Introducing our new National Board Chair: Michael Keating

We are incredibly fortunate to have Michael Keating join us at the start of this fiscal year as the new Chair of Citizen Schools’ National Board of Directors. Mike is currently a  Partner at Foley Hoag and former Board Chair of The Boston Foundation. "A lawyer and lifelong advocate for expanded opportunity, Mike Keating is one of Boston and the nation's great civic leaders and we at Citizen Schools are excited to welcome him as the next chair of our Board of Directors," said Eric Schwarz, Co-Founder of Citizen Schools and outgoing Chair of the Board.

Maritere Mix, middle school teacher at Nashoba Brooks School and member of our National Board of Directors, shared, "I am excited that Mike Keating, someone with so much experience as a non-profit board chair and with plenty of local Boston knowledge, will be guiding us!"

We interviewed Mike recently and discussed what inspired him to serve his community and to his new role with Citizen Schools.

Citizen Schools [CS]: Please tell us about your history of community service and engagement prior to joining the Citizen Schools Board.

Michael Keating [MK]: The law firm that I joined many years ago had a tradition of encouraging attorneys to have a role in the community, which attracted me to community service. As a younger lawyer, I balanced professional development and my career with work within community organizations. In my very earliest days as an attorney, I worked on criminal justice issues and the representation of people in correctional institutions.

Gradually, I gravitated toward professional issues. I became President of the Boston Bar Association, a position in which I could impact the activities of fellow lawyers. At that time, I also developed an interest in education matters and wanted to help. With a Superintendent whom I knew, we developed a program to get lawyers to help with reading in schools. By the time my term ended, I believe we had 1,500 lawyers who were involved in public schools. 

Luckily, I have always been able to balance the commitments of a trial lawyer with an active role in the community since I believe it is fulfilling for lawyers to have a significant role in the communities in which they live.

[CS]: What drew you to Citizen Schools and the role of Board Chair?

[MK]: When I stepped down from The Boston Foundation where I served as Board Chair for seven years, I looked for another’s opportunity to engage with a significant organization.  I realized my real interest—my strongest interest—was in education. I have known Eric Schwarz for a long time. Back when I was at the Boston Bar Association, Eric was with Citizen Schools in its infancy.

Through The Boston Foundation, I got to know even more people who were connected with Citizen Schools. I got to know more about important education work, like leveling the playing field in urban schools with those not socially advantaged and serving students of color. I think that ultimately this is a question of justice and fairness for our students.

There are certain aspects of being Chair that are important to the organization. I can help other members feel more engaged and I feel it’s important to work closely with staff. In the back of my mind, I think I was looking for another opportunity to serve as Chair, so that I could make more impact. 

I joined the board a year ago, with the goal that if the Board concurred, I would become Eric’s successor. 

[CS]: What is your hope or vision for Citizen Schools during your tenure?

[MK]: I think it is really important to have an engaged Board of Directors as well as an engaged and talented staff. Too many organizations have Board members who don’t really feel they are making much of a contribution and that their talents aren’t always well utilized. 

First, I’d want to make sure everyone who served felt they were an important part of the organization, that their experience and skills are relied upon. Secondly, I think it’s important for a Board to have a good relationship with staff and administrators. I pride myself on relationships at The Boston Foundation, with Paul Grogan and the rest of staff. Finally, just making sure the organization had financial resources to continue their reach and effectiveness. 

They don’t need a Board Chair or a Board to oversee all that they do. The Board has important responsibilities but it should leave the day to day management to the staff. 

[CS]: What advice can you offer to our staff and community as we wrestle with the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and racial injustices?

[MK]: One of the lessons in the last few months is how unpredictable things can be. No one can predict a pandemic. The real challenge to an organization like Citizen Schools or The Boston Foundation, or many other significant nonprofits, is being flexible and adaptable. Recognize that certain things are far outside your control. Find a way to adjust and be quick on your feet.

I think with the current racial situation, it’s called to everyone’s attention how deep this runs in our society, in all organizations, whether in my law firm or Citizen Schools, we need to find ways to address the problem. It won’t go away...it will probably be even more intense. We have to recognize that. I think most significant organizations in our country today, more than I’ve seen in my lifetime really have now recognized it, and we should have recognized it a long time ago.

[CS]: What lessons can Citizen Schools take from this moment to inform its future direction?

[MK]: One lesson is the seriousness of the situation. We are in the business of providing mentoring to people of color and underrepresented communities. We need to help these young people find a path to go into professions. We have to look at what we can do and what we can do well. Find a way to apply that to problems that we’re confronting. I don’t think anything we can do can solve the problem, but we can still make a difference for youngsters, see a path to personal and professional success. Citizen Schools can help in that regard.

[CS]: What are you most passionate about and how has that connected to your work with Citizen Schools?

[MK]: From an autobiographical point of view, I’ve been very blessed in my life by having a terrific educational experience based on luck in some respects. As a 12 year old student, I went to a boarding school as a full scholarship student. My father was in the navy and where we were stationed, the schools were not very good. That boarding school for six years gave me a great experience. 

I was always a believer in the huge difference education can make in people’s lives. I was the beneficiary of it in my own life. I can see how the absence of it can create real hurdles and barriers for people. Education and the value of education, not just in terms of substantive education, but the examples people set for you. 

When we talk about Citizen Schools, and the mentoring process, I have recollections of teachers in high school and even before of the impact that they made on me. My son-in-law is a teacher at a secondary school. I've talked with him about what an important role that is for someone. You have an impact on people for a lifetime. I think the aspect of Citizen Schools bringing adults, professionals, teachers to act as mentors that people youngsters can relate to is very important.

When I was in high school, toying with the idea of being a lawyer, there was a case I was very interested in. I was writing a paper on it and it was a famous trial at the time. So my faculty advisor told me it was being tried by a Boston lawyer.  I wrote a letter to Claude Cross in Boston. I expected him to direct me to read about it in a library, but instead I got a call and he asked me to come for lunch. It was a 3-hour luncheon, where he told me about the case and about his dedication to his client. His client, ironically, had been convicted so it was impressive to me that he remained so convinced of his client’s innocence. My luncheon with Claude Cross had a big impact on my decision to become a lawyer and it was an act of complete graciousness on his part.

As a result of that experience—this is the honest truth—I have never ever refused a request to talk to me about becoming a lawyer. Occasionally when I have mentored a young person, and they say that was so helpful, I’ve always said that the way to thank me is to do it for someone else.