Originally published in Carroll Capital, the print publication of the Carroll School of Management at 艾可直播 College. .听
In听2019, Shavel鈥檒e Olivier 鈥�14 decided she was going to do something she would never have thought to do before: She was going to bike 400 miles from 艾可直播 to Montreal with the 艾可直播 Cyclists Union. 鈥淚 can be very scared of doing things,鈥� she says. As much as she loved biking around the city, she had never consistently rode as much as the trip would require. Still, she was determined to push herself.听
It was a grueling quest. The first four days, she was one of the very last people in the group to finish, exhausted beyond belief. But by the fifth and last day, she was no longer trailing behind鈥攕he was surging ahead. 鈥淚 know it鈥檚 cliche, but what I really learned from that trip is that I can do things if I put my mind to it,鈥� Olivier explains, her face breaking into a wide smile.
It鈥檚 with this same quiet determination that Olivier has risen up the ranks of 艾可直播 grassroots organization (MFFC) over the past 15 years to become executive diretor. Now, the self-described introvert is gaining wide attention for her leadership as a social entrepreneur in the community she calls home, while also connecting her alma mater to one of the city鈥檚 most disenfranchised neighborhoods.
Olivier was 17 when she went looking for a job at MFFC, which encourages healthy living through access to nourishing food and promotion of physical activity in Mattapan. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to ask my dad for money,鈥� she says, adding that she saw how hard her father worked鈥攁s director of environmental services, grounds, and laundry at the now-closed Carney Hospital鈥攖o provide for her and her twin sister. 鈥淚 just wanted to be responsible.鈥�
At the time, the organization was looking to collect feedback from community residents about improvements they would like to see in this diverse and vibrant but historically marginalized section of 艾可直播. Around 94 percent of the neighborhood鈥檚 residents are nonwhite, and a 2023 report by the city found that Mattapan has the lowest life expectancy of any 艾可直播 neighborhood at 77.3 years.
MFFC brought on a group of teens, including Olivier, to do outreach and gather data. She had lived in Mattapan for five years, but it had yet to feel like home. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e young, you鈥檙e not able to really explore the neighborhood on your own,鈥� she explains. 鈥淲hen I joined MFFC, I got to explore the neighborhood鈥檚 challenges and assets, and learn who was who.鈥�
Even when their project wrapped up, the recently hired teens stayed involved. They named themselves the Vigorous Youth and embedded themselves into the organization鈥檚 DNA鈥擵igorous Youth remains the name of MFFC鈥檚 leadership and development program for 14-to-21-year-olds.
During the warmer months, the teens would work the MFFC-sponsored Mattapan Square farmers market and an MFFC farm stand, and maintain local community gardens. Then they started thinking bigger. Olivier and the Vigorous Youth spearheaded the launch of , an annual neighborhood biking day, now in its 15th year.
The event loans bikes to community members and gets them pedaling on paths like the verdant and winding Neponset River Greenway Trail. MFFC helped to successfully advocate for the development and extension of the trail through Mattapan, and now, Mattapan on Wheels has gained enough traction to draw past participants like city councilors, state representatives, and 艾可直播 Mayor Michelle Wu. It also crystallized Olivier鈥檚 passion for transportation advocacy. 鈥淸Mattapan on Wheels] confirmed my love for creating things,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 really good at taking things from idea to reality. That鈥檚 my special power."听
While she was learning on the job, Olivier also found the community she had been craving. The women on the organization鈥檚 advisory board quickly became mentors, and took any opportunity to support and nurture her. One of those women was Vivien Morris, a public health specialist, MFFC鈥檚 founder and chair, and former community engagement manager for the Carroll School鈥檚 Joseph E. Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action.
鈥淪he was a leader from the beginning, but a very shy leader,鈥� says Morris, who started MFFC in 2006. 鈥淚t was clear that she was doing quite听bit of thinking about what could be done to support others. Her shyness never stopped her from having the impact that she was hoping to have.鈥�
Even when she began at 艾可直播 College (studying marketing as well as management and leadership), Olivier commuted from her campus dorm back to Mattapan most weekends to continue working on MFFC projects. By then, the neighborhood did feel like home because of the relationships she had been able to cultivate there. MFFC was 鈥渁 safe place for me to take risks,鈥� she says. 鈥淏eing here gave me the opportunity to go at my own pace and feel valued.鈥� At the same time, her Carroll School experience was starting to shape the kind of leader she could be.听
Olivier credits classes like 鈥淟eadership,鈥� taught by Judith Clair, a management and organization professor and William S. McKiernan 鈥�78 Family Faculty Fellow, with teaching her that there鈥檚 no one way to be a leader. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 some [extroverted] person, I wasn鈥檛 white, and I wasn鈥檛 a man,鈥� she says, ticking off examples of prototypical leaders on her fingers. 鈥淏ut I was just me and I was making a contribution to the community, and people valued that."
