Massachusetts Baby Bonds Legislative Briefing

In partnership with the New School and Prosperity Now, the Office of Economic Empowerment (OEE) will host a briefing on Baby Bonds in Massachusetts.

Register for this virtual legislative briefing, where we will hear from Treasurer Goldberg as well as state and national leaders on the efforts to bring Baby Bonds to Massachusetts and other states across the country.

Speakers include:

Treasurer Deborah Goldberg

Deborah B. Goldberg is the Massachusetts State Treasurer and Receiver General. In that role she is responsible for the state’s cash and debt management, unclaimed property, and chairs state boards and commissions, including the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, the State Board of Retirement, Massachusetts State Lottery Commission, and the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust. In 2015, she established the new Office of Economic Empowerment, the first of its kind in the country, and chairs its Economic Empowerment Trust Fund. Treasurer Goldberg is the former President of the National Association of State Treasurers and is the Co-Chair of the National Institute of Public Finance.

​As a former businesswoman and local elected leader, Treasurer Goldberg brings innovative leadership, disciplined fiscal management and an unwavering commitment to uphold economic stability and create opportunity for every Massachusetts resident. Treasurer Goldberg served for six years on the Brookline Board of Selectmen, including two as its Chair. Prior to her career in public service, she worked in retail operations, buying, and consumer affairs at The Stop & Shop Companies, Inc.

​Treasurer Goldberg is the President Emeritus of Adoptions with Love and serves on the Advisory Board of the Greater Boston Food Bank. She was one of the founders of Berkshire Hills Music Academy, a school for individuals with intellectual disabilities, is a trustee emeritus at Beth Israel Lahey Health, and a former Director at Affiliated Physicians Group / Beth Israel Deaconess HealthCare. Treasurer Goldberg has been actively involved with numerous philanthropic activities, including The Grow Clinic, the 100 Club, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, and the Combined Jewish Philanthropies.

A graduate of Boston University, Boston College Law School and Harvard Business School, Treasurer Goldberg lives in Brookline with her husband Michael Winter. She has a son, Evan, and daughter, Meredith.

Sen. Paul Feeney - Democrat, Bristol and Norfolk District

Paul Feeney is a Democratic State Senator serving his fourth term in the Massachusetts Senate representing the Bristol & Norfolk District. Paul was sworn-in to the Senate in 2017 after winning a special election at the age of 39. Previously, Paul served as a Selectperson in his community of Foxborough from 2007 - 2010 and as the Chairman of that Board in 2009.

A blue-collar telecommunications technician by trade for over 20 years, Senator Feeney served as the legislative director, spokesperson and chief steward of his local union, IBEW 2222 in Boston, MA. Paul has worked on State and National campaigns as a senior staffer and served as the first Chief of Staff to his predecessor in the Senate. He has been recognized for his work on the issue of homelessness and has become a champion of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals. Paul is a leading advocate in the Senate on worker's rights, workplace safety, job creation, gender equity and diversity in the workplace, and the rebuilding of a vibrant middle-class. As the author of 99 diverse bills filed in the current session alone, Senator Feeney is an outspoken and effective leader in the Massachusetts General Court. He is an avid Boston sports fan and lives in Foxborough with his wife Laura, a licensed family childcare provider.

Senator Feeney currently serves as Chair of the Joint Committee on Financial Services. In addition, he serves as Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight, and as a member of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, and Senate Committee on Personnel and Administration.

Rep. Andy Vargas - Democrat, 3rd Essex District

State Representative Andy X. Vargas represents the 3rd Essex District (Haverhill) in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He serves as the Vice-Chair of the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee. He also serves as a member of the following committees: Ways & Means, Education and Public Health. He also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Massachusetts Black & Latino Legislative Caucus.

Dr. Darrick Hamilton - Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, The New School

Professor Darrick Hamilton is the Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, and the founder of the Institute for the Study of Race, Power, and Political Economy at The New School. Considered one of the nation’s foremost scholars, economists and public intellectuals, Professor Hamilton has been profiled in the New York Times, Mother Jones magazine and the Wall Street Journal. Featured in Politico Magazine’s 2017 “50 Ideas Shaping American Politics and the People Behind Them” issue. Professor Hamilton has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals and other publications. Professor Hamilton has served as a member of the economic committee of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force, testified several times before Senate and House committees, and advised numerous other leading Members of Congress, as well as various 2020 presidential candidates.

Hamilton was born and raised in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and earned a PhD in economics from the University of North Carolina. He completed postdoctoral appointments at the University of Michigan and Yale University, respectively. Hamilton’s op-ed pieces have appeared in various prestigious periodicals including the New York Times, Bloomberg’s Business Week, Market Watch and many others.

David Radcliffe - State and Local Policy Director, The New School's Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy

David Radcliffe is the newly minted State and Local Policy Director for The New School’s Institute on Race, Power, and the Political Economy where he focuses on economic mobility solutions in CT and beyond. He recently served as policy director for the Office of CT State Treasurer where his work included engaging community partners to implement the first-in-the-country ‘Baby Bonds’ wealth-building initiative.  Previously, David was Director of the Working Cities Challenge CT (WCC), an initiative of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The WCC is a multi-state grant competition that inspires and supports collaboration of residents and leaders from philanthropy, the nonprofit, public, and private sectors to advance strategies that improve the economic well-being of those with lower incomes, including communities of color.

The proud father of three, David and his amazing wife Chaucey live in Hamden, CT. Together, they boast a Guinness Book of World Record for simultaneous potato chip eating at a NY Mets game (along with 35,000 others).

Shira Markoff - Policy Fellow, Prosperity Now

Shira Markoff is a Senior Policy Fellow at Prosperity Now, where she works to advance federal, state and local policies that promote systems-oriented solutions and racial economic justice. Shira’s work focuses on wealth-building policies and programs across the lifecycle, including Baby Bonds and Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs). Previously, she served as the Director of Prosperity Now’s Children’s Savings Team, which supported existing CSA programs and worked to expand CSAs to more children across the US. Prior to joining Prosperity Now, Shira worked as a Program Manager for Seedco, where she worked with community-based organizations across New York City to implement programs that assisted low- and moderate-income families in receiving the EITC and accessing public benefits. Shira holds a Master of Public Policy degree from American University and a B.A. in history from Rutgers University.

Email empowerment@tre.state.ma.us if you have any questions.