For Immediate Release - Fisher College is excited to announce Dan Rivera, President and CEO of MassDevelopment, as the guest speaker for the College’s 117th Commencement. He will also be awarded the Doctorate of Humane Letters in recognition of his public service.
Mr. Rivera’s resume includes two terms as Mayor of Lawrence where he showed strong leadership during the Columbia Gas Crisis in addition to spearheading significant commercial development in the City and investing in job creation, housing, and other economic development projects such as downtown and transit-oriented redevelopment in Lawrence. His prior experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors gave him the tools and experience to carry out these projects.
In addition to municipal government, Rivera also has significant experience in state government as well. In 2017, Governor Baker appointed Rivera to be serve on the new Latino Advisory Committee charged with addressing the concerns and economic-well-being of the Latino/a community in Massachusetts.
He has also played a major role in maintaining economic vitality in Massachusetts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the Baker-Polito administration’s Reopening Advisory Council as well as the COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group.
Dan is a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served in the first Gulf War, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and a graduate of the UMass Amherst and Suffolk University’s Sawyer School of Management, where he earned his MBA. Dan resides in Lawrence with his wife, Paula, and their children, Daniel and Charlotte.
Fisher College’s commencement will take place on May 15, 2021 at the Lawn on D in Boston.
About Fisher: For more than a century, Fisher has been changing lives by providing students with the tools they need to compete successfully in today's challenging economy. Though built around the liberal arts, our on campus and online programs reflect our expertise in practical fields like management, accounting, fashion merchandising, criminal justice, biology, information technology, and cybersecurity, to name a few. We believe in educating students through close intellectual engagement with our faculty, meeting together in small-group classroom settings, or with industry and business leaders through internships, guest lectures, and site visits. We take full advantage of the educational resources of Boston, a city both rich in history and culture, and a center of intellectual ferment, entrepreneurship, and scientific advancement.