新英格蘭大波士頓台灣商會尾牙 謝開明圖片輯

新英格蘭大波士頓台灣商會會長王志維(右)、秘書長高名震(左)
主持尾牙活動。

新英格蘭大波士頓台灣商會會長王志維(右)、副會長蔡高進(中)、秘書長高名震(左)
主持尾牙活動。

新英格蘭大波士頓台灣商會在摩頓市五味樓舉辦尾牙聚餐。

TCCNE前會長歐陽露 (右起)、林才民，前任副會長林思妤、現任副會長蔡高進。

TCCNE資深理事蔡明機(右)、林鳳池(左)。

波士頓僑教中心主任高家富應邀致詞。

TCCNE資深理事李台、蔡高進、蔡明機等人。

TCCNE前會長歐陽露(左)、秘書長高名震(中)、理事Jean Lai。

左起，王志維、柯乃南、高家富、李台。

左起，蔡高進、柯乃南、鄭宇辰、盧彥君夫婦。

TCCNE副會長彭聲翔(右立者)和朋友。

世衛協進會共會長Riva Chan致詞。

衛斯理豐田汽車代理創辦人柯乃南致詞。

TCCNE副會長蔡高進(左一)等人同桌吃火鍋。

右起，蔡明機、高名震、歐陽露、沈立威等人都是商會理事。

沈立威(後左)、Riva Chan(後右)、陳玫菁(中)都是多年舊識。

蕭惠菁(右)、River Yang都是素食達人。

蔡高進和牙醫師們。

紐英崙中華專業人員協會會長盧彥君夫婦。

TCCNE副會長蔡高進每年都協助抽獎環節。

摩遁市五味樓的火鍋菜餚。

TCCNE會長王志維(左二)送出抽獎禮品。

李台醫師也抽到一份禮品。

柯乃南(中)送出龍瓶酒。

麻州長Healey任命Bonnie Borch-Rote出任供應商多元化辦公室主任

Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces Bonnie Borch-Rote as Next Executive Director of SDO

 

Borch-Rote Takes Over for Retiring Director Bill McAvoy

 

BOSTON — Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that Bonnie Borch-Rote has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office (SDO). The SDO, regarded as the most inclusive state supplier diversity office in the nation, is dedicated to increasing opportunities for small and diverse Massachusetts businesses through robust outreach, certification, and education.

 

Borch-Rote has 14 years of public service experience, almost 13 of them with the SDO. Before her appointment to the Executive Director role, she was the SDO’s Director for Performance and Project Management and served as the agency’s General Counsel. She also worked in the SDO’s Certification and Outreach units, when the SDO was part of the Operational Services Division (OSD). 

 

“Our administration is proud to announce Bonnie’s appointment,” said Governor Maura Healey. “She has demonstrated her commitment to small and diverse businesses, and she knows that our economy is stronger when we lower barriers to participation. She is exactly who we want leading this important agency.”  

 

“The Supplier Diversity Office will be in excellent hands with Bonnie at the helm,” said Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll. “I look forward to working with her as SDO continues advancing equity in Massachusetts and elevating our small and diverse businesses.” 

 

Borch-Rote replaces Bill McAvoy, who is retiring after 36 years in public service. McAvoy helped lead the SDO to become an independent agency and served as its Executive Director since 2015. 

 

“We are excited for Bonnie to assume leadership of the Supplier Diversity Office, and grateful to Bill for ensuring that the agency is well-positioned for success following his retirement,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew J. Gorzkowicz. “I look forward to seeing Bonnie take the SDO to the next level by continuing to expand what the state can do for diverse and small businesses.”

 

“I’ve worked with Bonnie for all of her career with the state, and I can’t think of anyone better to lead the SDO,” said former Executive Director Bill McAvoy. “With her knowledge, commitment, and expertise, I am confident that she will bring even greater success to the SDO in the coming years.” 

 

The SDO certifies diverse (minority, women, veteran, service-disabled veteran, disability, and LGBT-owned) and small businesses, which helps increase their marketability in the state’s bidding process. The SDO also connects these companies with business opportunities and resources, and collaborates with Executive Agencies and public organizations to identify and remove barriers for diverse and small businesses.

 

“I’m honored and humbled at this opportunity,” said incoming Executive Director Bonnie Borch-Rote. “Massachusetts has one of the most innovative supplier diversity programs in the country, and I’m excited to continue what Bill McAvoy and the Healey-Driscoll Administration have done to connect marginalized businesses with state contracting.”

