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www.baypath.edu
Lindsay Hackett '03 G'09
Budget Director, Office of the Mayor
A love of numbers, a knack for data and a sentimental connection
to Springfield landed Lindsay Hackett '03 G'09 her current job.
As the city's Budget Director, she oversees a $682 million budget,
the amount it takes to run the police, fire and
municipal departments, without neglecting
roads, school buildings, parks or any other
infrastructural necessities.
Although raised in Palmer, Hackett seemed
pulled to Springfield at every phase of her life.
"I remember taking the bus to Johnson's Bookstore on Main
Street with my grandmother and then seeing my Pepe, who
was a Springfield police officer on Main Street, doing his job.
My great grandparents were very active in the community, and
I imagine them walking up the stairs to City Hall, a place I come
every day for work. It's all full circle."
For Hackett, a self-professed "numbers geek" who received
her master's degree in Communications and Information
Management and bachelor's in Liberal Studies at Bay Path,
the pragmatism of balancing finances and projecting revenues
is tinged with the thrill that comes from seeing ideas evolve
into realized projects, such as the MGM casino, or community
initiatives, such as a youth reading program run through the
city's libraries. "To me, a number is a number, and I came to my
finance and budget geekiness from data. As far as my love for
data, that came through the Communications and Information
Science program and Professor Richard Briotta, who was
the greatest."
Bay Path alumni helP ShaPe
a new era in SPringfield
"We're bringing a sort of glamour and
nostalgia back to the City of Firsts."
