Mission & Vision

Founded in 1989, the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail celebrates the past accomplishments of remarkable women in Boston, claiming their rightful place in our City’s history. Through education, reflection, and an interactive city-wide monument, we activate the powerful female side of Boston’s history.

We envision ourselves to be a national model for place-based exploration of women’s history, with the goal of provoking curiosity and inspiring the next generation to be audacious creators and leaders.

The Boston Women’s Heritage Trail (BWHT) was created by a group of Boston Public School teachers and students to highlight the overlooked contributions of women to Boston's history. Modeled after the Freedom Trail and Black Heritage Trail, BWHT showcases both well-known figures like Abigail Adams and Phillis Wheatley and lesser-known leaders like Julia O'Connor and Melnea Cass.

Boston Women’s Heritage Trail Today

For the last 30 years, the BWHT functioned as a volunteer-only program. Past achievements include: 300+ landmarks across the city highlighting the unique contributions of women in Boston; development of self-guided walking tours in 14 Boston neighborhoods; support to other cities in amplifying women’s history, including helping NYC erect the first statue of a woman in Central Park; and collaborations with local cultural institutions.

Boston is known for its history, emphasis on education, and dedication to creating and preserving knowledge. However, women’s voices have been left out of the city’s story and there is a growing public interest in women’s history. In 2024, BWHT obtained its own 501c(3) status and is excited to hire a full time Executive Director to lead the organization into its next phase of work.

The Role

In partnership with the governing board and advisory board, the Executive Director will build consciousness through awareness and education of women in Boston

• Reimagine what recognition looks like, thinking beyond monuments
• Memorialize women in a way that inspires curiosity and action
• Collaborate with other organizations locally and nationally which are congruent with BWHT’s mission and vision.

In this new role, there are many opportunities to grow the organization. This includes:

• Increasing representation: dive into archival research to include more BIPOC representation on our trails, ensuring every Bostonian can see themselves in our history. This includes implementing a joint project with the Friends of Cedar Grove Cemetery to further research and honor the 133 unnamed women buried at two cemeteries who were part of the Home for Aged Color Women on Beacon Hill.
• Scaling tour offerings: develop thematic trails that shape and add color to the narratives of women's history in Boston
• Expanding educational programming: K-12 students, college, and adults all represent various market segments that need a clear vision and roadmap to increase their awareness of and engagement in Boston women’s history.
• Develop a cadre of tour guides and promote BWHT offerings to local residents and visitors.
• Fundraising

BWHT Major New Initiative for 2025: The Cedar Grove Cemetery and The Home for Aged Colored Women.

BWHT recently partnered with the Friends of the Cedar Grove Cemetery to work on a project related to deceased residents of The Home For Aged Colored Women, a congregate living site which existed in several locations on Beacon Hill between 1843 and 1959. One hundred and thirty-three of these women are buried in two large plots at the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Dorchester. The goal of the project, which recently received funding from Legacy Fund Boston, is to appropriately memorialize the women buried at Cedar Grove. This will be the first large project the Executive Director will work on, with work continuing for at least two years.

• Finalize the research started by MIT related to who is buried at Cedar Grove
• Develop a plan to engage the community in a conversation about how to memorialize these women
• Work closely with the Friends of Cedar Grove on planning
• With community and advisory input, craft an RFI or RFP to determine the path forward
• Work with grantee Legacy Fund Boston on accountability
• Lead the effort to fundraise for an installation and possibly an education project

Who You Are

• Passionate about women’s history and its potential as a lever for social change
• Excited by archival research
• Care deeply about increasing the BIPOC representation of women in Boston’s history
• Possess the creativity to expand BWHT’s reach across communities and generations
• Previous success with financial management of an organization
• Excited by engaging the community in a variety of projects and perspectives
• Interested in working with and honoring the expertise active advisory board members in shaping the organization
• Enjoy working with multiple stakeholders and building consensus amongst people with varying lived experiences and perspectives
• Enjoy working in a startup environment, wearing many the hats
• Committed to fundraising at least $200,000 annually, depending on project and growth opportunities

Hiring Process and Timeline

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. The organization is looking to hire for this role no later than March 1, 2025.

Timeline:

• Submit a resume and cover letter no later than February 1st, 2025 to info@bwht.org
• Select candidates will be invited for an interview with the hiring committee
• Finalist(s) will interview with the board of directors

Boston Women’s Heritage Trail is an equal opportunity employer and encourages people from all experiences, abilities, and perspectives to apply. Women of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Salary Range: $90,000 - $95,000 (if full-time, plus benefits)

This salary range and posting is for a full time equivalent position. However, we are open to discussing this position starting part-time or as a consultant and growing to a full-time position as the fundraising and other operations at the BWHT ramps up. Our goal is to have this role start full-time by 7/1/2025, but we are eager to get started by 2/15/2025 and we welcome your ideas given what is outlined above about how you would approach this.

Location: Hybrid

This role is hybrid, with some of the time spent at our partner location at 276 Newbury Street, Boston as well as in the community based on current project work.

Founded in 1989, the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail celebrates the past accomplishments of remarkable women in Boston, claiming their rightful place in our City’s history. Through education, reflection, and an interactive city-wide monument, we activate the powerful female side of Boston’s history.

We envision ourselves to be a national model for place-based exploration of women’s history, with the goal of provoking curiosity and inspiring the next generation to be audacious creators and leaders.

The Boston Women’s Heritage Trail (BWHT) was created by a group of Boston Public School teachers and students to highlight the overlooked contributions of women to Boston's history. Modeled after the Freedom Trail and Black Heritage Trail, BWHT showcases both well-known figures like Abigail Adams and Phillis Wheatley and lesser-known leaders like Julia O'Connor and Melnea Cass.