The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) will honor Robert F. Rivers, Chair and CEO of Eastern Bank, with the MAPS 2024 Person of the Year Award at the organization’s April 20, 2024, fundraising gala at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, in Cambridge, MA. Lenita Reason, Executive Director of the Brazilian Worker Center (BWC), will be honored with the MAPS Jorge Fidalgo Community Service Award, and Tony DaRocha, President and Coach at Boston United Track and Cross-Country Club, will receive the MAPS Manuel N. Coutinho Outstanding Volunteer Award.
Robert Rivers has had a 40-year career in community banking and is recognized by many organizations for his work in championing diversity and social justice, including being regularly named among the Top 10 “Most Influential People in Boston” by Boston Magazine and to the Boston Business Journal’s Power 50 list.
He is involved extensively in the community, serving as Chair of The Dimock Center and on the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, The Lowell Plan, and The New England Council. Rivers is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Stonehill College, the Advisory Board of Lawrence Partnership, the JFK Library Foundation, the Boston Women’s Workforce Council, and the Boston Club. A leader in Boston’s business community, he is also the co-chair of the recently launched Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education and led efforts to approve the “Yes on 3” campaign to protect LGBTQIA+ rights in Massachusetts in 2022.
“Robert is the ultimate example of what it means to be a socially conscious and community-engaged business leader,” said MAPS CEO Paulo Pinto, MPA. “His commitment to supporting MAPS and so many more nonprofit organizations and social initiatives over the years as CEO of Eastern Bank is truly admirable, and so we are thrilled to recognize and celebrate his success, his Portuguese heritage, and his generosity at our 2024 Gala.”
Brazilian-American Lenita Reason is being honored with the MAPS Jorge Fidalgo Community Service Award. She has been the Executive Director of the Brazilian Worker Center (BWC), an immigrant women-led nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and advancing immigrants’ labor and human rights, since 2021. Prior to leading the organization, she worked at BWC as a Community Organizer, Office Manager, Outreach Coordinator, and co-founded the Building Justice Workers Committee.
In 2020, she also became co-chair of the Driving Families Forward Coalition, a group that played a crucial role in the recent passage of the Work and Family Mobility Act in Massachusetts, playing an essential role in guaranteeing that all Massachusetts residents can apply for a driver’s license, regardless of immigration status.
“We are very happy to honor Lenita for her many years of dedicated service to so many immigrants that choose Massachusetts to be their home,” said Pinto. “Her hard work has impacted the lives of thousands in our communities and is truly worthy of recognition, especially her outstanding leadership advocating for the passage of the Driving Families Forward initiative.”
The MAPS 2024 Manuel N. Coutinho Outstanding Volunteer Award will go to Cape Verdean American Tony DaRocha, Head Coach and president of Boston United Track & Cross-Country Club.
Throughout his career as a physical education teacher and coach in the Boston public school system, DaRocha’s teams and athletes achieved great success, regionally and nationally, in cross country and track & field. Since then, he co-founded the Greater Roxbury Track Club, a program that offered summer training and fitness to anyone, regardless of age, and helped numerous Boston school students achieve success in track & field at the local, state, and national levels. In 2011, he started the Boston United Track & Cross-Country Club, through which he continues to help student-athletes succeed in the classroom and on the track.
“Tony DaRocha is an exceptional educator, coach, and community leader, and it is about time he received a MAPS award,” said Paulo Pinto. “His commitment as a volunteer coach to helping children and young people, especially in often underserved communities, achieve success in all fields of life by promoting physical activity and wellbeing is remarkable, and we cannot wait to share his inspirational story with our community and guests in April of next year.”
The Annual Awards Gala is MAPS’ main fundraiser and supports the organization’s many free health and social services. To learn more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, please visit maps-inc.org/gala2024 or contact Lois Josimovich, MAPS Director of Development, at ljosimovich@maps-inc.org, or by calling 617-864-7600.