Vivian C. Beard, Trustee Emerita

Original Appointment: April 1998

Vivian C. Beard has had a distinguished professional public service career. She served in senior policy making positions for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for over two decades, including two gubernatorial appointments: as Chairman of the Appeals Board of Unemployment Insurance, and as an Administrative Judge for Workers' Compensation. Her introduction to public service was as Special Assistant to former United States Senator Edward W. Brooke.

Vivian C. Beard is also a jazz and r & b vocalist and entrepreneur. Her stage name is Vivian Male, and she is President of Vivian Male Productions. Vivian is a recording artist, and she has produced benefit concerts for educational scholarships. Her recording debut was on a collaborative CD, Boston Sings Out. She later coproduced her first solo CD, Our Day Will Come, which aired daily on WPLM 99.1 FM. Vivian's song renditions range in mood and tempo, and demonstrate a musical versatility that appeals to audiences of all ages. Over the years Vivian has worked with recording artists Walter Beasley, Bill Pierce, and Andre Ward, as well as producer and composer Rollins Ross. Her band has performed at national conferences and fundraising events, such at Dimock's "Steppin' Out." She has performed the National Anthem for the New England Patriots multiple times, was a featured vocalist for the New England Emmy Awards, the guest artist for WERS, 88.9 FM's inaugural reopening live broadcast, and she has performed on Liz Walker's Sunday Morning TV Show, WBZ Channel 4. Vivian's favorite club venue is Sculler's Jazz Club.

Vivian's leadership in government was recognized with the Commonwealth's Pride and Performance Award, A Decade of Diversity Award from the National Council of State Housing Authorities, and MassHousing's Creativity and Incentive Award. Other awards include the Outstanding Young Women of America Award.

Vivian has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Governor's Advisory Committee on Women's Issues, as president of the Middlesex County Chapter of Links, Inc., as an organizing and founding member of the Coalition of 100 Black Women's Boston Chapter. Boards of Directors memberships included: Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Cambridge College Trustee, Dimock Community Health Center, the Ford Hall Forum, the Huntington Theatre, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Lena Park CDC, board chairman of the Roxbury Multi-Service Center; and a community advisor to the Editorial Board of the Boston Globe.

Vivian is currently a founding member of the Museum of African American History's Legacy Society, Trustee of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, advisory board member of Cambridge College, and member of the board of trustees of Berklee College of Music (Vice Chair Emerita), where she cofounded the Sarah Vaughan Endowed Scholarship Fund. Vivian has a masters degree in Education from Antioch University and has studied at the National Judicial College in Nevada, and the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in Cambridge. She is the proud mother of a 13-year-old son, James, who is central to her life.