After more than a decade helping shape the growth of one of the region’s largest human services organizations, Regina Marshall is taking its top job at a time of rising demand for behavioral health care and other community-based services.
Marshall officially assumed the role of president and CEO of Advocates this month, succeeding Diane Gould, who retired June 30 after a 40-year career with the nonprofit, including 12 years as its president and CEO.
The transition places a longtime member of the organization’s executive leadership team at the helm of a nonprofit with more than 2,700 employees serving more than 50,000 individuals and families each year in Worcester and communities across Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Marshall, who had served as chief operating officer since 2021, plans to focus on expanding access to behavioral health and other services, strengthening recruitment and retention in the human services workforce and building partnerships with health care providers and community organizations, according to the announcement.
“Advocates is entering this next chapter with a clear responsibility to meet people where they are and expand the care communities need most,” Marshall said in the announcement. “This moment reflects both the strength of our mission and the strength of our people.”
Marshall joined Advocates in 2015 after holding leadership positions in Massachusetts’ health and human services system, including roles at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Massachusetts Mental Health Center.
During her time with Advocates, she helped oversee the organization’s growth and strategic planning, improve operations and integrate major agency mergers while maintaining a focus on person-centered care, according to the announcement.
Her appointment comes as human services organizations contend with persistent workforce shortages and growing demand for behavioral health care, disability supports, housing stability resources and family services.
Advocates, founded more than 50 years ago by families seeking better opportunities and support for their loved ones, now operates behavioral health clinics and crisis services as well as residential programs, developmental disability and brain injury supports, employment services and programs for children and families.
As she assumes the leadership role, Marshall said her priorities will include expanding access to care, supporting the workforce and finding new ways for providers to work together.
“Looking ahead, my focus is on expanding access to care, supporting our workforce, embracing innovation, and building partnerships that help us meet growing community needs,” Marshall said in the announcement. “The future of human services is collaborative, person-centered, and community-based, and Advocates is well positioned to help lead it.”
Marshall’s appointment also marks a milestone for the organization as she becomes a Black woman leading one of Massachusetts’ largest nonprofit human services providers.
“As a Black woman stepping into this role, I recognize the importance of representation and the message it sends to our staff, clinicians, and the individuals and families we support,” Marshall said.
Jessica Kemp, chair of the Advocates Board of Directors, said in the announcement that Marshall’s experience inside the organization gives her an understanding of both the challenges facing human services providers and the opportunities ahead.
“Regina brings that combination of vision and experience,” Kemp said. “As she steps into this role, we are confident she will continue advancing Advocates’ mission, strengthening our impact across the region, and positioning the organization to meet the growing and changing needs of the people we serve for years to come.”
Marshall said the organization’s approach must recognize that people seeking help often face challenges that cannot be addressed by a single program or service.
“People’s needs don’t fit neatly into categories,” Marshall said in the announcement. “Behavioral health, housing, employment, family support, and community connection are deeply interconnected. Our responsibility is to listen, understand what matters most to each person, and work together to build supports that help people live healthy, independent, and fulfilling lives.”
