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wbjournal.com | September 16, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 5 fabric of society and economy requires an ongoing and deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, in spite of any short- term headwinds. At WBJ, we are in this for the long haul. – Brad Kane, editor F our years ago, in the wake of George Floyd's murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer and the ensuing national reckoning on race, business and political leaders in Central Massachusetts and across the nation were falling over themselves to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in an attempt to mitigate the stain of America's original sin. e reversal in attitudes toward DEI, particularly nationally, over the last four years has been stark and disturb- ing. Instead of embracing high-minded goals and struggling over how exactly to achieve them, DEI initiatives are falling by the wayside. ose still in place face a strong backlash. National brands like Bud Light and Tractor Supply Co. abandoned their goals in the face of loud opposition from the small anti-DEI crowd. e U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against affirmative action in college admissions was a partic- ularly devastating blow. WBJ, though, remains firmly commit- ted to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we are thankfully joined by high-profile Central Massachusetts institutions, which are making their own progress toward achieving a more equitable economy. In 2020, WBJ Publisher Peter Stanton and I wrote about how the region's business community couldn't realize its full potential until all people and their talents were given opportunities to flourish. at belief re- mains a core value of WBJ, and diversity & inclusion is one of our reporters' four main industry beats, along with manufacturing, health care, and real estate. is annual Diversity & Inclusion Special Edition is part of our ongoing DEI commitment and the showcase for our expertise in the space for the Central Mas- sachusetts business community. e edition is anchored by four strong feature stories, including the latest battle in the struggle for equity in the cannabis industry (page 23), an innovative approach to address the long-term shortage in the human service workforce for people of color (page 8), how the City of Worcester changed its chief di- versity officer role in the hopes of creating stability in the position (page 12), and the latest call for better diversity in Worcester's circles of power (page 20). Achieving true sustainable change in the Standing against the anti-DEI wave BETTER SERVING OUR MEMBERS TODAY AND TOMORROW. www.stmaryscu.org (508) 490 8000 LEARN MORE Scan QR code or visit our website St. Mary's has provided local and trusted banking services to our community for over a century. Whether you need us over the phone, in person, or online, we are here for our members. What started in 1913 is still going strong - CORRECTION: A chart accompanying the article "Why a Boston firm wanted Bowditch's lawyers" in the Sept. 2 edition incorrectly listed Mark Borenstein as having attended New England Law Boston. He actually attended Western New England University School of Law. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S 6 Central Mass. In Brief 8 Focus on Diversity & Inclusion 25 List: Largest minority-owned businesses 26 List: Largest veteran-owned businesses 27 Know How 28 Movers & Shakers 29 Opinion 30 Shop Talk: MetaScriptMD 20 Inclusive development The dustup over WPI's hotel-to-housing plans sparked a secondary conversation over diversity within Worcester's circles of power. 21 Viewpoint: Building truly inclusive workplaces Viewpoint opinion columnist Marlina Duncan from UMass Chan Medical School writes about how companies' commitment to DEI needs to be much deeper than counting numbers of underrepresented communities in your workforce. W Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi- weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $84.00. For more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ A division of: Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Staff Writers Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com (real estate, manufacturing) Mica Kanner-Mascolo, mkannermascolo@wbjournal.com (health care, diversity & inclusion) Editorial Intern Sara Bedigian, sbedigian@wbjournal.com Contributors Sloane M. Perron, Giselle Rivera- Flores, Emily Micucci, Livia Gershon Photographers Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine Peterson Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com General Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Accounts Manager Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com Human Resources Manager, Tracy Rodwill, trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Finance, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Clerk, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Event Coordinator, Patty Harris, pattyh@wbjournal.com Director of Audience Development and Operations, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant, Nicole Dunn, ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com