"It would be impossible to reach goals for the Affinity Committee without interacting with other Board members. The beauty of the new structure of the Alumni Association is that we are now dependent on each other for success as well as co-dependent with BCLS staff.  We have eliminated a static structure for one that is dynamic - we are no longer just listeners at regularly scheduled meetings. Instead we are active participants and therefore constant communication with each other gives us ideas and helps us partner with each other.  Committees overlap in certain areas fostering opportunity to collaborate on different events, projects, etc.  I have had dinner recently with two of my fellow Board members and we are holding a meet and greet session after work for alums and students in the DC area."

Christine M. Griffin was sworn in on January 3, 2006, as a Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Ms. Griffin was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 28, 2005, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 4 to serve the remainder of a five-year term expiring July 1, 2009.

As one of five members of the Commission, Ms. Griffin participates with other Commissioners on all matters which come before it, including the development and approval of enforcement policies, authorization of litigation, issuance of Commissioners’ charges of discrimination, and performance of such other functions as may be authorized by law, regulation, or order.

Ms. Griffin’s work experience in labor and employment law includes positions in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of the Disability Law Center in Boston from 1996 to 2005. The Law Center provides legal advocacy on disability issues that promote the fundamental rights of all people with disabilities to participate fully and equally in the social and economic life of Massachusetts. As Executive Director, she provided leadership for the Law Center’s 25 employees and conducted its overall management, including programmatic and fiscal planning, priority setting and implementation, and fundraising.

Prior to that, Ms. Griffin served from 1995 to 1996 as an Attorney Advisor to the former Vice Chair of the EEOC, Paul M. Igasaki, advising him on legal matters and policy issues. Ms. Griffin’s other federal work experience includes serving in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Army.

A native of Boston, Ms. Griffin is a graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and served as its Interim President from 1993 to 1994. She is also a graduate of Boston College Law School and, upon graduation, was awarded a Skadden Arps Fellowship at the Disability Law Center. Ms. Griffin has served on many boards and task forces, including the national Social Security Administration Ticket to Work Advisory Panel, the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, and the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. In December 2005, Ms. Griffin was selected as one of the nation’s eleven “Lawyers of the Year” by Lawyers Weekly USA newspaper.

Next slide