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Research Fellow
Job Title: Research Fellow at the Women’s Foundation of Massachusetts
Reports To: President
Location: Massachusetts
Position Type: Part-time Fellowship
Salary Range: $3500 – $5000 per year depending on experience
About Us
The Women’s Foundation of Massachusetts economically empowers women and girls in Greater Boston and across the Commonwealth through creating and funding high impact leadership and economic programs in partnership with women’s and girls’ nonprofits.
Position Summary
The Research Fellow is a part-time, developmental fellowship that provides structured learning and hands-on experience. The primary responsibility is the annual update of the Women & Girls Philanthropy Index of Massachusetts (WGIMA), the only comprehensive index that measures charitable giving to women’s and girls’ organizations in Massachusetts.
This temporary role typically runs from late November through March, with recurring annual responsibilities, with hours varying depending on skill level and experience.
Key Responsibilities
Annual Index Update
- Extract and process IRS data on charitable giving in Massachusetts using Python or similar tools
- Determine which organizations to include in the WGIMA index using the methodology from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute’s national Women and Girls Index.
- Review data for duplicates, anomalies, and missing organizations to ensure accuracy
- Calculate the percentage of giving to women and girls in Massachusetts
- Analyze trends and highlight notable findings
- Develop regional analyses (i.e. Central, Western, Southeast, Northeast Massachusetts)
- Create data visualizations such as charts and infographics to demonstrate findings
- Support development of press release, social media posts, and other communication materials
May take on additional research related tasks as needed to advance organizational goals.
Qualifications
- Proficiency in Python or a similar programming language
- Currently enrolled in a graduate program, ideally able to participate in the fellowship over multiple years
- Strong spreadsheet (Google Sheets, Excel) and database management skills
- Experience managing multiple projects, prioritizing tasks, and meeting deadlines
- Familiarity with presentation and design tools such as Canva and Adobe, including data visualization
- Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accuracy
- Strong oral and written communication skills
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a remote environment
- Friendly, collaborative disposition with a sense of humor
- Role is based in Massachusetts. Primarily remote with occasional in-person meetings
Compensation & Benefits
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$3500-5000 per year depending on experience
Nondiscrimination Clause
Except as to fulfill the Mission of the WFMA (advancing economic and leadership opportunities for women and girls), the officers, directors, committee members, employees, and persons served by the Foundation shall be selected entirely on a nondiscriminatory basis with respect to gender, age, race, religion, national origin, pregnancy status, and sexual orientation. It is the policy of the Foundation not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, ancestry, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy status, age, physical disability, veteran’s status, political service or affiliation, color, religion, or national origin.
How to Apply
Please email a cover letter and resume to Patti Satterthwaite or Sheila Walsh at hr@wfma.org
Linda Henry is the CEO of the Boston Globe Media Partners. She is a co-founder of HUBweek, a civic collaboration between the Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and MIT that explores the future being built at the intersection of art, science and technology. Linda is also an early-stage impact investor, an Emmy-Award winning television producer with two shows currently airing, and a community activist. She serves as a director of the Red Sox Foundation, is a trustee of the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, chair of the Boston Globe Foundation, and chairman of the John W. Henry Family Foundation. In addition, she is a founder of the Boston Public Market, serves on the advisory board of MassChallenge, and is on the board of the Engine at MIT. She earned a BS from Babson College and her MS from MIT.
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research.
Bekah Salwasser joined the Red Sox Foundation as the Executive Director in January of 2018. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and has extensive experience in philanthropy and both professional and semi-professional sports. After four years working as Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics, Bekah went on to lead Scholar Athletes as its Executive Director, a program that supports public high school athletes with both their athletic and academic achievements. Earlier in her career, Bekah served as a professional soccer player for the Boston Breakers and as Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center.
Kimberly Fay Boucher is a business executive who has driven high performance organizations in technology, consumer products and social enterprise/nonprofit industries over the past 25 years. She is currently the Technology Commercialization Business Leader for the CTO at Analog Devices, where she is responsible for driving new technologies from incubation stages to successful businesses. Kim is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches Disciplined Entrepreneurship in the Martin Trust Center. She holds a BS in Management Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a NCAA Academic All-American Women’s Basketball player and has been inducted into the WPI Hall of Fame.
Ami Kuan Danoff (Co-Founder and CFO) is a private investor and the trustee of a foundation. She is a Harvard Quantum Founder and a member of the Harvard FAS Dean’s Council. Ami earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Visual and Environmental Studies and holds a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and International Finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a portfolio manager in global equities at Putnam Investments and co-manager of the Putnam International New Opportunities Fund, and also worked as an international equities analyst at Fidelity Investments.
Christina Heenan Suh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and Marketing and a master’s from Columbia University. A former management consultant, her work focused on strategy and implementation projects for Fortune 100 clients. She was also an account executive at Hill+Knowlton (WPP) marketing consumer packaged goods. As an Executive Board Member of the Brookline Education Foundation, which funds professional development in the Brookline Public Schools, Christina led their Grant and Oversight Committees. She currently sits on the board of the Brookline Library Foundation and teaches ESL at Rosie’s Place in Boston.
Christina Gordon (Co-Founder and CEO) holds a dual master’s degree in International Finance and Applied Economics from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and also studied for a joint master’s degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis with a focus on women in the workplace. Christina is a former assistant fund manager and technology industry equity analyst at Wellington Management. She also worked as a stock analyst at Fidelity Investments. She is a trustee of a private foundation, a member of Women Moving Millions and currently sits on the board of Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.