Shavel'le Olivier of MFFC Selected as a BBJ 40 Under 40 Honoree for 2024

Each year, the Boston Business Journal highlights excellent young professionals in the Boston Area

Published October 14, 2024

The Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition is proud to announce that our executive director, Shavel'le Olivier, has been selected as a Boston Business Journal (BBJ) 40 under 40 honoree for 2024!

BBJ's 40 under 40 celebrates young leaders of Boston who have made considerable accomplishments in their communities and achieved notable milestones in their careers. Shavel'le is awarded for her contributions to transportation, community development, and youth empowerment in Mattapan. Take a look at some of her work that has gained recognition.

1. Shavel'le co-founded a major cycling event called Mattapan on Wheels (MoW), that brings Mattapan residents together for a day of bike riding throughout the neighborhood. In 2024, we celebrated the 14th year of MoW with 120 riders. MoW raises awareness of available biking trials and fosters a space for residents to appreciate green spaces in Mattapan.

2. Shavel'le has formed intentional spaces for community engagement, including a successful conversation series called Transportation Talks. Here, she brought together neighborhood figures, leaders, and residents to initiate conversations helping people understand the importance of transportation and street changes. Resident inclusion in these conversations empowers, informs, and instills confidence in the community.

3. Within MFFC, Shavel'le built up capacity to better enable the organization in advocacy-related efforts such as Blue Hill Ave, Cummins Highway, and advocating for bus stops along the Blue Hills from Mattapan.

4. Shavel'le conducted year-long research to understand the perspectives and attitudes Mattapan residents have about cycling. Our programming is based on this research as we constantly seek efficient ways to engage the community in active forms of transportation.

Shavel'le is a representative of community leadership. Her deep work within Mattapan is based on community pride and her efforts have brought considerable change to Mattapan, in terms of empowerment, transportation advocacy, and fitness and health. We applaud Shavel'le for her work!

Read the full 40 under 40 list here.