Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com June 8, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 11 Recent Commercial and Business Loans include: $1,350,000: Littleton, MA (Manufacturing Facility) $875,000: West Boylston, MA (Multiple Investment Properties) $800,000: Worcester, MA (Multi-Families) $470,000: Worcester, MA (Builder Construction Loan) $1,200,000: Boston, MA (Multi-Family) Member FDIC n Member DIF n Ayer n Devens n Groton n Littleton n Lunenburg n Pepperell n Shirley www.nmsb.com n n n Mobile We're Lending! Purchasing or Refinancing? Expanding? Buying New Equipment? We listen to your unique lending and business banking needs, allowing you to focus on your business. Please contact one of our experienced Relationship Officers today. VP, Commercial Loan Officer 978-772-8502 Ext. 1121 stephen.sugar@nmsb.com Stephen J. Sugar, Jr. SVP, Senior Lending Officer 978-772-8502 Ext. 1155 ruth.cavanagh@nmsb.com Ruth Cavanagh VP, Commercial Loan Officer 978-772-8502 Ext. 1152 carl.wiley@nmsb.com Carl S. Wiley Business Women In 2009 Business Women In 2009 Business Women In 2009 Business Women In 2009 Business Women In Outstanding Business Women In Outstanding W O R C E S T E R B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L' S For sponsorship and advertising opportunities in this special issue, contact your account manager or Mark Murray at mmurray@wbjournal.com or 508-755-8004 ext. 227. This fall, the Worcester Business Journal will be recognizing the achievements of remarkable women who are making their mark on the Central Massachusetts business community. NOMINATION DEADLINE: August 7, 2015 To submit your nomination visit www.wbjournal.com/womeninbusiness CALL FOR NOMINATIONS! Supporting Sponsor Speaker Sponsor Presenting Sponsors Technology advocate Spilka sits in unique vantage point in Senate I n 2012, without much fanfare, the state passed a new tax on software. But when it took effect a year later, Sen. Karen Spilka started hearing out- raged howls from the technology busi- nesses that fill her MetroWest district. The companies just couldn't figure out how to implement the tax, Spilka said, and even the Department of Revenue couldn't give them good advice on what to do. "It became clear to me that this was an unworkable bill," the Ashland Democrat said. Spilka helped lead a successful charge to overturn the tax, but she also did something else. Working with the tech- nology industry, she helped launch the Tech Hub Legislative Caucus. The cau- cus brings companies such as Hopkinton-based EMC Corp., Bedford's iRobot and TripAdvisor of Newton together with legislators and others from state government. With monthly meetings and annual "Tech Hub Days," the group has sparked ideas that include a pilot program for computer science in Massachusetts schools. A recent Tech Hub "Idea-a- Thon" led to a new bill that would help startups sell their services to local municipalities. Spilka said it's crucial for high-tech companies to get engaged in govern- ment policy at all levels. "Public policy will be made, and changes will happen, but we need the technology sector and the innovation sector to be at the table in the develop- ment of that policy so that what we end up with makes sense and is fair and is practical," she said. Spilka — who, as chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, is a key figure in ongoing budget negotiations on Beacon Hill — first got involved in politics because of her own desire to bring to the government table issues that were important to her. A lawyer and mediator, she also served as chair of the Ashland School Committee in the late 1990s, and she believed local communities weren't getting the state funding they deserved. So she helped bring together a statewide group to lobby for changes in the state education funding formula. She said it had never occurred to her to run for state office until her state representative announced his BY LIVIA GERSHON Special to the Worcester Business Journal OCCUPATION: State senator, 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk District (Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Medway and parts of Franklin and Natick) RESIDENCE: Ashland KEY SENATE ROLES: • Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and Means • Chair, Joint Committee on Ways and Means PRIOR ROLES: • Arbitrator and mediator, specializing in labor and employment law and community and court mediation. • Labor and employment attorney on behalf of employees, unions, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the commonwealth. IN THE NEWS Karen Spilka >> Continued on Page 32 "It's not my way or the highway. She sort of knows how to work out the best (solutions) to problems." Bonnie Biocchi, President, MetroWest Chamber of Commerce

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