Aisha Francis

BIOGRAPHY

Why a Tech Power Player? For leadership in academia, development, and support for underserved communities.

Two years ago, Aisha Francis became the first woman to lead Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, but her groundbreaking impact on the more than 100-year-old school didn’t end there.

Less than a year after her appointment as president, Francis landed a $12.5 million gift from the Cummings Foundation, a Woburn-based philanthropy, which will allow the school to develop new programs to serve its nontraditional learners, mostly students of color. Now, Francis is ushering in a new era for the technical college, launched in 1908 with funds from the will of Boston native Benjamin Franklin.

She is overseeing the school’s move from the South End to Nubian Square — a move that could shape Roxbury for generations to come. Francis is an outspoken proponent of two-year colleges, extolling them as a way to promote economic opportunities for all Bostonians, particularly in the industries with growing demand for workers, such as health care technology and computer networking.

“I am primarily driven by helping Franklin Cummings Tech students thrive and succeed in their personal and professional lives,” Francis says, “but I also want them to have a role in a thriving economy that produces career opportunities when they leave the college.”

Francis is an advocate of clean technology, and her school gears many of its programs toward training students in fields such as green building practices, renewable energy, and electric vehicle technology. She sits on the board of directors at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a state economic development agency.

Francis also serves on the advisory council of the Environmental League of Massachusetts and on the advisory board of New England Women in Energy and the Environment, as well as on the board of public radio station WBUR. She was named a winner of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 Pinnacle Award — an honor for female business leaders — for Achievement in Arts & Education.

Before arriving at Franklin Cummings Tech, Francis worked at Harvard Medical School as the managing director of development, raising funds for scholarships as well as diversity and inclusion initiatives.

For Francis, it’s crucial to teach up-to-date tech skills. “This allows our students to actively build the diverse and skilled workforce we need, contribute to the knowledge-based economy, and enjoy the benefits of living in a region that is prospering.”