Editorial Staff

Pioneer Institute Announces New Chair of the Board

/in , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

BOSTON – Pioneer Institute, the leading think tank in Massachusetts with focus areas in education, health, transportation and economic opportunity, today announced the appointment of Adam Portnoy as Chair of its Board of Directors. Portnoy joined the Pioneer Board in 2018 and succeeds Stephen D. Fantone, who served as Chair from 2012. This change occurs as the Institute releases its Pioneer2024 strategic plan, which marks a new stage in Pioneer’s development and outlines initiatives to expand its public interest law activities, dramatically amplify its direct communication audience, and strengthen its policy impact.

Adam Portnoy is President and CEO of The RMR Group (Nasdaq: RMR), which is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts. RMR is an alternative asset management company that was founded in 1986 to invest in commercial real estate and related operating businesses. RMR currently has $32.1 billion of assets under management, including more than 2,100 commercial properties located throughout North America. The companies managed by RMR collectively have nearly 42,500 employees in locations throughout the United States, including approximately 850 employees located in Massachusetts. In addition to serving on the boards of several publicly traded and privately owned companies managed by RMR, Mr. Portnoy is currently the honorary consul general of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Mr. Portnoy earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Policy from Occidental College in 1993. Mr. Portnoy has spent most of his life living in Massachusetts and he and his wife Elika currently live in Boston with their two children.

“It has been a great honor to serve as Chair of the Institute,” said Fantone, who served on the Pioneer Board for 13 years and chaired it for eight. He was voted by the board to serve in an ex-officio capacity as chair emeritus. “I am proud of our accomplishments and the institutional strength we’ve built. And 2020 was the proof point—in this unsettling year, we’ve driven big impact, continued to grow our reach, and issued a strategic plan that has earned the trust of and record-setting financial support from our community. With this Board and Adam’s leadership, Pioneer’s impact and reach will only grow. I look forward to working with Adam and the Board on many exciting new initiatives.”

“Pioneer Institute is uniquely positioned to expand educational and economic opportunities for all Massachusetts residents and I am deeply honored to serve as its Chair,” said Portnoy. “I look forward to building on the Institute’s history of impact and its brand of civil discourse and clear communications. The Board aims to accelerate our momentum—increasing Pioneer’s engagement with Massachusetts residents, significantly expanding our donor community and amplifying our impact through strategic litigation.”

Under Fantone’s leadership, the Institute significantly increased the pace of its policy successes, oversaw the expansion of its communications capacity to almost 300,000 individuals, and doubled its budget and the number of Pioneer donors. Noteworthy victories during his term include tax policy wins that maintained the state’s competitiveness, a successful national campaign against the Common Core standards, the adoption of a “soft receivership” at the MBTA, and in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court’s agreement with the Institute’s amicus curiae brief in the landmark Espinoza case.

“This is a significant moment in the history of our organization. I’m grateful to Stephen for his dedication and commitment to Pioneer, the Commonwealth and the broader community,” said Jim Stergios, Pioneer’s executive director. “I am confident in Adam’s leadership and excited for what the future holds. In the coming weeks, we will share updates about significant new developments at the Institute.”

About Pioneer

Mission
Pioneer Institute develops and communicates dynamic ideas that advance prosperity and a vibrant civic life in Massachusetts and beyond.

Vision
Success for Pioneer is when the citizens of our state and nation prosper and our society thrives because we enjoy world-class options in education, healthcare, transportation and economic opportunity, and when our government is limited, accountable and transparent.

Values
Pioneer believes that America is at its best when our citizenry is well-educated, committed to liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise, and both willing and able to test their beliefs based on facts and the free exchange of ideas.

Stay Connected!

Browse recent posts:

Pioneer Institute Statement on Governor Baker’s New COVID Restrictions

Read Pioneer Institute's public statement about Gov. Charlie Baker's new executive orders related to the state’s reopening plan that will go into effect on Nov. 6, issued in response to a significant uptick in COVID infections in Massachusetts,

Nationally Recognized Author Tara Ross on the Importance of the Electoral College

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Tara Ross, the nationally recognized author of Why We Need the Electoral College. On the eve of the 2020 election, they discuss the critical and controversial role of the Electoral College in determining which candidate will become the next President of the United States.

Voting for Health: Party Opinions, Election Results & the Healthcare Policy Implications of Election 2020

0 Comments
/
Join Host Joe Selvaggi as he discusses with Harvard Professor Bob Blendon his New England Journal of Medicine Special Report, "Implications of the 2020 Election for U.S. Health Policy," which covers broad differences in both party’s view of the role of government in health care and what the election results will mean for Americans.

Pulitzer-Winning Author Stacy Schiff on the Salem Witch Trials

In our special Halloween edition of “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Pulitzer-Prize winner Stacy Schiff, whose most recent book is The Witches: Salem, 1692. They discuss why, in Schiff’s view, the Salem witch trials are the “the best known, least understood chapter” of American history, and why the trials, false charges, and finger pointing, remain relevant today in our Internet culture.

LSU’s Prof. Andrew Burstein on Washington Irving, the Headless Horseman, & the Presidency

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Andrew Burstein, the Charles P. Manship Professor of History at Louisiana State University, and author of The Original Knickerbocker: The Life of Washington Irving, and with Nancy Isenberg, The Problem of Democracy: The Presidents Adams Confront the Cult of Personality.

