TAUNTON – Joan Medeiros, vice president and head of small-business lending and government partnerships at Bristol County Savings Bank, was named to the Commonwealth Heroines Class of 2023 by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women at a recent celebration at the Mass. Statehouse.
The commission partners with state legislators each year to identify women who make “outstanding contributions” to their organizations and in their communities, according to a news release. Each legislator is encouraged to submit one woman from their constituency as a means of recognizing their contributions and acts of service.
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“The Commonwealth Heroines are women who don’t make the news, but make all the difference in their communities,” Sarah Glenn-Smith, Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women chairwoman, said in a statement. “Thousands of women in every community across the Commonwealth perform unheralded acts on a daily basis that make our homes, neighborhoods, cities and towns better places to live.”
Glenn-Smith said Commonwealth Heroines use their time, talent, spirit and enthusiasm to enrich the lives of others in their community.
“They are mentors, volunteers and innovators and are the glue that keeps a community together,” she added.
Glenn-Smith said the commission is an independent state agency legislatively created in 1998 to advance women in the commonwealth to full equality in all areas of life and to promote their rights and opportunities.
Medeiros is a 30-year banking veteran and has held several positions at Bristol County Savings Bank, which is headquartered in Taunton. She is currently responsible for leading the Small Business Lending Center, which was critical in leading the bank’s Paycheck Protection Program effort during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic and is now helping small businesses in the region grow and thrive under Medeiros’ leadership.
Dedicated to serving the community, Medeiros is a board member and treasurer of the Fall River Redevelopment Authority, board member of the Boys & Girls Club of Fall River and serves as treasurer for the United Way of Greater Fall River. She is also a board member at the Argosy Collegiate Charter Foundation in Fall River.
In 2018, Medeiros became the first woman to serve as chairperson of the board of trustees at Bristol Community College when she was appointed by then-Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker.
Medeiros has also been active with the Bristol County Chamber of Commerce over the years, where she has served on its board of directors, and as volunteer chairperson for Fall River Celebrates America, according to the release.
Medeiros was also recognized for her numerous professional and charitable accomplishments: in 2013, she was named the Small Business Administration’s Financial Services Champion for Massachusetts; in 2019, Medeiros was recognized with the Roger Valcourt Memorial Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award by the Bristol County Chamber of Commerce; she received the Achievement Award for Outstanding Community Involvement from the Massachusetts Bankers Association Women and Allies in Banking in 2022; and an active member of the Prince Henry Society of Fall River since 2007, she was recognized with its Portuguese American of the Year Award in 2022.