“ Mattapan on Wheels confirmed my love for creating things. I'm really good at taking things from idea to reality. That's my special power. ”
She joined AmeriCorps after graduation, working with youth in 艾可直播鈥檚 Roxbury neighborhood as part of the DREAM Program nonprofit. She then took a job as the executive assistant to the CEO of Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, where she got a crash course in nonprofit governance. With each volunteer role and job, Olivier was learning something new she could bring back to her work at MFFC.听
While participating in AmeriCorps, Olivier became MFFC鈥檚 co-chair鈥攁longside her mentor Morris鈥攊n 2015, and later, the Youth Program Manager, a position she developed herself. She was helping the group set itself up for the future. One of the biggest items on MFFC鈥檚 wishlist was trying to secure the funding to hire an executive director. Olivier knew just the person for the job.
鈥淚 knew in my heart that I wanted to be executive director, but I was so scared,鈥� she says. But when she finally expressed her interest to the advisory board, she was met with instant approval. 鈥淚 had no experience being ED鈥攖he only thing that I had was passion,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭hey had a lot of trust in me."
The way Morris tells it, Olivier鈥檚 desire to become executive director didn鈥檛 surprise her at all. 鈥淚 had her in mind already鈥攖he question was really going to be 鈥榳as she interested?鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淢aybe I鈥檝e never exactly said that to her, but I actually went out and looked for the funding with her in mind.鈥�
Olivier stepped into the role during summer 2019, and from MFFC鈥檚 yellow-walled, second floor office on a bustling stretch of Blue Hill Avenue, she has spent that time slowly but steadily growing the organization, 鈥渟o we no longer have to struggle,鈥� she says. This includes adding staff, securing more funding and community partners, and expanding programming. She has also been growing her own knowledge base: She received a听master鈥檚 degree from Northeastern University in Nonprofit Management in 2019. Since then, she has also completed certificate programs in public health and management at 艾可直播 University and Harvard Business School Online.
In 2020, Olivier started Transportation Talks, a series bringing together people from neighborhoods like Mattapan, Dorchester, and Roxbury to engage in conversations about equity and accessibility in transportation. After catching the attention of the 艾可直播 Transportation Department, Olivier and former MFFC coworker Chavella Lee-Pacheco were brought on as youth engagement consultants. The experience inspired them to start community engagement firm Consult LeLa in 2021 to invite more young people into high-level conversations about urban planning and development.
The Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action has been collaborating with MFFC for nearly a decade, especially through the center鈥檚 highly competitive summer internship program. The center鈥檚 executive director, Neil McCullagh, says MFFC is now enjoying the fruits of Olivier鈥檚 long-term goal setting. 鈥淪he鈥檚 engaged in much more than just food and fitness,鈥� he says, referring to her advocacy on such issues as transportation. 鈥淚n Mattapan, she is such a force."
In 2024, Oliver was named one of for her impact in the 艾可直播 area. She was also awarded the inaugural Emerging Leaders Award at the City of 艾可直播鈥檚 EmpowerHer Black Women鈥檚 Health Conference. 鈥淪havel鈥檒e is always thinking about the future and planning ahead,鈥� says Abby Morgan 鈥�26, who interned with MFFC last summer through the Corcoran Center鈥檚 partnership. She adds that these qualities showed up in every aspect of Olivier鈥檚 work, down to the care she put into emails. 鈥淚 learned the importance of proactive outreach and meaningful connections. One small act can make someone鈥檚 day."
“ You hear about jobs where you go in, make your money, leave, and don鈥檛 do anything else. That is not what this is for me. This is what I was meant to do. ”
Building authentic relationships is an essential part of Olivier鈥檚 leadership evolution鈥攁t 艾可直播 College she has also collaborated with classes like 鈥淟eading for Social Impact鈥� and supported student-led projects at MFFC鈥攂ut she says it still catches her off guard when people call her a mentor. 鈥淚鈥檓 33 and sometimes I still have self-doubt. I鈥檓 still learning. So I am giving back to people like me so they can also see themselves in this type of role."
As MFFC prepares for its 20th anniversary in 2026, Olivier has ended up right back where she started: surveying Mattapan residents about what they really want from a community organization committed to their health and well-being. She also wants to make sure that the work of the organization鈥檚 forebears has not gone in vain. 鈥淭hey gave so much to me. I do this to continue their legacy,鈥� she says, looking around at the children鈥檚 drawings, project to-do lists, and bikes awaiting repair that fill the office. 鈥淵ou hear about jobs where you go in, make your money, leave, and don鈥檛 do anything else. That is not what this is for me. This is what I was meant to do.鈥�
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