Moakley Forum

In 2010, Suffolk University, in collaboration with community partners created the Moakley Breakfast Forum to honor and promote Congressman Moakley’s outstanding legacy in public service and to evoke his passion for engaging communities in the discourse of public life.

Recent forums focused on topics including:

• Income Inequality: Overcoming the Divide (October 2019)
• The Greater Boston Housing Dilemma: Who Has Skin in The Game? (May 2019)
• The High Price of "Burnout" (May 2018)
• Legalizing Marijuana in Massachusetts (October 2017)
• The Climate Crisis and Massachusetts? Proactive Response" A Discussion with Senator Marc R. Pacheco (2023)

Moakley Public Service Award

Awarded to, Maria Mossaides

John Joseph Moakley was a lifetime public servant who stood for service to community above service to self. With energy and conviction, he strived to make a difference in the lives of others— to provide equal opportunity for an improved quality of life.

The Moakley Breakfast Series Award for Public Service provides Suffolk University with the opportunity to evoke this spirit of service, commitment, and purpose by recognizing a state government employee who has been a tireless and exemplary leader for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Mossaides is Director of the office for the Child Advocate for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a position she has held since 2015. Leading an independent state agency, she oversees ombuds services and the supervision of children's services statewide. Concurrently, she serves as an adjunct professor in the Moakley Center for Public Management, Sawyer Business School, Suffolk University. With almost forty years of experience as an attorney and administrator, Ms. Mossaides has occupied various positions in both public and private sectors. Notably, she has held senior roles within Massachusetts government, including positions at the Office for Children, the Department of Social Services, the Office of the State Comptroller, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

Ms. Mossaides has held several high-level executive positions in various organizations, showcasing her strong track record of leadership and management. As the Chief Operating Officer for the State’s highest court, she oversaw operations and policy initiatives, including major access to justice policy initiatives and child welfare projects. She also led the development of an agency responsible for governing the procurement of social and rehabilitative services, managing billions of dollars in contracts across multiple sectors. Additionally, she played a crucial role in reformulating the legal framework for fiscal policies and overseeing the licensing of thousands of care facilities.

Before her current position, she served as the Executive Director of Cambridge Family and Children's Service, now known as Bridges Homeward. In this role, she acted as the Chief Executive Officer of the 136-year-old child welfare agency, which extends its services to 110 municipalities within the state. Ms. Mossaides has also been extensively involved in numerous non-profit organizations. She has chaired the Children's League of Massachusetts and the Public Law Section of the Massachusetts Bar Association, served as President of the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College and the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, and held officer positions at the International Orthodox Christian Charities. Presently, she is a board member at the Possible Project, a program aimed at assisting disadvantaged youth.

The Moakley Center for Public Management is honored to present Ms. Mossaides with the Moakley Breakfast Award for Public Service in recognition of her consistent, tireless, and purposeful contributions to public life in the Commonwealth.