Season 4, Episode 1; Transforming Underserved Communities through Technical Education
On season 4, episode 1 of the Build Better podcast, Anastasia talks with Dr. Aisha Francis, the president and CEO of Franklin Cummings Tech in Boston. In 2021, she became the first female president in the more than 100-year history of the college.
Dr. Francis believes in the ability of effective organizations and well-supported individuals to transform underserved communities for the better. She shares her dedication to both educating and empowering students in the technical fields, and discusses the mutual benefits for both students and employers that are looking to fill essential roles and create robust teams in the architecture, engineering, and construction fields.
In 2021, Aisha Francis, PhD, became the first female President in the 113-year history of Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, now known as Franklin Cummings Tech.
Dr. Francis is an award-winning academic, nonprofit leader and strategist with broad experience in organizational planning, philanthropy, board development, and corporate communications. She believes in the ability of effective organizations and well-supported individuals to transform underserved communities for the better, which is her life’s work. She enjoys implementing dynamic new programs at best-in-class organizations that improve access to and equity of educational and economic opportunities.
In her previous role as the college’s Chief of Staff, Dr. Francis expanded the institution's network of supporters through external and government relations and oversaw the establishment of a new stream workforce development programming that has since generated millions of dollars in contracts. Prior to joining the college, she served as the Managing Director of Development for Harvard Medical School,
raising scholarship funds for underrepresented medical school students as well as diversity and inclusion programs. She previously spearheaded marketing and fundraising for Economic Mobility Pathways and held leadership positions at the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and Boston Medical Center.
She began her career as a college educator of English, Caribbean Literature, and Women’s Studies. Dr. Francis has published original scholarship in these areas of study and pens opinion pieces and offers commentary on matters relevant to higher education.
Recognized by the Boston Business Journal as a 40 Under 40 leader to watch, and by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce with a Pinnacle Award for Arts and Education, Dr. Francis contributes to the civic
health of Boston through volunteer work and advocacy. Dr. Francis was appointed by former Governor Charlie Baker to the board of directors at Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the state agency dedicated to the growth of the clean energy sector in MA. In addition, she is a Trustee for the Boston
public radio station WBUR and an independent director of Sunwealth, a locally-based renewable energy company.
Dr. Francis resides in Hyde Park with her husband and two children. Originally from Nashville, TN, she completed her undergraduate education at Fisk University, then earned a masters and doctorate in English Literature from Vanderbilt University.
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