Christine Monska serves as Chair of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. Appointed by the Caucus of Women Legislators in 2020, she previously served as Vice Chair, Secretary, Chair of the Girls Empowerment and Leadership Initiative (GELI), and on numerous Commission committees, including Program and Planning, Scholarships, Fundraising, and other initiatives that have helped shape the Commission’s work. Christine’s journey with the Commission began in her early twenties as a Berkshire County Regional Commissioner, where she developed a lasting commitment to public service and expanding leadership opportunities for women and girls across Massachusetts.

As Chair, Christine is committed to strengthening the Commission as a bridge between communities and policymakers, ensuring that the lived experiences of women across the Commonwealth inform public policy and decision-making. She believes public policy is strongest when it is informed by lived experience and when communities have meaningful opportunities to shape the decisions that affect their lives. Her leadership is grounded in an intersectional understanding that gender equity is deeply connected to racial, economic, disability, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ justice, and that lasting progress requires collaboration across sectors and communities.

Raised in a working-class family in Easthampton, Christine was the first in her family to attend college. Scholarships, mentors, and early leadership opportunities changed the trajectory of her life and continue to shape her belief that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Throughout her career, she has focused on building pathways into leadership, civic participation, and public service so that more women and girls have the opportunity to shape their communities and the policies that affect their lives.

Outside of her public service, Christine serves as Executive Director of the Women’s Fund SouthCoast, where she leads the organization’s work advancing gender, racial, and economic justice through philanthropy, research, advocacy, and leadership development. Under her leadership, the organization has expanded community-driven research, participatory grantmaking, youth leadership initiatives, and cross-sector partnerships that connect community priorities with public policy.

Prior to joining the Women’s Fund SouthCoast, Christine designed and led Springfield’s Young Women’s Initiative, one of the nation’s earliest local implementations of the national program stemming from the Obama Administration’s White House Council on Women and Girls. She previously served as District Director for former State Senator Ben Downing and held roles with the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, The Clubhouse Network in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab, and Bard Microcollege. Her work has also included international research focused on gender equity, democratic participation, and security sector reform across the Balkans, Latin America, and Europe.

Christine serves on the Smith College Industry Leaders Council, the New Bedford Economic Development Council’s Regeneration Committee, and the Harvard Business Review Advisory
Council. She completed the LEADS Fellowship, a cross-sector systems leadership program for Gateway Cities leaders, and participates in a statewide CEO Roundtable focused on strengthening nonprofit leadership and organizational impact across Massachusetts.

Christine earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Smith College and a Master of Science in Global Affairs, with a concentration in International Law and Human Rights, from New York University. She also completed Harvard Business School executive programs in financial accounting, economics, and business analytics.