Just A Start's Miriam Ortiz Named An MACDC Rising Star

Cambridge MA

08 December, 2021

11:19 AM

Description

Press release from Just A Start: Dec. 8, 2021 On November 18th, 2021, the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporation (MACDC) named Miriam Ortiz, Director of Education and Training at Just A Start, a Cambridge-based community development corporation, a 2021 Rising Star. At its yearly meeting, the distinguished award is presented to three Executive Directors, staff or board members who are 40 years old or younger and have demonstrated their potential, outstanding innovation, leadership and achievement in community development. Serving as Just A Start's Director of Education and Training for the last two years, and as the Director of Workforce Development in the year prior, Miriam oversees job training programs that train adults for jobs in the biomedical and information technology fields, as well as Just A Start's YouthBuild program, which prepares out-of-school youth for careers in the construction and customer service fields. Over a short period of time, Miriam has not only increased the scale and enhanced the impact of these programs, but raised their profile and forged new partnerships to broaden their impact even further. Under her leadership, the student-centered and data-driven programs have yielded impressive results. Recent assessments have shown that graduates of the workforce programs have attained a $12,000 salary gain within their first year of employment. As Just A Start continues its efforts to become a more inclusive organization committed to infusing equity and anti-racism into its daily work, Miriam has been a passionate and effective leader. She has built strong managerial, strategic and operational competencies in her work with underserved populations in order to remove systemic barriers to educational, social and economic mobility. "I am honored to accept this award from MACDC, an organization that continues to advance racial and economic equity in extremely impactful ways," said Ortiz. "I hold a firm belief that community development corporations are uniquely positioned to correct longstanding inequities, and will continue to drive that work forward in my leadership role at Just A Start." In addition to her leadership of Just A Start's Education and Training programs, Miriam is a founding steering committee member for Cambridge RISE, a guaranteed income initiative, with 130 family participants. Originally from Mexico, Miriam lives in Hyde Park with her family. Miriam's deep commitment to social justice and community has been shaped by compelling life experiences. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Bryn Mawr College and a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Tufts University. This press release was produced by Just A Start. The views expressed here are the author's own.