Leading with Purpose
Celia Johnston Blue ’00 is creating lasting change through public service, mentorship, and advocacy.
By Alyssa Haywoode
Photo by George Annan ’21
Celia Johnston Blue ’00 loves leadership.
“I love developing people and watching them go on to higher levels,” Blue said, “because as a leader, that’s what you want your folks to do.”
There is in her conception of leadership an interplay of lifting people and being lifted by them. There are the inspiring examples she sees in other leaders. And there are the challenges of gaining new skills to be able to take on new challenges. In this light, even hostility from others becomes a foundation for appreciating kindness.
So when Blue recalls emigrating from Jamaica to the United States at age 11, she remembers it as a time of learning about racism, of students calling her names and telling her to go back to her own country.
“But the light of that experience is that I had teachers who said, No, we’re not standing for that in our classrooms. And there were other classmates who wanted to know me. And I feel very blessed because my cousins, who also came to the United States, didn’t have teachers who stood up for them and weren’t able to make friends as easily.
“I feel very blessed that I got to learn from seeing both sides,” Blue said. “And that’s the thing about being a Black woman, being a woman of color, is we start navigating the intersectionality of race and gender at a very early age.”
In high school, Blue took on more leadership roles, serving as co-captain of the softball team and president of her senior class. She went to other colleges before landing at Worcester State University, which felt, finally, like home. At Worcester State, she was a nontraditional student, attending school and working full time.
“I had a wonderful experience,” Blue said of her time at the university. “I met great professors along the way who were willing to help. They wanted you to be successful. They really wanted you to excel.”
During her college years, Blue was working in the financial services industry as a manager at Plymouth Rock Assurance Corp. She had considered becoming an attorney, but then she decided she would rather hire the attorneys. She was also considering running a school and teaching.
“In that role at Plymouth Rock, I had a wonderful mentor, my boss. Shortly after I started, he said, ‘You’re natural for this stuff. Did you say you want to run a school?’”
Blue explained to her boss that she wanted to build a family and have professional flexibility, so, yes, education seemed like a good fit.
“And I remember him saying, ‘I think this is a better fit for you. Maybe you should think about teaching at some point. But I really want you to think about it.’ So I gave it some thought, and I began to lead in that role, and I realized that this was going to be the right track for me.”
Blue kept working and earned her M.B.A. at Anna Maria College. She was indeed on the right track, right up until she wasn’t.
“I changed,” she said. “I wanted to be in a position where I could do more for the residents and citizens of the Commonwealth. And the way to do that was through public service.”
Blue was inspired by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick who, in 2007, became the second African American in the United States elected as a governor. A mentor introduced Blue to Patrick, and that led to her first job in the public sector as a commissioner of the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission. It was a leadership challenge Blue loved. The commission already had aeronautical expertise. What Blue brought to the job were leadership and management skills. She balanced local needs and federal laws, pressing to change outdated rules and regulations. One key decision was an expansion of the runway at Worcester Regional Airport that allowed for more commercial flights.
Fueled by her commitment to public service, Blue went to the Registry of Motor Vehicles and eventually became Massachusetts’ first African American registrar of motor vehicles. She made history—and she worked hard to make the sometimes onerous process easier for people applying for a driver’s license. Blue also worked in Rhode Island in the state’s Departments of Transportation and Human Services.
Once again, she found herself wanting to do more for others—and for herself. Years earlier, she’d had a vision of creating an organization for women of color. Now, she shared the idea with mentors and a close friend. That led to an invitation to join Brenda Jenkins at a networking breakfast she was hosting for women of color in Worcester.
“I went,” Blue said, “and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Blue and Jenkins were part of a group of 13 women who founded the Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition (MAWOCC), an organization “dedicated to eradicating the racial inequities among women of color created by structural, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized racism.”
The organization started in 2015 and publicly launched in 2016, and two of Blue’s mentors—Mary Fernandes and the late Mukiya Baker-Gomez, who had both held numerous leadership positions in Massachusetts state government—were founding members.
“They were my angels. I’d met them years earlier in state government, and they took me under their wings. I have had a lot of angels who have helped me navigate professional spaces as ‘a first,’” Blue said, thinking back on the challenges and successes of her career as a Black woman in largely male spaces.
Currently the president and CEO of MAWOCC, Blue is proud of the organization’s programs. One example is the Intergenerational Leadership Academy. The academy enrolls women in a 12-week program that includes training on mentoring. The women then become mentors for high-school age girls who are enrolled in a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) program.
“We also weave in a holistic component. So there’s a self-care component. We share tips on navigating the world, because we know that girls can start feeling oppressed when they are young. That’s real for us. We also include civic engagement, because we want them to start being involved in their communities early and begin voting as soon as they are eligible,” Blue said.
For Blue, developing leaders is inclusive work.
“We have a community of people who are very supportive of our organization, who have helped us to get where we are today, and that’s important. We knew we didn’t want to do this work alone,” Blue explained. Among MAWOCC’s many supporters is the Esler Family Foundation, MAWOCC’s largest private donor.
Blue also pointed to Worcester State President Barry M. Maloney.
“He’s been very, very supportive of MAWOCC, making introductions and connecting us to people on his team,” she said. “MAWOCC has worked with Worcester State on civic engagement projects and community projects. The president has also attended our annual meetings. And it’s great because, as an alumna, it’s wonderful to be able to be a partner and give back.”
What’s next? Blue continues to hone her leadership skills and plans to complete her Ph.D. She’s looking forward to the next 10 years of MAWOCC. She has a vision of working with women and girls globally.
There are always more leadership opportunities to lift people up, and to be lifted by the power of doing this work.
