Frances-Feliz Kearns of Mattapoisett receives Latino Excellence Award

Today, the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus (MBLLC) celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with its annual Latino Excellence Celebration which recognizes the invaluable contributions of Latino leaders whose dedication and vision continue to shape and strengthen communities across the Commonwealth. I was deeply honored to present the Latino Excellence Award to Frances-Feliz Kearns, whose remarkable leadership and commitment serve as a powerful example of excellence in action.

Frances-Feliz Kearns is a truly a leader, changemaker and agent of impact for her community, the Tri-Town area and the entire 10th Bristol District.  As a local elected official, advocate, engineer, and parent, Frances is focused on helping people and making all of our lives better.

As an elected Mattapoisett representative of the Old Rochester Regional (ORR) District School Committee, Frances has established herself as a trusted leader. During the pandemic, Frances supported diverse learning options to meet the individual needs of students and their families. She served on the committee for safely reopening schools and was instrumental in transitioning from remote to hybrid and, eventually, in-person learning. In her first term, Frances participated in a series of successful negotiations with the district teacher's union, resulting in fair and equitable teacher contracts while maintaining high-quality educators and extracurricular programs. And in her second term, Frances has worked to protect the rights of all students, faculty and staff, advocate for improvements to school facilities, enhance curriculum and actively lobby the legislature for increased school funding.

She has over 20 years of professional experience as an engineer supporting the aerospace, military, defense, and life sciences industry. Her experience includes development engineering for NASA, providing product support for orthopedic devices to medical professionals, and ensuring the safety and efficacy of therapies to treat patients with rare gastrointestinal and hematological diseases. Frances is a Director of Engineering, Quality Assurance at the global biotech company Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

Frances has a long history of community service and has been recognized on both the municipal and State level for her work and dedication. She has been recognized by New Bedford NAACP,  Jewish War Veterans of the USA. She has received the New Bedford Heritage Award, was also recognized by the Massachusetts State Senate and the Massachusetts State House of Representatives for her contributions and dedication to the greater New Bedford Minority Community and is the receipent of special US Congressional Recognition from Congressman Barney Frank for 'outstanding and valuable service to the community.' She was also nominated for Leadership South Coast's 2023 South Coast Women in Leadership List.

Through her professional network and field connections, Frances helped Center School, Old Hammond Town, and later in the month ORR Junior High School secure $12K in STEM funding for education and training via the NEFIRST/WPI Robotics STEM Week Demo and Grant Program. The opportunity was developed to be provided "An organization or event with the stated mission of outreach or increasing opportunity for people of an underrepresented minority, as defined by WPI (people of Hispanic; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; and Hawaiian or Pacific Islander origin). 

Frances is an Alumni of New Bedford High School, WPI (BS Biomedical Engineering ’02) and the National Graduate School of Quality Management (MS ’12). She strongly believes in increasing STEM/STEAM educational opportunities for district students, and increasing the representation of women and underrepresented minorities in these career fields. She recognized that she received support from many people in her family and community to motivate her to reach for and obtain her dream opportunity as Director of Engineering at one of the most impactful pharmaceutical companies.