WPI Journal - The Magazine for WPI Alumni

FALL 2014

The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)

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"I think life does that. Life throws you into the middle of things. So you need a good educational foundation to fgure it out." FULL PLATE That business expertise is what led Bradford, in a round- about way, back to his roots: fghting hunger. In 2004 he was working as managing director with Put- nam Investments in Boston, where he sat on a charitable giving committee that oversaw a pool of money that was donated to nonprofts. At that time, The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) had launched a capital campaign to raise the funds needed to build a state-of-the-art, 117,000-sq.-ft. warehouse. The organization pitched Bradford's group at Putnam. "I was the only one on the committee who knew anything about food," he recalls. As GBFB president and CEO Catherine D'Amato spoke to the committee about the goals for the warehouse, a famil- iar name came up: JoAnn Pike, the woman who'd begun the food pantry in Maine with the help of Bradford's fam- ily. "She happened to know JoAnn very well, so we had an instant connection," says Bradford. After listening to her speak, and taking a tour of the food bank, the committee agreed to donate $100,000 each year for fve years. Putnam was the frst corporation to give to the capital campaign. Looking back on that day, D'Amato recalls Bradford's con- nection. "When I meet with people who have passion for the food bank, there is usually one little kernel or a connect- ed story—they grew up poor, they had to eat government cheese, they might have missed meals as a kid," she says. "In Woody's case, his father had this passion, so there was this connection for him and the next generation." The experience awakened something in Bradford, and he began volunteering his own time and money with the food bank, even bringing his two sons (now 13 and 16) along. It wasn't long before he joined the board, and he has taken on positions of greater responsibility ever since, building up to his latest role as chairman of the board. While his jobs have changed over the years, with added responsibility and remarkable success (he's cur- rently the president and CEO at Conning, an investment manage- ment company for the insurance industry), his commitment to the food bank hasn't wavered. Because GBFB is a distribution center of food, it works to gather excess food from area grocers and purchase additional food at wholesale prices through donations. The warehouse then distrib- utes food to hundreds of agencies throughout eastern Massachu- setts, and those agencies serve it directly to people in need. "We're going to distribute close to 50 million pounds of food this year through The Greater Boston Food Bank," says Bradford, pride seep- ing through his words. D'Amato says that from the moment she met Bradford, he be- gan asking tough questions of the organization, and he contin- ues to do that to this day. She describes him as a strategic thinker, and one who really helps her management team excel. "This is a guy who studied at WPI as an undergrad, so he has the technical capability. Then a business degree from Harvard... that's a danger- ous combination in terms of skill," she says. "Because you have the numbers profciency and the confdence, and then the strategy." She adds that his business acumen has helped the organization strive toward a greater impact than she ever could have imagined, and she laughs about how Bradford's leadership and scrutiny has made it more challenging for her on a day-to-day basis. "I can't just go out and ask for another dollar, I assure you," she says. "I have to prove that that dollar's being spent wisely toward the mis- The Greater Boston Food Bank GBFB ranks as one of the largest food banks in the United States. Here's a look at the organization, by the numbers: 1 of 9 People in eastern Massachusetts at risk of hunger 125,000 Children in eastern Massachusetts at risk of hunger 21% Increase in requests for assistance from GBFB since 2008 33% Households served that have a child under 18 15% Clients served who are 65 and older 72% Households served that rely regularly on GBFB 61% Households served that must choose between food and utilities 48 Million pounds of food distributed in 2013 190 Communities served by GBFB 550 Community agencies served by GBFB 545,000 People served in 2013 25,000 Volunteers who sort and distribute food 117,000 Square foot measurement of the food distribution facility (Yawkey Distribution Center) Learn more about The Greater Boston Food Bank at gbfb.org. Fall 2014 27

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