Page 10 - HealthcareNews May/June 2021

40 UNDER FORTY CONT’D
Ashley Bogle
Assistant General Counsel, Director of Legal Services, Health New England; Age 37
Ashley Bogle’s first career was working in a pharmacy, but she didn’t enjoy what she was doing, so she went to work for a law firm
as a legal assistant, an experience that changed her
perspective — and her career track.
Meanwhile, she found Health New England through a staffing agency in 2010 and, after graduating from UConn School of Law, worked
her way up at HNE to the twin duties of assistant general counsel and director of Legal Services. She described her work as a “mixed bag,” everything from reviewing contracts to keeping track of the regulatory filings with respect to maintaining licenses and accreditation.
But there is another important aspect to her
work at HNE. Indeed, Bogle co-chairs the company’s
diversity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) committee, which guides the organization toward its goals of embedding DEIB into its mission, operations, community outreach, and practices in several areas, including associate engagement, corporate social responsibility, recruitment and retention of diverse talent, advancing
health outcomes, and community engagement. Bogle has initiated a diversity and inclusion e-mail inbox to allow associates to share feedback about DEIB within the organization, and regularly shares updates to all HNE associates via biweekly town halls.
“We want to push forward a diversity mindset and an equity mindset,” she explained. “It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been very exciting, and the organization as a whole has been very supportive of these efforts.”
Yadilette Rivera Colón
Assistant Professor of Biology, Undergraduate Science Program Research Coordinator, Bay Path University; Age 35
Growing up in Puerto Rico, Yadilette Rivera Colón considered pursuing careers in nursing, then medicine, then dentistry. The game changer, how- ever, was a summer science internship at UMass Amherst, where she helped conduct and publish research, experiencing the thrill of sharing new knowledge with the world. “I gave everything else up to go into research,” she said, and eventually earned a doctorate at UMass in molecular and cellular biol- ogy.
Her role at Bay Path is multi-faceted, and her
impact extends well beyond campus. In addition
to helping students navigate a path to careers in science, her outreach in the community, especially in Holyoke, helps young people, especially women of color, discover the possibilities of STEM.
Rivera Colón creates bridges in other ways, too. She co-advises the Women
in STEM organization at Bay Path and co-organizes its speaker series, and also facilitates training sessions that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the STEM field. Through volunteer work with Girls Inc. of the Valley and the Latino Scholarship Fund of Western Massachusetts, she helps girls pursue their college and career goals. And she has led anti-racism trainings for colleagues and students at Bay Path, as well as for staff at MassHire Holyoke.
In short, she’s passionate, and it all started with finding that initial spark. “I tell girls, ‘if you decide to pursue a career in science, you’ll never be bored.’”
Please see 40 Under Forty, page 12
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