Photo I Courtesy of Advocates
Regina Marshall
1 hour ago
Advocates’ longtime CEO to retire, COO to succeed
Photo I Courtesy of Advocates
Diane Gould, president and CEO of Advocates
Four decades after beginning her tenure at Advocates in Framingham, Diane Gould will retire from her role as president and CEO of one of the region’s largest human service nonprofits.
Gould will retire from Advocates on July 1, at which point she will have led the organization for 13 years, according to a Thursday press release.
“We are profoundly grateful to Diane for her visionary leadership and the lasting impact she has made on Advocates and the communities we serve,” Jessica Kemp, chair of Advocates’ board of directors, said in the release.
After originally joining the nonprofit as a program manager, Gould rose through the ranks to help grow the organization to where it stands today: serving more than 40,000 individuals with development disabilities, brain injuries, and mental health challenges throughout both the commonwealth and Rhode Island.
Gould has made leaps in expanding Advocates’ reach and service offerings over the past two years and was named one of WBJ's Power 100 in May.
In September 2024, the nonprofit opened an Autism Welcoming Center in the Natick Mall, providing a 2,700-square-foot space to perform autism training for neighboring businesses and a social space for autistic children and their families.
In July 2024, Gould oversaw Advocates’ merger with the fellow nonprofits Horace Mann Educational Associates in Franklin and Family Continuity in Lawrence, an endeavor that grew the organization’s fiscal year 2024 budget revenue by more than 50% over the year to $211 million.
Under her leadership, Advocates was selected among The Boston Globe’s list of Top Places to Work in 2024 and was personally named 44th on the publication’s Top 100 Women-Led Businesses.
Regina Marshall, Advocates’ current chief operating office, will replace Gould as the nonprofit’s next summer.
“One of the most important qualities of a leader is to know when it is time to step aside and make room for the next person, and for me, both personally and professionally, this is that time,” said Gould. “The successful completion of the HMEA and Family Continuity mergers, and the integration of those agencies into Advocates is a key milestone. Regina has worked alongside me for the last decade and is exceptionally well-qualified and well-prepared to take the helm next summer.”
Marshall came to Advocates in 2015 as senior vice president for administrative operations and assumed her C-suite role in 2021. Since then, she has managed operations of the nonprofit’s clinical, therapeutic, and residential programs while creating and executing its strategic plan.
“As we look to the future, the board is united in its conviction that Regina Marshall is the dynamic, mission-driven leader who will guide Advocates into its next chapter. Her passion, experience, and bold vision make her uniquely suited to build on Diane’s legacy and lead the organization into a new era of impact,“ Kemp said in the release.
Having generated $160.37 million in total revenue in fiscal year 2024, Advocates is the third-largest human services nonprofit in Central Massachusetts when ranked by revenue for the most recent fiscal year available, according to data compiled by WBJ’s Research Department.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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