The Massachusetts Minority Contractors Association broke new ground last week when it announced the appointment of Beverley Johnson as the organization’s first female president and chairwoman of the board.
Johnson, a real estate and development veteran, will lead the MMCA for a two-year term. The association, which was started in 2007, works to develop business opportunities for minority, women and small businesses in the construction industry, as well as professional trades that support the industry including architects, attorneys and accountants.
MMCA represents over 100 minority and women-owned businesses in the state and provides its members with advocacy, education, training and development support.
In Johnson, the MMCA has a new leader with strong roots in Boston’s real estate and development world. She has successfully run her Mattapan-based real estate and urban planning consulting firm, Bevco Associates, for two decades.
She is also no stranger to shattering glass ceilings, having also served as the first African-American female department head at the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
Through her BRA days and her own private business, Johnson has developed a reputation as a savvy strategic planner, whose leadership and political acumen have led to the building of many large development and transportation projects throughout Boston.
MMCA leaders view the appointment of Johnson as a tremendous coup for the association.
“This is an historic moment for the MMCA in our decision to appoint Ms. Johnson as the first female president and board chairwoman of the organization,” Gregory Janey, a past MMCA vice president, said in a statement. “Her strong work ethic and commitment to building wealth within the minority business community will serve the organization well.”
Johnson will replace Jesse Jeter as president. Jeter also sang her praises, specifically citing her ability to serve as a strong leader to the association and further its goals to diversify construction and development projects throughout the state.
“I am pleased to pass the baton to Ms. Johnson, because over the years she has emerged as a strong advocate for generating the level of business opportunities that will increase and sustain the capacity of minority-owned firms,” Jeter said. “Ms. Johnson’s experience in the public and private sector brings a balanced perspective to the table, along with a unique ability to build bridges with public agencies and private developers that will serve our members well.”
Johnson said she is thrilled to take the reins of an organization that has such a track record of success in increasing diversity and opportunity on projects throughout Boston. She wants to help the organization’s members hone in on the lucrative downtown development market.
“My most immediate goal is to first of all lead the organization in a way to ensure that we can gain ground in getting work for the members,” Johnson said. “I would like to identify a pipeline of projects to provide opportunity to get work and grow and expand, and move from neighborhood projects to downtown projects.”
Johnson will inherit some impressive MMCA programs, including the Boston Pilot Program, a joint venture with the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations that has generated $39 million in Community Development Corporation projects for minority- and women-owned business enterprises.
The MMCA also sits on various State Oversight Boards, working with quasi-state agencies such as the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Massachusetts Diversity Coalition and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to help increase minority- and women-owned business participation on public contracts.
Stronger relationships
Having worked with the MMCA for a number of years through her Bevco and BRA roles, Johnson is well aware of the support the association provides, and she said she only hopes she can build on its success.
“We must be a very dynamic organization that continues to be highly regarded in the political and business sectors of Boston and beyond,” she said.
One thing that really excites Johnson about working with the MMCA is the opportunity to interact with the board and other members daily. She calls herself very “relationship-oriented” and believes she can thrive in a network of industry professionals that stretches throughout the state.
She shrugs off too much emphasis on being a woman leader in a male-dominated sector. The fact is Johnson has been working in rooms full of mostly male construction, real estate development and city planning professionals for years. She knows how to play ball with the boys.
For her, strong management skills and confident leadership ability trump gender differences any day.
“I feel like I am ready to take on this challenge. I feel confident in my leadership skills and ability to use those skills for the good of the organization,” she said. “I am excited about taking on this responsibility and I look forward to it.
“I will not go in with a closed mind — I will go in with the understanding that leadership requires flexibility,” she added. “I have great board. They are all strong leaders in their own right, and we will work together. Our common goal is focusing on the good of the organization.”
