By Julie McCay Turner
Keynote speakers UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney and Middlesex Community College President Dr. James Mabry addressed workforce development during the Middlesex 3 Coalition’s Annual Meeting at the UMass Lowell Innovation Center on Tuesday. Click the following links to read Chancellor Moloney’s presentation or President Mabry’s.
While each of the educators offered content-rich presentations, the news, especially for Bedford, was that Bedford’s Town Manager Richard Reed, who helped to found the Coalition five years ago and has since served as its President, is stepping aside and will serve the board as Past President in the coming year.
Reed learned about organizations like the Coalition while attending a conference in Silicon Valley seven years ago; the person who convened the original group had relocated to Massachusetts and has since become a mentor for Middlesex 3. Under Reed’s leadership, the once little-known Coalition has come into prominence, and the Route 3 corridor is becoming a destination for corporate investment from Rte 95/128 up to Lowell.
The Middlesex 3 Coalition was incorporated in 2012 as a regional collaboration among public and private leaders along Route 3 in Middlesex County to connect the region’s business community with its educational institutions, local and state agencies, and other economic development groups. Its members include leaders in finance, education, medical, real estate development, engineering, non-profits and the community at large.
From the start, the Coalition has offered challenging and compelling workshops to its members:Enabling Life Sciences – Innovation Beyond Cambridge in 2012; Rise of the Robots – Changing the Workplace, Changing Lives, in 2013; an Advanced Manufacturing Forum in 2014; as well as a series of CEO Roundtables, recent Business Leadership events and Legislative Breakfasts with Congressman Seth Moulton and Congresswoman Niki Tsongas who serve the Middlesex 3 region. An April forum, Taking Control of Rising Healthcare Costs, addressed another of the Coalition’s Target Issues.
Looking to the future, the Coalition will continue to focus on regional transportation and workforce development, as well as improvements to the region’s infrastructure and business permitting.