Women’s History Month - Massasoit Community College

Each year, Massasoit Community College celebrates Women’s History Month to recognize the extraordinary achievements and contributions of women throughout history and in today’s society.

Through events – speakers, screenings, and donation drive – we hope to honor and uplift the resilience, leadership, and impact of women everywhere. These events are being hosted either by our Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) and Women’s Resource Center (WRC).

We have an exciting lineup of events and activities to celebrate Women’s History Month including events with female leaders in our community like LaTisha Silvera of Brockton Beer Company and Esther Tetreault of Trillium Brewing, Massasoit Police Officer Irina Deane-Costa, Division Dean of Mathematics & Science Katie Ruggieri, and Massasoit Trustee Kate Welch, an Attorney at Welch Law Office.

Women's History Month Events

Throughout March, we have several events to celebrate Women’s History Month. Details for the events are included below.

Journey to Successful Entrepreneur

A conversation with female entrepreneurs. Join us for a conversation with LaTisha Silvera of Brockton Beer Company and Esther Tetreault of Trillium Brewing where they will discuss their journeys to becoming successful entrepreneurs. Lunch will be served. If interested in participating in any of the month’s events, please RSVP to WLI.

Location: Akillian Gallery, Canton Campus
Date and Time: Wednesday, March 13 at 12:00 pm

Esther Tetreault is the founder of Trillium, a modern New England farmhouse food and beverage group. Since opening in 2013, Trillium has grown from a small brewery to a hospitality icon – now operating five active locations across Boston and Massachusetts, including two full-service restaurants. Most recently, Trillium created their own spirits line and is building a distillery at their Canton flagship location – with spirits crafted from grains and botanicals grown at their farm in Connecticut and other locations. A seasoned entrepreneur, Esther holds an MBA from Bentley’s McCallum School of Business. Esther’s strong foundation in business played a pivotal role in propelling Trillium to its current success by strategically guiding its rapid growth and keeping a keen eye on opportunities and changes in the economy and industry. At home, Esther and her family enjoy reading, traveling the world, and baking for any and everyone.
LaTisha Silvera, is a long-time Brockton resident and co-founder of Brockton Beer Company. She has a passion for building relationships and creating memorable experiences. Driven by a desire to celebrate the vibrant diversity of Brockton and build authentic spaces for inclusion and belonging. Brockton Beer, founded in 2019, opened its doors June 2022 leading the revitalization of downtown Brockton. BBC is a cultural vibe intentionally creating spaces wherever they are. You can find us in the taproom, at festivals, and in your favorite restaurant. Brockton Beer is “Crafted for Community.” LaTisha, has built a career as an Agile Coach focused on organizational change management. An alum of Cardinal Spellman and Bentley University she centers her leadership approach in empathy, obsessing about the customer in order to achieve outcomes. When not working full time, or listening to the Guilded Age Podcast, you can find LaTisha and her husband driving around New England being soccer parents to their two teenagers.

Women’s Self Defense Workshop with Officer Irina Deane-Costa

Officer Deane-Costa will facilitate an empowering workshop designed to equip women with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to protect themselves in a variety of situations. If interested in participating in any of the month’s events, please RSVP to WLI.

Location: Field House Multi-Purpose Room (FH205)
Date and Time: Friday, March 15 at 12:00 pm

Irina Deane-Costa is a POST certified police officer for the Massasoit Community College Police Department. With over 10 years of police experience, Officer Deane-Costa is deeply committed to providing law enforcement services for the Massasoit community. In addition to being trained in Taekwondo and Muay Thai, Officer Deane-Costa is currently assigned as the Department’s certified instructor in women’s self-defense. Officer Deane-Costa is also a founding member of the Massasoit Police Department’s first ever Community Engagement Team in which is a specialized unit dedicated to engaging with students, faculty, staff, and guests of Massasoit through various outreach programs both on and off-campus.

Women’s Resource Center Presents: WHM Lunch and Learn

Historic Women in STEM fields – Dr. Katie Ruggieri, Division Dean of Mathematics & Science. A light lunch will be served to those who attend. For more information please reach out to Donna LeClair.

Location: Louison Board Room
Date and Time: Wednesday, March 27 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm

Dr. Katie Ruggieri currently serves at the Division Dean of Science & Mathematics at Massasoit. Growing up in Rhode Island, Katie discovered a love for science at a very early age. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Smith College and from there went directly to the University of Iowa, where she graduated with her Ph.D. in Anatomy & Cell Biology. She returned to the northeast to complete a postdoc in pulmonary vascular biology at Brown University in 2007. During her postdoctoral training, Katie began teaching as an adjunct instructor of Biology at the Community College of Rhode Island and Bristol Community College. In 2011, she took a full-time faculty position at Bristol, where she worked to build a Biotechnology training program and to launch Life Sciences Associates degrees in Biology and Biotechnology and Forensic DNA. Katie transitioned into leadership in late 2019, serving as Associate Dean of STEM and then Interim Dean of STEM. She joined the Massasoit team in January 2023, focused on student success and advancing STEM education and training in the region.

“Work Life Balance: Reflection and Projection”

Please join us for a conversation with Kate Welch, Attorney, Welch Law Office, Massasoit Trustee where she will discuss “Work Life Balance: Reflection and Projection”. Breakfast will be served. If interested in participating in any of the month’s events, please RSVP to WLI.

