Overview John Anthony Volpe, born the son of Italian immigrants in 1908, was a successful Massachusetts businessman and accomplished public servant. He served as Commissioner of Public Works in Massachusetts in 1953, was appointed Federal Highway Commissioner under Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957, was elected Governor of Massachusetts three times (in 1960, 1964, and 1966), was appointed Secretary of Transportation under Richard Nixon in 1969, and was appointed Ambassador to Italy in 1972. While Governor of...

Overview Phyllis Milgroom Ryan (1927-1998) began her career as a political activist while a student at Northeastern University. Following her graduation from Northeastern University in 1950, she worked as a psychiatric social worker in the Massachusetts state mental health system. In 1951, she married William J. Ryan, Jr. with whom she shared a passion for social justice and collaborated in political action for the next several decades. By the early 1960s Phyllis M. Ryan served as a media advisor and...