Carmen Arce

Executive Mentor | That’s a Good Question: Navigating New Work Environments

CARMEN ARCE is the Chief Operating Officer of The Partnership, Inc., a Boston based organization focused on attracting, developing, and retaining professionals of color in the region and beyond. Prior to joining The Partnership, Carmen served for over three years as Director of Personnel and Administration in the office of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick overseeing and managing all matters related to high-level personnel transactions in the executive branch. Prior to this role, she served as Project Director of ONE Massachusetts at the Public Policy Institute and trained more than 250 community leaders on issues related to community empowerment and public policy strategy. Carmen serves on the board of WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station, on the leadership board of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and on the newly created Governor’s Council on Latino Empowerment. Carmen also recently served as a trustee of Buckingham Browne and Nichols School and chaired its inaugural Diversity, Equity & Inclusion committee. Her past board engagement also includes the boards of MassVote, the Chelsea Collaborative, Emerge Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. Carmen’s recognitions include being an AmplifyLatinX 2024 ALX100 honoree and an inaugural 20 for 20 distinguished alumni honoree by the Commonwealth Seminar. The Red Sox also recognized Carmen on the field for its 2023 Annual Women’s Celebration Night. In 2022, Tufts University recognized Carmen with a Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award – one of the highest recognitions the university awards every year to its alumni. Boston Business Journal named Carmen as one of its 2018 40 Under 40 honorees, a competitive awards program that recognizes Boston’s most promising young professionals. In 2019, Boston executives selected Carmen to be part of a 10-member cohort representing Boston at the Harvard Business School “Young American Leaders Program” around issues of cross-sector collaboration in the US. Originally from Mexico, Carmen graduated with a LL.B from Universidad Panamericana Law School in Guadalajara Mexico, a LL.M from Suffolk University Law School, and a MALD degree from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy focusing on International Development – Social and Political Change. She resides in Watertown, MA together with her 14-year-old daughter Pilar.