Joan Wallace-Benjamin, PhD
Joan Wallace-Benjamin joined The Home for Little Wanderers in 2003 as President and Chief Executive Officer. Under her guidance, the agency gained prominence in the field of child and family service providers, becoming a leader in innovative programming for underserved populations and expanding its role of advocacy for all children.
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Previously, Joan was President and Chief Executive Officer of The Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts for 11 years and immediately prior to joining The Home, she served as a Consultant with Whitehead Mann, a global executive recruiting firm. She has also served as Director of Operations for Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston; Deputy Director of ABCD Head Start, and a Research Analyst for ABT Associates. Joan took a short detour from The Home in 2007 when she answered Governor-Elect Deval Patrick's call to serve as Chief of Staff on his transition team and in the first months of office. Joan has brought to her positions a remarkable array of skills and energy that have empowered and inspired the organizations to fulfill their missions of service, research and advocacy.
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Joan has received awards too numerous to list in full, but a sampling includes receiving the Distinguished Bostonian Award from the Boston Chamber of Commerce (2018); CEO of the Year Award from the Massachusetts Human Services Providers Council (2017); the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Non-Profit Network (2017); one of Boston magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Women, February 2011; the Henry L. Shattuck Public Service City Champion Award, October 2010; Urban League Civil Rights Award, April 2007; Pinnacle Award, Achievement in Management Non-Profit from the Boston Chamber of Commerce, January 2005.
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Joan holds 8 Honorary Doctorates from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (1993), Newbury College, Chestnut Hill, MA (2005), and Curry College, Milton, MA (2009) and Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA (in May 2011) New England School of Law, Boston (May,2013), William James College, Newton, MA (May 2016), Cambridge College, Boston, MA (May 2017), Simmons College, Boston, MA (May, 2018).
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Joan has served on the Board of Directors of Bridgewater State University and was appointed by Governor Patrick to co- chair the Families and Children Requiring Assistance Advisory Board. Joan is a former board member of City Fresh Foods Inc., Trustee of Wellesley College and member of the Board of Overseers for The Heller School for Social Policy & Management. Additionally, she has been a Corporation Member of Northeastern University and a Trustee of Pine Manor College. She now serves on the board of directors for Scholar Athletes and is the Advisory Board Chair for the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW). She graduated from Wellesley College with a BA in Psychology and received her Ph.D. from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.
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Joan has been elected to the board of directors of the Chase Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company that is the leading manufacturer of protective materials for high reliability applications throughout the world. Founded in 1946, they employ nearly 800 people and continue to grow and strengthen the business by employing a related diversification strategy that combines organic growth initiatives with strategic acquisitions.
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Based in Westwood, Massachusetts, USA Chase operates manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, and Asia and continues to invest in their capabilities to deliver value to the demands of their global customer base.
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