Survey: Consumers Want Healthcare Price Information, But Few Realize It’s Available

Great strides have been made to increase healthcare price transparency through online cost estimator tools and a state law that requires providers to give out price information. Yet despite the eagerness of consumers to access prices and out-of-pocket costs, many are unaware that such information is available and don’t know how to access it, according to survey results published by Pioneer Institute.

Staving Off Disaster: Lessons from Covid Applied to the Epic Battle Against Drug Resistant Microbes

0 Comments
/
Join Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Institute’s Bill Smith as they discuss with inspirational public health advocate Gunnar Esiason the findings of his latest white paper, "Antimicrobial Resistance: Learning From the current health crisis to inform another."  The episode looks at the challenges to global health presented by evolving drug resistant diseases and how the lessons learned from COVID-19 could potentially save millions of lives.

Pioneer Report Highlights Employment Growth in Lowell, Massachusetts

In 2018, employment in Lowell, Massachusetts finally surpassed its pre-Great Recession peak, according to a new report from Pioneer Institute that draws data from the MassEconomix web tool. Before COVID-19, job growth in the city was driven largely by a resurgence in manufacturing and a continued high concentration of healthcare firms.

NCTQ’s Kate Walsh on the Crisis in K-12 Teacher Prep, Quality, & Evaluation

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Kate Walsh, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality. They discuss the qualifications of those who enter the teaching profession, explore teacher preparation, and key differences between teacher preparation, accreditation, and job prospects in the U.S. and other countries. They also speculate about what a Biden presidency might mean for K-12 education policymaking, and discuss how to diversify the teaching pipeline.

Study: Growth of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Could Have Massive Human, Financial Costs

The world was blindsided by COVID-19, but a new Pioneer Institute study finds that even as we continue to wrestle with the pandemic, another threat looms that scientists have long known about but the nation has thus far failed to address: the growth of antibiotic-resistant infections. “Market dysfunction and perverse Medicare reimbursement rates have led to a growth in infections that resist antibiotics,” said Gunnar Esiason, author of “Antimicrobial Resistance: Learning from the current global health crisis to prevent another one.”  If we don’t solve this problem, the human and economic costs are likely to be astronomical.”

Clearing Boston’s Throat: What the I-90 Allston Project Portends for Metro West Commuters

0 Comments
/
Join hosts Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Institute’s Mary Connaughton, and guest, former Mass. Secretary of Transportation Jim Aloisi, as they discuss the I90 Allston Multimodal Project, its long-term benefits, and their concerns for the metro west commuters and communities during the project’s decade-long construction.

Cheryl Brown Henderson, Daughter of Lead Plaintiff in Brown v. Board of Ed., on Race & Schooling

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Cheryl Brown Henderson, president of the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence, and Research. She shares her experience as the daughter of the lead plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, and thoughts on how the historic decision contributed to advancing civil rights in our country.

Ballot Question 1: Risks & Regulations Regarding Right to Repair

0 Comments
/
Join host Joe Selvaggi and security technologist Prof. Bruce Schneier as they discuss risks associated with car telematics as well as how best to ensure public safety in the future of the internet of everything.

Harvard PEPG’s Prof. Paul Peterson on Charter Schools, Digital Learning, & Ed Next Polling

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Paul Peterson, the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and Director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University.

Small Business Life Support: Policy Relief for Firms Sickened by COVID?

0 Comments
/
Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s Andrew Mikula and Retailers Association of Massachusetts' Jon Hurst about the state of small business in Massachusetts six months into the pandemic.

Award-Winning Writer Brenda Wineapple on the 170th Anniv. of The Scarlet Letter & Pres. Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Brenda Wineapple, author of the award-winning Hawthorne: A Life and The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation. They discuss her definitive biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne and the 170th anniversary of the publication of his classic novel, The Scarlet Letter.

Supreme Court Vacancy: The History, the Stakes & the Options for Replacing a Justice

0 Comments
/
Hubwonk Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Cato Institute's Ilya Shapiro about his new book, Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court.  The episode equips listeners with historical context to better understand the makeup of the Court, the nomination process, and the impact of a new justice on the Court.

Pioneer Report Underscores Wide Disparities in Economic Performance between Industry Sectors in Massachusetts

Service-based industries have significantly outperformed manufacturing and other traditional blue-collar economic sectors in Massachusetts since 2008, according to a new report from Pioneer Institute that draws on data from the MassEconomix web tool. In “Broad Industry Sector Trends in Massachusetts, 1998-2018,” two decades of data show fluctuating employment changes across the state, as well as changes in firm size and the types of firms disproportionately headquartered in the Commonwealth.

Study: Economic Recovery from COVID Will Require Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Reforms

As the initial economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed, a new study from Pioneer Institute finds that governments must continue to provide short-term relief to stabilize small businesses as they simultaneously consider longer-term reforms to hasten and bolster recovery – all while facing a need to shore up public sector revenues.

International Best-Seller Dr. Jung Chang On Wild Swans, Mao’s Tyranny, & Modern China

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Dr. Jung Chang, author of the best-selling books Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China; Mao: The Unknown Story; and Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China.