Press Release  In Historic Move, the MCAD Selects its First Ever Executive Director

Boston — Today marks the first day of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination’s (‘MCAD’ or ‘Commission’) new Executive Director. During a public meeting on April 11, 2024, the Commissioners of the MCAD selected Michael Memmolo to serve in the Commission’s inaugural role. The selection was historic on many levels, which included final interviews with Memmolo and two other competitive candidates.

Ahead of the decision, Memmolo filled the role as Interim Executive Director since July 2022, and prior served as the MCAD’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Director of Operations and Human Resources. In his tenure, he has helped the agency make exceptional strides in standardization and constituent service efforts. With over two decades in public service, Memmolo has served the Commonwealth in various prominent, high-level managerial roles in the legislative and executive branches, as well as with other independent agencies. He served in the roles of CFO and Chief Operating Officer (COO) to the Massachusetts State Senate, the Department of Public Safety, and the Division of Professional Licensure. He was the CFO, COO and Director of Human Resources to the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission. 

Memmolo stated the following in his opening remarks to the April 11 interview: “After 21 months in the role as Interim, I am confident in my work ethic, integrity, and ability to do the job from day one. Our team has had great success in the past two years, including our collaborative work to open a new MCAD Worcester office in record time, achieve full funding from the legislature, and we’ve made significant strides in innovating our operations. Together, we have come a long way! I am doing the job I love at an agency that I am passionate about—I am looking forward to continuing our positive momentum.”

“It is huge knowing that the Commission is in good hands. Mike brings known and necessary quality to the MCAD team and to this inaugural role,” stated Chairwoman Sunila Thomas George following the selection. “I applaud the other finalists for their excellence in making it as far as they did in this careful and competitive hiring process starting with a field of 64 talented candidates.” Commissioner Monserrate Rodríguez Colón also stated the following in joining the vote to select Memmolo as the finalist, making the vote unanimous: “It was critical that the recruitment of the first MCAD Executive Director was thorough and brought in strong candidates from diverse backgrounds. I am pleased that Mike will be the first to take on the role, especially knowing the strong foundation we’ve built together with him acting as the Interim.” Commissioner Neldy Jean-Francois remarked during the candidate selection discussion, “Knowing that Mike is an internal candidate, I wanted to put that aside in my decision to look at all three of the finalists equally. What stood out to me was Mike’s leadership, especially in operations, administration, budget, and finance. He answered our questions with a bit more experience than the other candidates and that is why I believe he is the top choice.”

Some of the major challenges facing the MCAD include investigating an unprecedented number of complaint filings while simultaneously tackling a growing backlog of cases that have aged from impacts of retention and pandemic-necessary policies. Memmolo has been a key figure in innovating Commission operations that not only tackle challenges in serving the public, but also center on the strengthening of an inclusive internal workforce. “Investing in our staff through collaboration and by simply listening to their needs and ideas are paramount to realizing stability at the MCAD. It is my mission to help our staff and Commissioners feel empowered to make this agency function at its best.”

In her closing, echoed by Commissioners Rodríguez Colón and Jean-Francois, Chair George shared, “I want to thank everyone for being a part of this historic moment for the MCAD. Being at the Commission for as long as I have, this is a landmark moment and opportunity—we are improving and getting stronger! Thank you to everyone who is a part of history with us. I am grateful to the hiring committee for everything they have done to find excellent candidates for the role and to the staff for everything that they do each day to achieve our critical mandate for the people of the Commonwealth.”   

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