I hope that you had a beautiful summer and are gearing up for an exciting Fall season.  

This summer has been one for the books on so many levels, and the CHA team was excited to be a part of various fun-filled community celebrations throughout the City of Boston.

As September slowly eases out the warm weather for crisper days and kids return to school, we look forward to the multitude of exciting Fall events as listed in Upcoming Events below.

We’re also happy to share some of the additional good work that we’re doing throughout Boston with other clients. As Fall rolls in we’re doing more impactful work with DoorDash, who we’re connecting to local organizations as part of their efforts to address food insecurity in the community. See below to learn more about our collective work and goals.

As always, we love to hear from you so follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! We appreciate your continued support and engagement with CHA.

-Conan Harris

IFSI Founder & Executive Director Dr. Gerald V. Gabeau with Conan Harris

CHA continues to work with DoorDash on building community partnerships with local organizations to help address food insecurity.

Throughout 2024 DoorDash has donated community credit gift cards to Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI). IFSI's mission is to center the voice of immigrants and expedite their successful integration into the social and economic fabric of the United States with justice and dignity.

With these community credits, members of IFSI's program will be able to purchase food through the DoorDash app.

We are proud to unite community organizations with our clients in an effort to support the members of our community facing hardships.

Stay tuned to our next newsletter to hear about our partnership announcement between DoorDash and Roxbury Community College!

Conan will be joining Imari Paris Jeffries and Pratt Wiley as guests on the next episode of Politics and Prosecco!

Episode 4 of Politics and Prosecco centers around "The Politics of Movement Making." At its core, movement making in politics and community is about creating a sense of shared purpose and empowering individuals to believe that their efforts can lead to a meaningful change. It is testament to the power of collective action and enduring human spirit to strive for a better, more just society. 

The episode will air at SparkFMOnline.com on September 10 from 1:15-3:00pm. Call in to the show at 617-272-3387.

We continue to work with and support our community partners. This month we offered a resume writing workshop at Teen Empowerment, where our Director of Workforce Development Rachel Gans-Boriskin met individually with candidates to assist them with their resumes and answer questions they had about the hospitality and tourism industry. We are also pleased to be supporting the work of the Mayor’s Office of Returning Citizens.

As new candidates apply to jobs, we’re happy to welcome new additional P.A.T.H partners. This month, the Museum of Science and Citizen’s House of Blues have joined the initiative. To learn more about how you can participate in the program, please email us at path@conanharrisassociates.com.

While we’ve maintained a steady pace of progress, there is still more work to be done to increase the number of hired candidates and we seek your support in enhancing our efforts by sharing the P.A.T.H. flier with your networks or direct them to this page to apply. 

If you or anyone you know is interested in a new career in hospitality and tourism, click here to apply for open positions. We have additional qualified candidates in the pipeline and several exciting career opportunities available.  

Yes, it’s almost ready! The draft Request For Proposal (RFP) for a diversity-focused CRM vendor is in its final stages of review by Meet Boston’s leadership and will be released over the next two weeks. We invite as many diversity-focused CRM vendors to bid for this project! 



Keep an eye out for the RFP on social media and/or your email. If you know of any diversity-focused CRM vendors that might be interested in submitting a proposal, please have them contact Jacqui@conanharrisassociates.com.

We’re thrilled to introduce TaskForce member Laura Reiman, Principal Program Manager, Energy Infrastructure Academy at National Grid. 

Laura describes herself as a “people-first leader” with expertise in meaningful DEI work, data-driven strategy development and execution, talent development and retention, and responsive leadership. Laura leads and oversees the Energy Infrastructure Academy (EIA) which prepares work-ready adults for entry- to mid-level roles within National Grid’s workforce. Students develop technical and soft skills and gain three weeks of hands-on job experience with National Grid employees. EIA offers opportunities to start a career pathway through union careers, wealth-building wages, and economic mobility.

National Grid is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company that serves more than 20 million people through their networks in New York and Massachusetts. As one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the US, they are committed to building a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy future for their customers.

National Grid plays a crucial role in addressing one of the most significant challenges of our time: transitioning to a cleaner and more sustainable energy system. By modernizing electricity and natural gas networks, National Grid is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the resilience of our energy infrastructure. This involves integrating renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency, and deploying advanced technologies that enable smarter grid management.



Click here to learn more about National Grid and how their commitment to diversity and inclusion improves the communities they serve.

Thank you for your continued interest in, and support of, the good work CHA continues to drive toward sustainable growth, equity, and power to our communities of color.

To see previous newsletters, click here. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to stay informed about the great things happening in our city!

Blessings!

Conan Harris,

Founder & Principal