 

Borch-Rote will look to continue the SDO’s success in increasing the number of diverse and small businesses that do business with the Commonwealth. Since 2015, the number of SDO-certified businesses more than doubled from 2,794 in FY2015 to 5,669 in FY2023, an increase of 103%. Spending from SDO programs rose from $959 million in FY2015 to $2.147 billion in FY2023, an increase of 124%. 

麻州政府徵求早期到高等教育的精神健康框架

 Healey-Driscoll Administration Requests Vendors to Develop Mental Health Framework for Students from Early Education through Higher Education

 

BOSTON – The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced today that the Executive Office of Education and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have opened a request to solicit vendors to develop an early education through higher education mental health framework for students across Massachusetts. This new framework will inform a statewide strategy for mental and behavioral health supports through the public education and licensed child care system in Massachusetts and support coordination between early education and care programs, schools, students, families, and the state’s systems of community-based services and providers. 

 

“We have a mental health crisis that was only made worse by the pandemic, particularly for young people,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Our administration is committed to ensuring that Massachusetts students have the behavioral health care they need to balance their mental health and education. I look forward to seeing how this framework will deepen our current efforts and provide a strategy to support students at every level of education.” 

 

“As Governor Healey and I travel around the state, we often hear about the mental health challenges happening in our early education programs, in schools and on campuses. Through this framework, as a state we will be able to better measure the mental health challenges among our students and the successful strategies and resources that help them thrive,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. 

 

“Addressing mental health among our students was a budget priority for the Education Secretariat this year and I want to thank the Legislature for their support. With $5 million in funding, we are building a statewide framework to establish shared language around mental health, codify best practices, create better linkages between early education, K-12, and higher education, and strengthen data systems to track progress and determine whether our efforts are having the kind of impact we expect,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. 

 

The state’s fiscal year 2024 budget included $5 million for this framework. In collaboration with health and human service agencies and other key stakeholders, EOE and its agencies aim to use this framework to identify, guide, and align collective efforts to better understand and address mental and behavioral health wellness needs among students for infants/toddlers through adult learners, and use common language, strategies, and metrics.  

 

“I hear often from educators and parents around the state about the growing social-emotional needs of young children in early education and care programs and the impact this is having on the wellbeing, as well as recruitment and retention, of staff,” said Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw. “This new mental health framework will deepen and expand our efforts to provide programs with the tools they need to meet the needs of children and families while also creating environments that enable children to learn and thrive, as well as provide us with better insights to the mental health challenges our youngest learners face and the ability to track improvements.” 

 

“Having a shared mental health framework will help schools support all students’ academic, social, emotional and behavioral development,” said Acting Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Russell Johnston. “This is a critical area of need and an important opportunity for collaboration among our departments to meet that need.”   

 

“Students’ success on the way to and through college requires supporting the whole student, and young people in Massachusetts have voiced that addressing mental health needs is a top priority,” said Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega. “This mental health framework will be crucial to enhancing, connecting and growing efforts to support students in schools and on campuses.” 

 

The framework builds on the administration’s existing efforts to support student mental health, including investing $13 million in the Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition (BRYT) program, an in-school program supporting students who have fallen behind academically due to challenges with their mental health. This was the first time the state provided funding to establish BRYT in schools. There are also opportunities like DESE’s Social Emotional Learning and Mental Health Grant and EEC’s Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Grants, which the administration increased the funding for by $2 million annually. 

 

Interested vendors can find the RFQ on COMMBUYS. 

波士頓黃氏過冬至、慶聖誕 百餘宗親吃湯圓、領年曆 (圖片)

黃氏公所主席黃偉健夫婦(右三、四)，黃光沐夫婦(左一、二)，以及婦女部主任
黃周麗桃(右二)、黃國麟(右一)歡迎波士頓僑教中心主任高家富(左三)
參加冬至、聖誕聚會。(周菊子攝)

波士頓僑教中心主任高家富(中)送上賀禮，黃周麗桃(右二)代表接受。(周菊子攝)

黃氏宗親會百餘宗親、好友，12月14日中午在五樓會所慶祝冬至、聖誕，聚會吃湯圓。

為了準備一百多人份的湯圓，黃氏宗親一大早就到會所切菜，做湯圓。

黃周麗桃(右)邀波士頓僑教中心主任高家富參加冬至聚會，
代表黃氏驚喜收禮物。

黃周麗桃(左)歡迎2名MIT博士宗親出席冬至聚會。

書法老師劉裕鵬(右)、宋汝文夫婦稱讚黃氏宗親做的湯圓，味道真好。

方便宗親們吃不完，帶回家，婦女部成員把湯圓一盒盒的裝好，再分發給宗親們。

黃氏宗親們紛桌圍聚，享用美味湯圓。

黃氏宗親們邊舀湯圓，邊聊天。

波士頓僑教中心設宴感謝志工 廖朝宏期許僑胞延續合作傳統

波士頓僑教中心舉辦志工感恩餐會。(周菊子攝)