Location: Akillian Gallery, Canton Campus
Date and Time: Thursday, March 28 at 9:00 am

Kate Welch is a fifteen-year resident of Easton. She was born and raised in the town of Sharon, daughter of John and Eleanor Herburger. She has been married for 17 years to Bob Welch. Bob is a retired Sergeant Detective of the Stoughton Police Department. Together they have two girls, Emilee, a sophomore at Elon University in North Carolina, and Lauren, a junior at Oliver Ames High School. Kate is a graduate of Syracuse University and Roger Williams School of Law. She went to law school at age 27. In the beginning of her career, Kate worked briefly for a sole practitioner whose stories of crime made her want to become a trial lawyer. In 1999, Kate went to work for the newly elected Norfolk District Attorney. She moved up quickly in the ranks, and within two years, Kate was prosecuting major felonies and sexual assaults at the Superior Court level. In 2012, Kate left the District Attorney’s Office, and went into business as a sole practitioner in Brockton. Her practice currently focuses on criminal law. Kate prides herself in listening to her clients and doing what is best for them. Justice comes in all forms. Other than practicing criminal law fulltime, Kate is an adjunct professor at Bristol Community College where she teaches Criminal Law and Procedure in the paralegal program. Kate is also the Easton Town Moderator. Town Moderator is a three-year elected position. In her free time, Kate is a fitness enthusiast. She taught group exercise for 20 years, she has trained and run countless road races including 3 Boston Marathons. She has ridden in 4 PanMass Challenges raising money to help in the fight for cancer. Most mornings you will find Kate either at her local CrossFit gym or in her basement riding her Peloton. Kate hopes she will be remembered as someone who fought hard for everything her clients believed in, a seeker of truth and justice.

The Rise of the Entreprenuer (2022)

This program profiles Cathy Hughes, founder of company Urban One, looking at how she rose past her traumatic earlier experiences to take back her life and achieve success in life and business. Run time: 22:08. Light refreshments will be served. If interested in participating in any of the month’s events, please RSVP to WLI.

Location: Brockton Campus Library
Date and Time: Friday, March 8 at 12:00 pm

Location: Canton Campus Library
Date and Time: Friday, March 29 at 12:00 pm

Sandra Day O’Connor: The First (2021)

For 191 years the U.S. Supreme Court was populated only by men. When Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor as the first female justice in 1981, the announcement dominated the news. A pioneer who both reflected and shaped an era, in her 25 years as justice she was the swing vote in cases about some of the 20th century’s most controversial issues – including race, gender and reproductive rights. Run time: 57:27. Light refreshments will be served. If interested in participating in any of the month’s events, please RSVP to WLI.

Location: Canton Campus Library
Date and Time: Friday, March 8 at 12:00 pm

Location: Brockton Campus Library
Date and Time: Friday, March 29 at 12:00 pm

Documentaries & Discussion at the Women’s Resource Center at the Unity Center

“The Fight for Women’s Suffrage: Looking Back, Marching Forward!”
For more information please reach out to Donna LeClair.

Location: Unity Center-lower level of the Student Center
Date and Time: Thursday: March 14 at 1:00 pm

“First Ladies Throughout History”
For more information please reach out to Donna LeClair.

Location: Unity Center-lower level of the Student Center
Date and Time: Thursday March 28 at 1:00 pm

Unable to attend a viewing in person? We have several films available to view at your leisure!

Alice Guy: Pioneer of the 7th Art (2021)

This Frenchwoman was born in 1873 and she is nothing less than the first female director! The one who thought, imagined and felt that cinema would become an art and the best way to tell stories. With nearly a thousand films, the most abundant career of her time which she was the only one to carry out on both sides of the Atlantic. Run time: 52:43.

Story of Her (2022)

A dynamic American documentary that showcases bold stories of struggle and triumphs in the lives of everyday women. Run time: 1:29:57.

Becoming Helen Keller (2021)

Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind, used her celebrity and wit to champion rights for women, people with disabilities and people living in poverty. This program examines the complex life and legacy of this author, advocate and human rights pioneer. Distributed by PBS Distribution. Run time: 1:22:39.

Donyale Luna Supermodel (2023)

Chronicles the remarkable life and career of Donyale Luna, the first Black model to grace the cover of both Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Born Peggy Ann Freeman in Detroit, Michigan, Luna became a larger-than-life character who broke barriers in the fashion industry, challenged the prevailing ideals of beauty, and influenced culture – all before her untimely death at age 33. An HBO Production. Run time: 1:33:11.

Through the Night (2021)

A cinema verité portrait of three working New York mothers whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center: a mother working the overnight shift as an essential worker at a hospital; another holding down three jobs to support her family; and a woman who for over two decades has cared for the children of parents with nowhere else to turn. Distributed by PBS Distribution. Run time: 1:15:48.

The Janes (2023)

In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago where seven women who were part of a clandestine network were arrested and charged. Using code names, fronts, and safe houses to protect themselves and their work, the accused had built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves “Jane.” Directed by Oscar-nominee Tia Lessin (HBO’s Trouble the Water) and Emmy-nominee Emma Pildes (HBO’s Jane Fonda in Five Acts), The Janes offers first-hand accounts from the women at the center of the group, many speaking on the record for the first time. Run time: 1:41:53.

Please follow the steps below to access these, and other, documentaries on your own:

Login to the Massasoit Portal
Launch the library website from the Portal
Select “All Databases”
Select the letter “F”
Locate “Films on Demand” (first result)
Search the documentary by title and select to view

Contact Massasoit Libraries if you need support

Massasoit Community College encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions related to access for the WLI events, please contact Lydia Dodson, Chief of Staff & Associate Vice President of Strategy, Planning & Innovation, via email or 508-588-9100, extension 1003, in advance of your participation or visit.