Leading with a Cheerful “Hello”: Vanessa Hale’s Career in Local Government 

Vanessa's degree is in English, a fact she is quick to say has served her well too. After her senior-year internship in Congressman Gejdenson's office, her first post-college job was with the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, where she spent her days on the organization's voter information line.

"I loved answering the 1-800 voter information line every day!"

From there, she moved on to the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA).

After the League of Women Voters and the MMA, Vanessa relocated to Central Massachusetts and joined Southborough as its first Assistant Town Administrator. She was halfway through her Master of Public Administration at Clark University at the time, so the timing was, in her word, "fortuitous."

Her time at the MMA gave her a head start that she still credits today. She was on the front lines demonstrating Mass Local Net, the first version of the MMA's website, at meetings across the state, and she met municipal peers in every county.

"I heartily believe that working for the MMA really provided me with a statewide network almost instantly."

Assistant town administrators do a great deal of work that residents rarely see. When Vanessa explains the job to someone outside municipal government, she compares it to a Deputy Mayor or a Chief of Staff, though she admits that some days she would rather impersonate Sydney Ellen Wade from "The American President." Every day is different, she says, but the mix tends to look something like this:

"Toss in a sprinkle of grant writing, constituent services [aka community problem-solving], editor of town publications, event planning, proofreader extraordinaire and volunteer recruitment."

Since the pandemic, she adds, social media oversight and Zoom coordination have joined the list.

Vanessa can name several Town Meeting votes that were pivotal for Southborough, including funding for a preservation restriction and the purchase of a golf course that will forever protect the bucolic view entering the downtown village. But when asked what has been most meaningful, she returns to the senior citizens she works with through the Senior Tax Work Off Program.

"We often have no idea what their journey has been and I relish hearing their stories. Providing them an opportunity to contribute to their community in their elder years is a reward for us all. These hours spent in our town departments may be the only social connection they have that day and we are the better for it."

One participant stands out in particular. He has boosted civic volunteerism in Southborough for many years, yet when he came home from the Vietnam War as a Major, he was reluctant to appear in public in uniform because of the hostility returning service members faced. It took many years for attitudes to change, and today he remains one of Southborough's treasured veterans.

"They are the ones who imbibe public service and I've learned tremendous life lessons from many of them."

Bringing together residents, employees, elected officials and volunteers with very different priorities is a skill Vanessa traces back to her upbringing. She was raised in an Irish Catholic household and still tries to embody her parents' values:

"Primarily that kindness is free, don't interrupt someone speaking and the most important way to start a conversation is with a cheerful 'Hello.'"

Her approach is simple: meet colleagues and residents on a level playing field and listen more than you jump to conclusions. That, she believes, is how civil conversations happen. As for her reputation as a peacemaker, she has a theory about that, too: "I'm pretty sure my middle name is 'diplomacy.'"

Public service has its own kind of uncertainty, and Vanessa knows exactly when it arrives.

"Every Election Day is a period of uncertainty! No friend or colleague is working in an environment [in the private sector] where they may get several new bosses every twelve months or have their performance review discussed live on YouTube."

Her answer is to treat each year as a clean start. She refreshes her to-do list and takes the opportunity when appropriate to educate new officials about the accomplishments that happen every day behind the scenes, work the general public rarely sees. On harder days, she leans on community-minded friends for guidance and on a group text with female managers from across the state, which she calls "a balm that is irreplaceable."

Over her career, Vanessa has watched local government communications transform. Social media has been the most dramatic change. Towns no longer mail nearly what they once did, the Scouts no longer deliver the Annual Town Report, and the town newsletter she once wrote as an insert in the tax bills has evolved to a digital version.

The shift has not all been positive. She finds the tone of public comment periods and online discussion more heated than it needs to be, and wishes people would deliver their message more tactfully. But she sees a real upside in the move to virtual and hybrid meetings.

"Still, the onset of virtual/hybrid meetings has garnered so many new volunteers that might never have participated in the past."

It is why she believes the State Legislature should permanently approve remote meetings.

When Vanessa learned she would receive the Leadership Trailblazer Award, she was, in her words, astounded. She even wrote to her fourth-grade teacher in Melrose. The recognition also had her thinking about her mother, who just turned 92 and whom she describes as fiercely independent and indomitable. Looking at the decades of her mother's life, Vanessa says she is stunned by the blessings she has received that her mother perhaps was not given.

"I adore supporting women who want to grow into a career in public service and relish every opportunity to give them a boost."

For Vanessa, that support is practical. She will do a mock interview, proofread a resume or serve as a cheerleader during a reference check, and then she imagines what those women can do once they step into leadership roles across the Commonwealth.

That support goes well beyond one-on-one help. Vanessa was a member of the founding committee that created WLG, the MMA committee dedicated to coaching, mentoring and recruiting more women into the local government profession in Massachusetts, and she has served on its board since January 2017. She has spent countless hours helping make WLG what it is today, and she has mentored a great many women who have since stepped into leadership roles in municipal government across the Commonwealth.

Her advice for anyone considering a career in municipal government starts with a tip from a mentor:

"A mentor once told me, go to the Finance Committee meetings, and it truly is the best training ground."

She also encourages newcomers to volunteer for a committee in their community to learn the mechanics of local government management. She learned that firsthand taking notes for the League of Women Voters at Melrose City Council meetings, long before local cable broadcast committee meetings.

Asked what impact she hopes her work will have, Vanessa answered with a quote from George Bernard Shaw:

"Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

Right now, that torch is pointed toward 2027, when Southborough will celebrate its Tricentennial. Vanessa is thrilled to have a pivotal role in the many planned events, each with a nod to the town's past and an eye toward its future. Among them is a tree-planting project, with four spots chosen in each of the town's villages. It is a project that makes her hopeful, she says, for "the future reader, toddler, arborist and civic champion."

And after decades of meetings, can Vanessa tell how long one will run just by looking at the agenda? Generally, yes. She is closely involved in the preparation and knows how the Chair feels about each topic. But she keeps her prediction to herself.

Her answer: "I never estimate it out loud because that's just going to bring on Murphy's Law!"