Allison Goldberg
Where do you live? Melrose, MA.
Current company and position? MassHealth, Deputy Budget Director.
First job and what it taught me? I worked as a Legislative Aide (and eventually Staff Director) for MA State Representative Alice Peisch. I was interested in government and politics at an early age, and this role allowed me to live out my passion for public policy and public service. Most importantly, this role taught me the value of showing up for and supporting others. A lot of people are intimidated by government and how it works, but the nature of government is that it is there to help people. I often had constituents reach out, coming to our office because they were seeking help and had either exhausted what they thought were their options or didn’t know where else to turn. I quickly learned how important it is to feel heard, so I quickly honed my abilities to both listen and empathize. To the person you’re communicating with, what they’re sharing is one of their biggest challenges at the moment, and even if it’s just one issue of many you’re working on, it’s important that each person feels not only heard, but also respected. One of the best feelings was being able to solve a constituent’s problem and know that you had helped make their life even just a little bit easier.
Also great was the feeling of working on a piece of legislation with constituents, advocates, elected officials, etc. and finally reaching a point where you were able to get it passed and signed into law. Crafting policy to better serve those in your community is a slow and difficult process, but one that is so rewarding!
How do you embrace your Irish heritage? I’m very proud of where I come from, and it often comes up in conversation that I’m Irish. My family always made it a point while growing up to embrace our heritage and share it with others. I loved having the last name O’Leary growing up, as it was special – embrace the apostrophe! – and often opened the door to conversation with others about my background and discussing what I love about being Irish (things like…big families! Loud celebrations! Potatoes!)
I’ve also had the opportunity to travel to Ireland a few times with my family, most recently in the summer of 2023, where I was able to bring my own two young sons along for the trip. It was very special to share that joy and love of Ireland with them for the first time!
Something people would be surprised to know about me... I played the clarinet through college!
Biography: Allison O’Leary Goldberg has dedicated her career to public service. She works as the Deputy Budget Director at MassHealth, where she supports strategic planning, policy decision-making, and ongoing management of agency programs.
Allison previously served as Program Director for the Barbara Lee Family Foundation/Barbara Lee Political Office and worked for the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In these roles, she interacted with lawmakers/candidates to bring a diverse range of experiences to elected office and enact major pieces of legislation affecting the Commonwealth.
Allison is also a member of her city’s Commission on Women, seeking to support women in her local community.