               (Boston Orange) 波士頓僑教中心12月10日在波士頓華埠龍鳳酒樓，席開5桌，感謝志工過去一年，協助僑教中心與經文處順利舉辦各項活動。經文處處長廖朝宏期許未來，能有更多青年朋友參與。

右起，陳仕維、廖朝宏處長、蔣宗壬，史美芳夫婦、余麗媖、伍振中、黃國麟，
後排右起，雷國輝、陳秀珍夫婦，高家副主任、黃周麗桃等人
在志工感恩餐會中坐在主桌。(周菊子攝)

              在現場播放的幻燈片中，波士頓僑教中心列出了過去一年來，從1月元旦升旗/揮春，2月僑務幹部座談會，4到5月支持台灣入世界衛生組織 (WHO)和大會(WHA)，5月牛頓台灣日，6月台灣夜市，7月開會籌備國慶，8和9月支持台灣入聯合國 (UN)，10月雙十國慶，11月辦僑務座談等活動。

              波士頓經文處處長廖朝宏表示，這許許多多活動，都是在志工努力協辦，僑胞熱情參與中圓滿舉辦，這天剛好到任100天的波士頓僑教中心主任高家富，也看到了波士頓僑胞和其他地方多不一樣，不分老僑、新僑，不論從那裡來，都特別的團結。他希望這傳統未來能夠繼續下去。

左起，張惠雯、盧彥均、Riva Chen、邱哲偉、游子揚、江孟辰、
李佳蓉、吳杏玫、林致中。 (周菊子攝)

              廖朝宏還特地指出當晚有一桌全是青年朋友，期許將來的僑社活動，有更多青年朋友參加。

              波士頓僑教中心主任高家富這天，特地安排波士頓僑務委員陳仕維，紐英崙中華專業人員協會會長盧彥君，依序分別匯報回台參加僑務會議，以及在休士頓舉行的第71期北美僑社工作研討會，在台灣舉行的全球僑務青年交流論壇等活動概況。

波士頓經文處處長廖朝宏(左)和波士頓僑教中心主任高家富(右)
感謝志工們過去一年來的協助。 (周菊子攝)

              陳仕維表示，今年和過往有點不同的是，為遷就賴清德總統行程，開幕禮改在晚上。拍照也和往年全體合影有別，由賴總統撥出充足時間，和僑務委員們一一合影。蕭美琴副總統雖因公務繁忙，未能參加閉幕式，但全程出席晚宴，和僑務委員們親切傾談。

波士頓僑務委員陳仕維。(周菊子攝)

              和往年一樣的是，僑委會在會中很清楚的說明對海外僑民的支持。協勝公會，安良工商會及洪門致公堂都有代表參加。一名來自美京的代表，還解釋了僑委會尊重傳統僑社的原因。

              在這次的會議中，僑委會還安排了              多倫多、芝加哥的僑務委員報告他們自發性製作佈告牌，刊登廣告，宣傳中華民國台灣等行動，展現老僑、新僑團結一致，要讓美加主流社會更認識台灣。

紐英崙中華專業人員協會會長盧彥君分享心得。(周菊子攝)

              盧彥君表示，這兩場會議都讓他不但深受啟發，拓展了人脈，還學習到許多事物，包括在美國如何推動僑務工作，辨別假消息，運用社區媒體等。全球僑務青年交流論壇那場活動，則是讓他第一次知道，原來非洲、南美洲阿根廷都有這麼多台灣人，也聽到了世界各地台灣人所面對的推動僑務困境。僑委會還為他們安排了很多認識台灣的課程，包括台灣的性平教育，企業社會責任 (ESG)，節能減碳上的科技發展等，收穫十分豐富。

中華公所主席雷國輝。(周菊子攝)

              紐英崙中華公所主席雷國輝當晚也應邀上台分享。他表示中華公所做為橋樑，辦了許多活動，包括歡迎中華民國前總統馬英九，台北市長蔣萬安的座談會、歡迎會。他還和余麗媖一起參加牛頓臺灣日，舉辦台灣夜市等活動，和華埠內外僑團通力合作的維繫了彼此間的緊密關係，推廣了人們對中華民國台灣風土人情的認識。讓人尤其高興的是，他們還和很多年輕朋友有了互動。

