaired the Fiscal Affairs and Administrative Policy Committee, providing oversight of higher education budgets and financial sustainability.
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Equity as First State Priority
Tom was part of a board that made Massachusetts the first state in the nation to adopt equity as its top higher education priority, a landmark shift that put access and opportunity at the center of state policy.
This wasn't just rhetoric. The board backed it up with concrete actions that opened doors for thousands of students.
Expanding Financial Aid (MassGrant Plus)
The board championed MassGrant Plus, the first significant expansion of state financial aid in two decades. This program increased aid for low- and moderate-income students, making public higher education more accessible to families who had been priced out.
Commonwealth Commitment
The board created the Commonwealth Commitment, which freezes tuition for students who start at community college and transfer to a state university. This saves families thousands of dollars and creates a clear, affordable pathway from community college to bachelor's degree.
Protecting Students (THESIS Framework)
The board established the THESIS (Transitions in Higher Education: Safeguarding the Interests of Students) framework to protect students when colleges face financial difficulties or close. This ensures students can complete their education even when institutions struggle, preventing them from losing credits and financial investments.
Innovative Solutions (NSCC-Uber Ride Program)
Tom conceived and championed the North Shore Community College (NSCC)-Uber Ride program. He learned that students at NSCC's Danvers campus struggled to get to class because the campus wasn't well-connected to transportation hubs, a barrier to educational access that disproportionately affected black and brown students whose car ownership was less than that of white students.
Rather than just advocating for better bus service, Tom convened college leadership with Uber to propose a collaboration around reduced-fare rides connecting students to North Shore transportation hubs. It's one of only a few such innovative programs offered nationally, and it demonstrates Tom's systems-thinking approach: identify the barrier, understand the ecosystem, bring the right partners together, and create a practical solution.
Winchester School Committee (2021-Present)
As an elected school leader, Tom has championed transparency, equity, special education advocacy, climate action, and data-driven decision making.
Special Education Advocacy
Based on personal family experience navigating educational supports for children with diverse learning needs, Tom has been a vocal advocate for students requiring additional services. He works to ensure all students have access to supports they need to reach their potential, reduce wait times for evaluations, and improve communication between schools and families. Tom has taken his advocacy for mental health beyond the school committee table to Beacon Hill, testifying on bills related to PANS/PANDAS on a number of occasions.
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Healthcare/Mental Health
His interest in mental health policy goes back to law school, where he published a legal analysis on civil commitment of minors to mental institutions, tracing how protections for young people and mental health patients had each increased over time independently. He highlighted how a Massachusetts case that involved civil commitment of minors went the other way, reducing rights for minors being committed, showing that progress isn't linear and the rights of those least able to defend themselves need to be continuously held up and protected.
Transparent Decision Making
As chair, Tom led the committee through significant decisions using transparent, independent third-party data-driven processes to determine the ground truth, from which the district could build a plan. Following Open Meeting Law, he ensured public access to information via public access coverage of meetings, encouraged community input through public comment, and worked with the committee to be sure policy decisions were explained to the public.
Budget Oversight
Tom has advocated for responsible budgeting that balances educational quality, fair teacher compensation, and taxpayer impact. While serving as a member of the Budget Subcommittee, he made a point to probe all options for meeting needs while supporting investments that directly benefit students.
Climate & Facilities Leadership
Beyond his advocacy for the net-zero school building, Tom has pushed for:
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GIS consultant training for district staff (improving facilities data and planning)
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Energy efficiency improvements across school buildings
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Long-term capital planning that considers climate and efficiency
Committee Leadership
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Chair (2023-2024): Led meetings, worked with the Vice Chair and Superintendent to set agendas, represented committee publicly, conducted superintendent performance review
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Vice Chair (2022-2023, 2024-2025): Supported committee operations and strategic planning
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Current service continues through March 2027