Chapter Leadership Intensive 2025

Newly elected chapter officers and committee chairs from across New England gathered at the Boston Chapter House on October 23, 2025, for the Greater Boston chapter's annual leadership intensive. The chapter rotates its monthly roundtable across Boston, Providence, and Manchester; this one-day session was in-person only, at the chapter's home base on Beacon Hill.

Elena Marsh, chapter chair since January 2024 and CEO of the Society of Historic Mill Towns, opened with a chapter update and a session on budgeting for a chapter with no paid staff of its own — most of Greater Boston's programming runs on volunteer officer time and a modest chapter fund. She followed with a working session on running a roundtable that stays candid without running long, a recurring complaint from officers new to the format.

Adaeze Brathwaite, chief of staff at the Alliance of Regional Arts Presenters, led a session on recruiting and retaining volunteer leaders, drawing on her own writing on inclusive board recruitment.

Caspar Lindahl, executive director of the Society of Heritage Carpentry Trades, closed the day with a session on building an apprenticeship pipeline for member organizations that depend on skilled trades — a topic he has pushed at the national level as well as within the chapter.

Between sessions, officers from Boston, Providence, and Manchester compared notes on scheduling a roundtable that rotates cities every month while staying virtual for members who can't travel — a balance Greater Boston has run since Elena Marsh became chair.

The intensive met at the Boston Chapter House, 200 Beacon St, a short walk from the Park Street Red and Green Line stop. There was no registration fee for members or non-members, and the day carried 4 CAE credit hours for officers tracking toward the credential.