Business Women Awards 2025
WOMAN TO WATCH TECHNICAL SERVICES
Erin Read, Polaris MEP director of marketing
WHILE ATTENDING COLGATE UNIVERSITY in Hamilton, N.Y., pursuing a double major, Erin Read also sought skills to become a journalist.
Read was heavily involved in her school newspaper and learning the tricks of the trade. But the 1992 recession, which severely impacted the journalism industry, changed Read’s course of action.
However, at Colgate, Read learned how to think analytically and creatively, as well as understand the power of clear communications and strong networks, which helped her find her calling in marketing. That eventually led her to her current role as director of marketing for Polaris MEP.
While working as a temporary secretary at GTECH Corp., now known as International Game Technology PLC, the human resources director coached Read, which helped her discover that marketing would be a better fit.
“I love telling the right stories to the right people in the right way so they take a hoped-for action that could improve their lives,” she said.
Read began working at Polaris MEP about three weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold on Rhode Island and the world in 2020. She and her colleagues at the Providence-based manufacturing support nonprofit had to act quickly to help manufacturers remain open while everyone else closed down during the crisis.
Read helped build a COVID-19 “playbook,” which she said took a “firehose of confusing information” and turned it into actionable steps for manufacturers to take to remain operational and be safe.
“That playbook was part of amazing collaborations to keep employees safe and production lines going,” Read said. “I also had been doing virtual training nationally for about a decade, and that was useful as [companies] transitioned to virtual support. This team connected a lot of people with vital resources.”
At Polaris MEP, Read also led efforts that contributed to more than $96 million in business growth for local manufacturers. Additionally, she helped secure a $1.4 million federal grant to help train justice-involved individuals seeking work at manufacturers.
“We’re a nonprofit on a mission to transform people and companies, and the team does so daily,” she said. “Folks who never had the chance or desire to do formal schooling will get upskilled. They’ll earn higher wages and certificates. Those skills will help them outside of work, too.”
(SUBS 2nd paragraph to correct date of recession.)
