Pamela G. McDermott is Founder and CEO of McDermott Ventures, a multi-service firm, focusing on public affairs and strategic communications. McDermott Ventures is her fourth start-up consulting firm, and builds upon her 30 years of experience in the consulting business. She is the former President and Co-Founder of McDermott/O’Neill & Associates, New England’s largest public affairs and strategic communications firm.
As President of Northeast Management and Marketing Company, Inc., the first firm she founded in 1981, Pamela built a reputation as one of the leading public strategists in Boston, and was instrumental to the success of a number of major real estate projects locally and nationally, including projects in the Greater Boston area, as well as in Washington D.C. and Virginia. Prior to founding Northeast, Pamela was a candidate for the Boston City Council, running as a citywide candidate. Her previous career included opening and running the Boston office for D.H. Sawyer & Associates, a New York-based international corporate and political communications firm. In that role, she managed the Boston advertising and production teams for two major campaigns: a campaign for Mayor of Boston and a Presidential candidate in 1981. She has also held a number of public policy positions in the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the New England Governors’ Conference.
Pamela was named a recipient of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Pinnacle Award in Entrepreneurship, awarded to women in Greater Boston who have achieved excellence in business and management, and was named in “BOSTON” Magazine as one of “The Top 100 Women in Boston”. Pamela also received the New England Council’s Leadership Award to Women in Business. She was appointed by Congressman Joseph Moakley to serve as a Delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business.
Pamela served two terms as President of New England Women in Real Estate (NEWIRE), a non-profit association of professional women in commercial real estate. In addition, Pamela has chaired numerous charitable and civic events over the past 25 years.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the University of Vermont Foundation, and previously served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Vermont. She was selected as a recipient of the 1996 UVM Alumni Achievement Award, and is also a former Chair of the UVM Fund at the University of Vermont.
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Carolyn L. Spicer, Executive Vice President, has been with McDermott Ventures since its inception fourteen years ago. She has had the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the company’s growth, and has held many roles in the company, serving as Executive Vice President the past 10 years. Carolyn is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firm, as well as managing clients in the areas of public and community relations, and real estate.
Carolyn has managed many complex real estate projects in Greater Boston, working with the Related Companies on its mixed-use development proposal for the former Polaroid site in Waltham and “The Clarendon” mixed-use project in the Back Bay. Other projects include: Equity Office’s historic redevelopment of Russia Wharf in the Financial District/Fort Point Channel, the Fan Pier project on South Boston’s waterfront and the redevelopment of historic downtown Quincy.
In 2009, Carolyn was recognized by Banker and Tradesman as one of 2009’s ‘New Leaders.’ She is a Fellow in the Emerging Leaders Program at The Center for Collaborative Leadership/University of Massachusetts-Boston, and serves on the Board of Visitors and the Buildings & Grounds Committee of New England Baptist Hospital. In addition, she serves on the Board of Trustees of Heading Home, an organization whose mission is to end homelessness in Greater Boston, and on the Board of Directors for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay an organization dedicated to restoring and protecting Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay. Carolyn ran the Boston Marathon to raise money for Boston Medical Center.
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Sarah E. Blodgett, Vice President, is an innovative thinker and creative strategist with 15 years of experience in branding, marketing, communications and public policy.
Prior to joining McDermott Ventures, she served as Chief of Staff and Communications Director to Massachusetts State Senator Karen Spilka. Under Sarah’s leadership, Senator Spilka was endorsed by the MetroWest Daily News as “…quite simply, the most effective legislator MetroWest has sent to Beacon Hill in a generation,” during her 2010 re-election campaign.
Sarah was instrumental in the passage of Jenny’s Law, legislation designed to protect individuals and families from large life insurance companies by shifting the burden of proof for pre-existing conditions from patients to insurers. Sarah’s media advocacy included statewide and national television coverage, as well as a grassroots social media campaign.
As Chief of Staff, Sarah orchestrated a listening tour of businesses throughout the state after the 2008 economic downturn. The resulting law, the Economic Development Reorganization Act of 2010, streamlined government, creating a more business-friendly environment, and included a permit extension provision for real estate projects.
Previous to her work in state government, Sarah worked in international development and education. As the Public Relations Manager for Swedish-based EF Foundation for Foreign Study, Sarah managed an international cross-functional team to update branding, positioning and messaging. Her efforts resulted in the adoption of a new brand identity, as well as a complete overhaul of the organization’s website and print materials.
A dedicated self-starter and early adopter, Sarah created websites for the Boston-based international development non-profits World Education and the Institute for Development Research (IDR) on a shoe-string budget in the late 1990s. She also led the international marketing for IDR, whose associates included Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
