WELLESLEY HILLS (October 9, 2012) – Massachusetts Bay Community College (MassBay) President John O’Donnell is proud to announce two new appointees to the College’s Board of Trustees, Tom Dretler and Sylvia Beville.
Mr. Dretler is an operating executive with Sterling Partners, an education and healthcare private equity firm. He serves on several corporate and nonprofit boards and is co-founder and Board Chair of the Alliance for Business Leadership, a Boston-based organization for CEOs committed to unlocking their potential for civic leadership. For 13 years, Tom was the CEO of Eduventures, Inc. where he built the leading information services company in the education sector. He also is the co-author of a recent Sterling Partners/Bain & Company whitepaper on The Financially Sustainable University. In 2007, Tom was named one of the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” business leaders to watch. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Johns Hopkins University where he was a Rhodes Scholar candidate and a varsity athlete. He also holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School where he was awarded the Goldsmith Fellowship.
![]()
![]()
Ms. Beville has served as Executive Director of Partnerships for a Skilled Workforce, Inc. (PSW), formerly the Metro Southwest Regional Employment Board, Inc. Under her leadership the annual revenue for PSW has grown from $75,000 to $1.2 million. Now a force in economic development in the region, PSW is an effective intermediary, bringing business, education, and community organizations together to plan and implement initiatives that enable people to earn enough to support their families and to address staffing shortages in industry.
“We are delighted to welcome such accomplished professionals in the area of workforce development to our Board of Trustees,” said President O’Donnell. “Combined, Tom and Sylvia bring more than 50 years of experience to the Board, with a deep understanding of the MetroWest community we serve and strong business acumen. I am certain they will make invaluable contributions as we advance our mission of providing affordable, career-focused academic programming for our students and opportunities for economic development for the region we serve.”
Mr. Dretler attended his first Board meeting on September 25th. Ms. Beville will attend her first meeting on November 20th. Board terms are for five years.
“MassBay has a tremendous opportunity to help close the skills gap and drive growth in the Massachusetts economy,” said Mr. Dretler. “My early sense of the organization is that it has tremendous leadership, an outstanding staff and an energized student body eager to make its mark. It’s an honor to serve the school and the Commonwealth in this way.”
“Governor Patrick is committed to responding to business needs for skilled workers and has charged the community colleges with the responsibility,” said Sylvia Beville. “This will be an exciting time to be a Trustee as MassBay rises to the Governor’s challenge.”
MassBay awards associate degrees and certificates in over 60 academic programs in a wide range of career-driven subjects ranging from accounting and automotive technology to forensic DNA science and early childhood education. The College’s facilities in Wellesley Hills, Framingham and Ashland offer day, evening and weekend classes to meet the needs of degree-seeking students and career minded life-long learners. Online options provide convenience and allow faculty to facilitate the learning process. Since its founding in 1961, MassBay has been accredited by several governing bodies and strives to meet the needs of the diverse population it serves.