Meet the newest members of the Boston Foundation Board

The Boston Foundation is thrilled to introduce you to the newest members of our Board of Directors—Bunker Hill Community College President Dr. Pam Eddinger and Bain Capital Senior Advisor Dwight Poler.

Pam Eddinger

Pam Eddinger has led Bunker Hill Community College—the state’s largest—since 2013. Under her leadership, BHCC has improved on a number of metrics and was named a co-winner of Achieving the Dream’s Leah Meyer Austin Award for its excellent work around student success. BHCC has worked closely with the Boston Foundation’s Success Boston college completion initiative, and on numerous other projects and initiatives designed to improve outcomes and opportunities for students and graduates across Greater Boston.

Eddinger earned her master’s degree and doctorate in modern Japanese literature at Columbia University, and her bachelor’s degree in English from Barnard College. Prior to BHCC, she served as President of Moorpark College, a 15,000-student community college in Moorpark, California, and held senior administration roles at MassBay Community College. She serves on a number of local and national boards, for organizations including WGBH, the Boston Private Industry Council, EdVestors, the National Asian/Pacific Islander Council and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Workforce Investment Board).

Dwight Poler

As Senior Advisor at Bain Capital, Dwight Poler has until recently been based in London, where he founded Bain’s European Private Equity Business in 2000 and managed it through December 2017. He joined Bain Capital in 1994 and was named a Managing Director in 1999. Prior to that, Poler was a consultant at Bain & Company specializing in technology, consumer products and financial services industries. Previously, he worked in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley & Co., in both New York and Tokyo, with a focus on technology.

Poler co-founded a social investment model in London called the Private Equity Foundation (PEF). Bain Capital, with other private equity firms, invested funds and pro bono skills through PEF toward capacity building in charities that help disadvantaged young people achieve education and employment. This included one of the earliest UK social impact bonds, which generate returns to investors, paid by the British government, when desired outcomes are realized. The Poler family has had a donor advised fund at the Boston Foundation since 2008.

“The Boston Foundation is very fortunate to be able to welcome both Pam Eddinger and Dwight Poler to the Board of Directors,” says Board Chair Sandra Edgerley. “Pam has demonstrated her strong, enthusiastic leadership and has been a valued partner in efforts to improve the outcomes for thousands of graduates. And Dwight’s experience in developing innovations in philanthropy and impact investing will help us continue to lead the field in finding new strategies for leveraging philanthropic dollars to their greatest potential. They are wonderful additions to our board.”