波士頓僑教中心請志工們協助宣傳行銷台灣。(周菊子攝)

波士頓僑教中心2024年內舉辦過的大活動。

              當天應邀出席的志工，包括現任波士頓僑務委員陳仕維，前任波士頓僑務委員蔣宗壬夫婦，曾任僑務委員的陳家驊，全美洪門致公堂總理余麗媖，中華公所5名職員，雷國輝夫婦，翁宇才，阮鴻燦，余寶愛，張青梅，辦公室主任鄺坤珍一家3口，波士頓國民黨常委張韻蘭，關美玲夫婦，李奇舜，伍胥山公所主席伍振中，紐英崙至德三德公所元老周麗桃，黃氏宗親會議長黃國麟，昭倫公所主席謝如鍵，波士頓華商會翁偉健、黎健慈，紐英崙客家鄉親會的曾氏兄弟及鄭玉春夫婦，陳玉瑛，波士頓台灣龍舟隊的邱偉哲，張惠雯，紐英崙中華專業人員協會董事長游子楊，會長盧彥均，波士頓世衛協進會會長Riva Chen，波士頓台大校友會會長李佳蓉，前會長吳姓玫，波士頓台灣電影協會會長林致中，新英格蘭台灣同學會聯合會會長江孟辰等人。

Healey-Driscoll Administration Celebrates Massachusetts Named ‘Best State’ for College Students

Healey-Driscoll Administration Celebrates Massachusetts Named ‘Best State’ for College Students 

National nonprofit tech company SmileHub found Massachusetts is #1 in higher education, especially for quality and support 

BOSTON – The Healey-Driscoll Administration is celebrating that Massachusetts has been named the best state in the country for college students by the national nonprofit tech research company SmileHub.  

SmileHub looked at 28 key metrics in all 50 states to determine the top spot, including graduation rates, student-faculty ratio, retention rates, state funding and cost, ranking Massachusetts number one overall, edging out New York, Illinois, Rhode Island and California. The state was also number one for education quality and support.  

“Anyone looking to pursue a higher education degree should look no further than Massachusetts,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Massachusetts has long been a leader in education and this recognition underscores the extraordinary opportunities our state provides to college students. Whether it’s a four-year private university or two-year public institution, we are committed to ensuring every student can access an affordable, high-quality education that sets them up for lifelong success.”   

“We’re excited to see Massachusetts recognized for creating an environment where students from all backgrounds can thrive,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Our administration is dedicated to breaking down barriers to higher education, so every person has the opportunity to succeed and contribute to our state’s future.”   

The administration has made transformational progress in higher education over the last two years, building a system that truly delivers a high-quality education for every Massachusetts student, regardless of zip-code, background, or circumstance:  

• Launched free community college, which preliminary data from this fall shows has increased enrollment at Massachusetts’ 15 community colleges by 14 percent. Massachusetts has one of the most accessible, equitable and comprehensive free community college programs in the country for full-time and part-time students, regardless of income.    

• This significant increase follows an 8.7 percent enrollment increase last year, driven by Governor Maura Healey’s MassReconnect program that made community college free for students 25 and older last year.  

• Massachusetts has increased enrollment at its public four-year colleges for the first time in over a decade, due to significant state financial aid expansion – the administration made public four-year degrees tuition and fee free for low-income students and reduced by up to half of out-of-pocket expenses for middle income students.  

• Ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of race-based higher education admissions criteria in June 2023, the administration established an Advisory Council to Advance Representation in Education that released comprehensive recommendations this fall. The report provides Massachusetts colleges and universities with resources to enhance access into the state’s higher education system and provide a high-quality experience to all students regardless of background.  

“This honor shows why Massachusetts is the best place to live and go to school, and reflects the collaborative efforts of students, educators, policymakers and community leaders who prioritize the success of our students,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “We will continue to invest in programs and systems that support academic achievement, workforce development, and personal growth for all students.”  

“Massachusetts offers unmatched opportunities for our learners to learn, grow, and innovate” said Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega. “This ranking is a testament to the hard work of our institutions and overwhelming success in our higher ed investments throughout the Commonwealth.”  

In August, WalletHub named Massachusetts the best state to live in, citing its world-class health care system and high-quality education, including the fourth-best high school graduation rate in the country at over 90 percent.