Massachusetts State Senate Announces Hiring of Dr. Kathryn Bethea-Rivera as Manager of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

(Boston – 09/04/2024)  The Massachusetts State Senate announced today that Kathryn A. Bethea-Rivera, Ph.D., has been hired as the new Human Resources Manager of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Senate.

“On behalf of the entire Senate, I am very pleased to welcome Kathryn to our Human Resources team,” stated Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland).  “Kathryn comes to us with a wealth of experience in creating and promoting workplace policies designed to ensure all employees have equitable access to opportunities for professional growth and advancement. I am proud of the Senate’s work to create a more diverse and inclusionary workforce, but there is still more to do. Kathryn will be key to enhancing and advancing that work in the future.”

Kathryn’s excited about the opportunity to further the Massachusetts State Senate's support of DEI, the collaborative nature of the work, and shared vision for the greater good of all of Massachusetts. As she explains, “I believe my work in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and skillset in the many different roles and duties that I've performed show that, above all else, I'm a good resource manager to cultivate an equitable and inclusive work environment for all staff.”

She continues, “Through training, coaching, and mentoring around a shared vision and mission of DEI, I'm helping folx to be critically conscious about their worldview and language to better understand DEI; and culturally aware of one's own intersecting identities, her/his/their contributions to the workplace diversity, and competency of other cultures.” 

The Manager of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion position was created as a result of the Senate’s adoption of Rule 10C at the beginning of the 2019-2020 session.  The rule states, “There shall be within the Senate Office of Human Resources an Officer of Diversity and Inclusion who shall promote policies to direct and guide offices to recruit, hire, train, develop, advance, promote and retain a diverse workforce, consistent with Senate Rules, regulation and law.”

For over 20 years, Bethea-Rivera has been an advocate for diversity, inclusion, and belonging while building her knowledge of equitable practices and policies.  She most recently served as the Director of the Myra Kraft Achievers Program (MKAP) at Brandeis University, where she developed the mission and strategic plan for the program serving BIPOC, first-generation and low-income students. In this role, she oversaw the program’s operating budget and fundraising campaigns, served as an academic advisor, directed anti-racist trainings for faculty and staff, led marketing and communications and collaborated with other university departments on social justice programming.

Previous to her time at Brandeis, Bethea-Rivera worked as the assistant director of admissions with a focus on diversity recruitment and chair of the College Success 101 Program at Carnegie Mellon University. She also has extensive experience as a facilitator of racial justice workshops and student success seminars. She has taught undergraduate Multicultural Psychology at Mount Ida College, served as a teaching assistant on a Race and Racism in Education and Society graduate course at the University of Pittsburgh, and as a guest panelist and lecturer for a number of conferences and symposia.

Bethea-Rivera, who resides in Watertown, holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Management from the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and B.A. in Psychology and Africana Studies from the University of Notre Dame. She started with the Senate on July 23, 2024.

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