Pine Street Inn, New England’s leading organization dedicated to ending homelessness, announced the appointment of Megan Gates, of the South End, as the new chair of its board of directors. Gates joined Pine Street’s board in 2012 and has supported Pine Street for nearly two decades as a donor and volunteer. She succeeds Lorn Davis, who served on Pine Street’s board for 17 years, including the last four as chair.
“I am honored to serve as chair of Pine Street’s board of directors, helping to advance its mission of providing solutions to homelessness,” said Gates. “For the past 14 years as a board member, I’ve had the opportunity to see firsthand Pine Street’s critical work and extraordinary impact. I look forward to working alongside my fellow board members and Pine Street’s dedicated leadership and staff to expand the innovative housing and support services that help individuals rebuild their lives.”
A partner at the law firm Covington & Burling LLP, Gates specializes in representing corporate clients in the life sciences industry, guiding publicly traded companies through capital-raising, SEC reporting, and corporate governance. Before joining Covington, she was a partner at Mintz Levin, where she served as chair of the corporate practice and co-chair of the securities and capital markets practice. She was previously associate general counsel for Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Additionally, Gates recently completed a term as president of the Boston Bar Foundation, where she helped to oversee the granting of over $2 million to civil legal aid organizations in and around the city of Boston. A South End resident for over 20 years, she is a graduate of Wellesley College and Boston College Law School.
Gates takes over as board chair as Pine Street continues to increase the number of housing units with support services it operates in Boston. Today, Pine Street provides services to 1,200 tenants in 40 locations in Boston and Brookline, including recently opened residences in Back Bay, Jamaica Plain and Dorchester. Pine Street staff work closely with tenants on basic life skills, and connect them with medical and behavioral health care, job training and jobs.
“I am thrilled to welcome Megan as Pine Street’s board chair,” said Lyndia Downie, president and executive director of Pine Street Inn. “She brings a deep understanding of, and commitment to, our mission. Her thoughtful, strategic leadership will help ensure that more individuals experiencing homelessness have access to housing, stability and opportunity. I look forward to working closely with Megan toward the shared goal of ending homelessness.”
Pine Street Inn, the largest homeless services organization in New England, supports more than 2,400 individuals daily, providing housing with support, job training, emergency shelter and street outreach, with a goal of moving individuals off the street, out of shelter and back to a home and community.
For more information or to donate, go to www.pinestreetinn.org.