Across the human services industry, direct support is disproportionately provided by women. According to a 2018 report by the Providers' Council, women make up 80% of the human services work force in Massachusetts. Some of the most consequential leadership at The Guild happens in the daily work of largely female staff who prepare meals, support communication, manage routines, respond to crises, and help others move through each day with dignity.
Advancing women’s equality means uplifting both women with disabilities and the women whose labor underlines human services.
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to recognize women whose leadership strengthens systems, expands opportunity, and protects human rights. The Guild is proud to celebrate our workforce where women make up 80% of chief officers, 75% of directors, and 57% of our Board of Trustees. Their leadership drives meaningful change for the individuals we support. We’re highlighting 6 of the extraordinary leaders whose advocacy and policy work advances The Guild’s mission to educate, encourage, and empower individuals with intellectual disabilities. These women are expanding access, education, and opportunity.
Amy Sousa, Chief Executive Officer
In her 8 years as CEO, Amy C. Sousa has shaped a leadership approach grounded in the belief that dignity must be built into systems. She has dedicated her career to improving healthcare, promoting safety, and enhancing the autonomy of individuals and families with a special focus on trauma and disabilities.
Amy has centered her work on strengthening the structures that determine whether people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (and those who support them) are taken seriously by the institutions around them. For her, leadership is the responsibility to ask whether systems are producing justice, whether regulations reflect human dignity, and whether institutions are willing to evolve when they no longer serve the needs of people.
Under her leadership, The Guild has expanded residential capacity, advanced workforce equity, and pursued new models of inclusion that extend beyond traditional service delivery. Her focus has remained consistent: organizations entrusted with vulnerable lives must also be willing to challenge the policies, assumptions, and habits that limit opportunity.
Maureen Costello-Shea, Chief Program Officer
Maureen Costello-Shea is a steadfast advocate for the rights and dignity of individuals with disabilities with more than 35 years of experience in the human services field.
In her 16 years with The Guild, Maureen has focused on ensuring that all students and adult residents are provided safe, therapeutic homes, allowing them to be active, engaged members of their communities. She oversees The Guild’s adult residential and health services and serves on the Human Rights Committee with parents, family members, staff, and human rights officers for each adult residence.
Maureen is known for her compassion and a lifelong commitment to ensuring individuals with disabilities have meaningful quality lives in the community. She serves as a dedicated leader as a member of the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers Board of Directors and Wraparound Family Services Board of Directors. She serves as President of L'Arche USA Board of Directors. For many years, Maureen served on the Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts adult services committee and ARC of Massachusetts transition conference committee.
Ivette Rodriguez, Chief Financial Officer
Financial leadership in human services is often measured by what remains stable under pressure, and Ivette Rodriguez has helped ensure that The Guild’s growth remains anchored in fairness and discipline. Her leadership style is grounded in fairness, discipline, and a deep respect for the people whose daily work sustains human services. She has dedicated her career to building strong financial systems that support equity, dignity, and long-term stability for the workforce.
Ivette has helped shape compensation structures that better recognize the value of direct care labor while protecting long-term organizational sustainability. She has strengthened financial stewardship while supporting investments in workforce equity, compensation, and operational resilience. Her work in 8 years with The Guild reflects that sound financial management is not separate from mission – it is essential to sustaining it.
Fabiana Fickett, Senior Clinical Advisor of Behavior Services
Fabiana Fickett has been supporting youth with developmental disabilities over the course of her 30-year career in special education and behavioral health. Few areas of human services require more precision than behavioral support, yet Fabiana has long understood that precision alone is never enough. She has brought deep experience as a therapist, clinician, and advocate for underserved students to her 7 years at The Guild.
Fabiana is driven by the joy, determination, and authenticity of the individuals she serves, and she is committed to expanding access to behavioral supports that help young people achieve meaningful breakthroughs and long-term independence. Learn more about Fabiana in this Q&A from 2020.
Allison Traub, Clinical Director of Adult Services
For Allison Traub, clinical work has always been inseparable from the daily realities of community life. Allison is a licensed mental health counselor and leads the Positive Behavioral Supports initiative. By conducting and training staff in the healthy relationships curriculum, she helps individuals build meaningful, safe connections.
Over the course of 11 years at The Guild, her leadership has helped strengthen interdisciplinary support across adult services while advancing opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to participate more fully in their communities. Allison is committed to increasing community engagement and reducing barriers to access, working with teams, providers, and staff to ensure residents can fully participate in the community in ways that reflect their interests and goals.
Liza Shirazi, Corporate partner and co-owner of Revival Cafe + Kitchen
Some of the most meaningful work of inclusion happens when community partners decide to build differently. Liza Shirazi has brought that spirit to The Guild through a partnership grounded in shared values.
For 7 years, she has helped imagine how hospitality can create meaningful employment and visibility for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Her work reminds us that inclusion becomes durable when it is built into the places where people gather, work, and belong.
Liza’s work in hospitality always fed her desire for connection and to create meaningful spaces for others to connect within. She loves working with others as they explore how to lead more vibrant lives and connect to themselves, people around them, and their environments. Read more about Liza’s work and Revival’s values in this article.