Zac previously served on PHENOM’s Board.
By Kim Selwitz and Marven Hyppolite
We are happy to announce that PHENOM has hired Zac Bears to serve as Executive Director. His appointment began on January 30.
“Zac did a stellar job as our Interim Organizing Director,” said Kim Selwitz, President of PHENOM. “He comes to us with a passion for public higher education as well as a robust vision for our organization, and we are very excited for him to join the team!”
Zac previously served as PHENOM’s interim organizing director from November 2016 to January 2017 and served on PHENOM’s Board from June 2016 to January 2017. He graduated from UMass Amherst in 2015 with degrees in political science and economics, worked as an economist for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and served as the digital communications director for AFSCME Council 93, one of the largest public employee unions in New England. While at UMass, Zac helped to lead a campaign against tuition and fee hikes and supported student activists as the opinion editor of the Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
“We are delighted to have Zac as our new executive director,” said Marven-rhode Hyppolite, Vice President of PHENOM. “Zac has demonstrated complete and utter devotion to improving our public higher education system. He brings a lot of energy and a diverse array of skills to PHENOM, I’m incredibly excited to see how his holistic approach to leadership takes us to the next level.”
We know Zac will build on the fantastic work that Natalie Higgins did over her three year tenure as PHENOM’s executive director. Please join us at PHENOM’s first big event under Zac’s tenure, the Sixth Annual Public Higher Education Advocacy Day on March 1 at the Massachusetts State House.