Emerging Leader Melissa (Horr, 04) Pond, meanwhile, said it
was then chaplain Jeff Barker (93) who inspired her to embrace
the creed “Because we believe…we are people of action.”
“I took that with me into my career,” said Pond, an assistant
planner for the City of Quincy’s Department of Planning
and Community Development. “I went into it with a lot of
passion and seriousness. To me, community development
offers an opportunity to love our neighbors. And it’s a leadership role – an opportunity to make a difference in the lives
of people in our community.”

In a span of just four days over the past week, “Opportunity Quincy” visionary, Melissa Horr Pond, was recognized as a thought leader at two regional conferences. Pond is an Assistant Planner in the city’s Department of Planning and Community Development.

The first recognition came in the form of an award at the South Shore Leadership Conference,
held in Brockton, congratulating her on the achievement of “Outstanding Leadership in
Strengthening Community” for her work with the “Opportunity Quincy” initiative. Planning
Director Dennis Harrington attended the ceremony. With the award came an Official Citation
from the Massachusetts State Senate, offered by Sen. Thomas Kennedy.

Only 16 months have passed since Pond launched the “Opportunity Quincy” initiative – a public
services campaign, focused on engaging leaders to impact youth career pathways and
educational success through collaboration, capacity building, and communication. Much has
been accomplished during that time. By next month, more than 120 leaders from cross-sector
organizations will have engaged with the initiative through ten events, including four service fairs, three focus groups, three capacity building training workshops, and a fundraiser walk-athon.

Additionally, Pond has infused the initiative with a social media strategy engaging an average of
120 followers through three channels with conversing on Twitter; sharing timely event details;
grant opportunities; inspiration on Facebook; and collecting resources on a variety of related
topics on Pinterest.

“We are encouraged by the new level of citizen participation and level of engagement from the
community with this initiative,” said Sean Glennon, Community Development Director. “Moreover, we look forward to continued growth through this transformative capacity building.”

Pond’s second recognition came in the form of a presentation she gave at the National
Community Development Association (NCDA) Region 1 conference in Worcester, MA, alongside Glennon as moderator for the workshop, “Impact Your Community with Social Media: Empower, Motivate, & Activate.” Region 1 includes entitlement grant communities from all
across New England.

“We are very proud of Melissa’s accomplishments and take pride in the fact that the Department
of Planning & Community Development so often leads the way in shaping national models for
community initiatives,” said Harrington.