Pioneer Institute Announces New Chair of the Board

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:

POLITICAL COLUMNIST MICHAEL BARONE TO HEADLINE 2012 BETTER GOVERNMENT COMPETITION AWARDS DINNER

/
ichael Barone, best-selling author and respected political commentator, will deliver the keynote address, “Election 2012 and the American Experiment,” at Pioneer Institute’s 2012 Better Government Competition Awards ceremony.

Pioneer Institute Research Director Steve Poftak Joins Harvard’s Rappaport Institute

/
Longtime Director of Pioneer Institute's Centers for Better Government and Economic Opportunity, Steve Poftak, will become Executive Director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

PIONEER INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES 2012 BETTER GOVERNMENT COMPETITION WINNER

Pioneer Institute is pleased to announce the winner of the 21st annual Better Government Competition (BGC): “Coordinating Medicare and Medicaid to Improve Care”

POLL FINDS LIKELY MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY FAVOR MORE SCHOOL CHOICE

Likely Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly support educational choice, according to a poll conducted by David Paleologos’ firm, DAPA Research, for Pioneer Institute.

HISTORY OF STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SHOULD INFORM FUTURE POLICIES

A new Pioneer report calls on the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to focus on things it has demonstrated the ability to do well if it is to be as successful implementing the second wave of education reform as it was with the first.

POLL FINDS PARENTS, TEACHERS AND STATE LEGISLATORS ALL SUPPORT REINSTATEMENT OF U.S. HISTORY MCAS GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

/
Three stakeholder groups overwhelmingly agree that Massachusetts should focus more attention on educating public school students in U.S. history

Controlling Education from the Top: Why Common Core Is Bad for America

/
Why Common Core Is Bad for America Author(s): Emmett McGroarty…

POOR STUDENTS IN RURAL MASSACHUSETTS OUTPERFORM THEIR URBAN COUNTERPARTS AND ARE IMPROVING MORE RAPIDLY

New study finds that all students are scoring higher, but low-income rural students have improved more rapidly than low-income urban students.

No More Know Nothing Laws: School Choice in Massachusetts

Pioneer Institute hosts event with national education reform experts Kevin Chavous and Jay Greene, releases new research on Catholic and Jewish Schools

WITH FEDERAL HEALTH LAW FACING SUPREME COURT TEST, NEW BOOK OFFERS ALTERNATIVE

Pioneer's new book, The Great Experiment, proposes that the states take the lead in health-care reform, as Massachusetts did in 2006, and that Washington facilitate the transition, rather than try to dictate every move.

Four Models of Catholic Schooling in Massachusetts

/
Author(s): Cara Stillings Candal, Ed.D. — Publication date:…

NEW STUDY EXPLORES POLICY CHALLENGES POSED BY VIRTUAL SCHOOLS

/
NEW STUDY EXPLORES POLICY CHALLENGES POSED BY VIRTUAL SCHOOLS Existing…

STUDY ESTIMATES COST OF TRANSITION TO NATIONAL EDUCATION STANDARDS AT $16 BILLION

New study finds that aligning state and local educational systems to the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and math will cost the 45 states plus the District of Columbia that have adopted them nearly $16 billion over seven years.

IS THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION VIOLATING FEDERAL LAW BY DIRECTING STANDARDS, TESTS, AND CURRICULA?

Despite three federal laws that prohibiting the federal government from directing, supervising or controlling K-12 curricula, the U.S. Department of Education has placed the nation on the road to a national curriculum.

Pioneer and Northeastern Present State Transportation Scorecard

Use Pioneer's Transportation Dashboard, an online, interactive application designed to model a performance measurement system that could be deployed by the state’s Department of Transportation. It features an array of publicly-available data in an easy-to-digest format, and includes the latest information on key indicators of performance such as congestion, throughput, safety, construction management, and environmental stewardship.

Pioneer to Participate in U.S. History Competition for Students

Pioneer to Participate in U.S. History Competition for Students; “We the People” promotes U.S. history and civics education

Virtual Schools, Actual Learning: Digital Education in America

/
Pioneer Institute event to feature state and national online education leaders.

A Fair and Cost Effective Tort System for Health Care

New study calls for comprehensive tort reform to address rise in number and average cost of malpractice payouts, and increase in insurance premiums, up by 63% in 2009 since 2001

STUDY: START-UPS KEY TO RECOVERY FROM RECESSION

Companies that are three years old or younger have been the key to creating Massachusetts jobs in the wake of the last two recessions, according to a new study from Pioneer Institute.

Outsourcing Helps Cities and Towns Provide Better Services for Less

/
New Report Shows Municipalities across the Bay State Can Reduce Costs by 75% and Increase Productivity by Contracting Services