Meet Our Leadership Team

I partner with families and business owners to protect what matters most. With 25+ years of experience in both law and financial services, I help clients navigate the complexities of wills, trusts, probate, and comprehensive estate planning solutions, including business succession and family legacy protection.

The Shirley James Foundation for Children and Families welcomes Richard Wright to the Board of Directors!

“It’s very rewarding to provide knowledge and guidance to help young people achieve their own goals for a brighter future.”

Foundation Treasurer Richard Wright sees the foundation as offering the knowledge and direction to help people to achieve their own goals. Awareness is crucial, but many people, especially if they are young or new to the country, may not know where help is available or which specific type of help best fits their situation. In the past, it was always particularly rewarding for Richard to see how deeply the winning college students appreciated RTN Federal Credit Union’s annual scholarship grants: just like the children and families that the foundation serves, these young people were grateful to receive resources that more effectively allowed them to pursue their own dreams and make their futures brighter.

During Richard’s time leading RTN, the credit union established its own charity, and he looks forward to utilizing those lessons now. He found it exceptionally challenging and fulfilling: putting together a team that works harmoniously toward the same vision; establishing various revenue streams and programs to generate funds; and building up the opportunities, resources, and community relationships for the organization to become economically sound and self-sustaining so that it can most effectively help people. He is also excited to bring to bear his financial and accounting background in his role as Treasurer, including his experience overseeing investments, financial controls, regulatory compliance, and the preparation of financial statements.

Richard spent over thirty years as the Treasurer and CEO of RTN Federal Credit Union, directing its growth from $207 million to over $1 billion in assets. He received the 2020 CEO of the Year Award from the Cooperative Credit Union Association (CCUA) in honor of his leadership during the Covid pandemic. Richard is a resident of Marlborough and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bentley University and an MBA from Nichols College.

The Shirley James Foundation for Children and Families welcomes Millie Zayas to the Board of Directors!

“I believe that helping others is our duty and responsibility, especially helping children who are the future of our communities and families.”

Chairperson of Community Outreach Millie (Milagros) Zayas is excited to take part in an organization that helps children and families regardless of their background or origin. She had the pleasure and honor of meeting Shirley and later learning more about her remarkable spirit of giving through discussions with Nicole. During Millie’s career in the credit union industry, she frequently represented the institution in community and charitable efforts and now looks forward to working with many of the same organizations, businesses, and local leaders that she has gotten to know. She particularly looks forward to serving the Waltham area, where her many years of openminded listening, diligent attention to detail, and fluency in Spanish have made her a trusted community figure. She also especially enjoys seeing diverse groups of people come together at multicultural events to celebrate their shared dreams and common humanity, running deeper than any differences. Millie sees the same throughline of empowerment running from her credit union work directly, whose industry adage is “people helping people”; to her community efforts like providing financial literacy and advice to underserved groups; to Foundation efforts to make people more aware of accessible information and services. Fear in the face of looming complicated challenges can leave people feeling overwhelmed and helpless- but once people fully understand both the obstacles and the resources available to them, they can navigate complex situations with confidence instead of fear in order to make the best decisions for themselves.

Millie worked at RTN Federal Credit Union for over forty years, most recently as the Vice President of Retail Branches. During her time at the credit union, she established the business development department, oversaw the operation and growth of a branch network of nineteen locations, and was recently honored with the 2022 Professional of the Year Award by the Cooperative Credit Union Association (CCUA). Millie holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Emmanuel College. She lives in Waltham and originally hails from Puerto Rico.

The Shirley James Foundation for Children and Families welcomes Dot Sparrow to the Board of Directors!

“I can’t wait to use my knowledge and energy on this wonderful venture and its focus on children.”

Chairperson of the Fundraising Committee, Dot (Dorothea) Sparrow, looks forward to advancing the foundation’s work helping children and families. She expects that building up the social trust needed for people to utilize these services will be challenging, in a time of such tension and friction all across the country, but that it will be deeply fulfilling as well. She likens it to her previous experience working with a community to build up trust in a new venture: during her career working in human resources at GTE, she helped to establish a new plant in Taunton, Massachusetts, which included hiring over one thousand new employees within a year.

Dot also serves as Chairperson of the New England Hemophilia Association’s Charles L. Doherty Memorial Golf Tournament, named in honor of her late husband. Charles formerly ran the event and raised over $1.5 million for the organization, a total which Dot aims to meet and surpass herself!

Dot is a retired Director of Human Resources for GTE Government Systems. She has held the position of Vice President of the Electronic Industries Personnel Association, as well as serving on the UMass Dartmouth Business Advisory Council and several credit union boards, most recently RTN FCU’s. She studied at Boston College and currently resides in Westwood, and her personal interests include golf and the culinary arts.