Barbara G. Holland

Barbara G. Holland is the President, Founder and CEO (Culturally Empowering Officer) of BreakThrough Partners, a consulting firm focusing on inclusion and diversity, organizational change, cultural competence, workforce effectiveness and workplace equity. Working with passion and in a proactive manner for over 25 years, she has a history of results-oriented collaborations with organizations to effect long-term sustainable change. Her commitment and dynamic leadership in helping to create culturally competent, inclusive and diverse organizations have been demonstrated through her ability to spearhead the strategic thinking, organizational action planning and implementation and continuous monitoring and feedback systems that are vital to long-term enhanced organizational performance and overall effectiveness. Through the connected experiences of “thinking, doing and being”, her clients are able to build and maintain a culture of respect and inclusion.

Before founding BreakThrough Partners, Ms. Holland held key diversity leadership positions in education and healthcare. She was the first Director of Campus Diversity at Framingham State College for over six years and, most recently, she was the first Director of Diversity at Massachusetts General Hospital for four years. In that role, she became the first full-time Director of Diversity at any of the hospitals in Boston.

In 1987, she was selected as part of the first team of facilitators to deliver the Anti-Defamation League’s World of Difference program – work that she continues today.

Ms. Holland is highly regarded for her unique ability to motivate and engage with students of educational institutions and staff members at all levels of community organizations and municipalities, healthcare systems, regional banks and Fortune 500 corporations. As a strategist, she has demonstrated the ability to build meaningful partnerships with her clients and to quickly respond to changes within and around the organizational culture. Her style can be characterized as a partnership approach that effectively facilitates collaboration while creating a comfortable environment that directly deals with many types of resistance and challenges team members to maximize their opportunities as a part of a diverse, culturally competent and inclusive organization.

As a frequently sought after speaker, she has made many television and radio appearances and has been featured in a variety of newspaper articles. In fact, BreakThrough Partners was featured on the cover of an edition of Greater Boston’s JobFind and included remarks by Ms. Holland in an article about diversity training. She is also a frequently requested speaker and informational resource during Black History Month.

Ms. Holland recently became an Adjunct Faculty Member at Emmanuel College and taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses on Managing Diversity in Contemporary Organizations. Ms. Holland holds a Master’s Degree in Education and Administration from Cambridge College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Boston University.

In November 2010, Ms. Holland received Official Citations from both the Massachusetts House of Representatives and State Senate recognizing her as a recipient of the Woman Of Purpose Impact Award for 30 years of community service as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is an active member of the MetroWest Alliance for Workplace Diversity (sponsored by the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce) and serves on the Board of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Business Empowerment Center of Worcester.

Barbara G. Holland – MA

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