Influential Woman · Community development

Anabelle Rondon

Director of the Transformation Development Initiative (TDI), MassDevelopment

Boston, MA

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Master's degree in Public Administration Member Planners of Color Network (Founder and Executive Community Member)

Her Story

About Anabelle

I have been in the community development field for my entire career, spanning roughly 24 years. I have a mix of both public sector and private sector work experience. I started in the nonprofit field, then transitioned to do private sector work when I was living in New York City, and then came back to the public sector, mostly again in the community development and economic development field. My main areas of expertise are cross-sector partnership development and real estate expertise, which apply to both the public and private sectors. I would describe myself as a cross-sector strategist. My most notable professional achievement is developing a network of practitioners and elevating them and creating visibility for them. I am the founder and currently an executive community member of the Planners of Color Network, which is the most active work that I have beyond my current job.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Anabelle

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think I have been surrounded by coaches and mentors my entire career, and as I mentioned earlier, listening to people that know more than you. I'm a planner by nature, and I always have surrounded myself by my own board of directors, having advisors and making sure that I have a sounding board as I walk through life and my career has been extremely valuable. I've had so many different moments where some advice has created a recourse in my career, in terms of what should I do next. Some of those advices has been very, extremely valuable in my journey. The other piece that I always use all the time is nurture your social capital. If you don't nurture your network, and I know a lot of people confuse network, but networking is not the same. Nurturing relationships and making sure that you develop a two-way street relationship, that is valuable currency. Your network is your net worth. So yeah, I would say the social capital, cultivate that.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

I have two pieces of advice that stand out. One is that you're never the smartest person in the room, which actually speaks a lot about listening and listening to others. The second one is feel comfortable in failing and learning. Both of these have shaped how I approach my career and continue to guide me.

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