Girls Inc. alum, parent and board member steps up to lead 105 year-old organization

Girls Incorporated of Greater Lowell (GIGL) is pleased to announce Bopha Malone has accepted the position of Interim Executive Director and has committed to that role for a full year while the Board of Directors conducts a thorough, nationwide search for a permanent leader.

Bopha stepped down from her prominent VP position at Enterprise Bank to step up and guide Girls Inc. through a period of building upon strengths while developing new programming, hiring and training staff, and meeting the challenges of post-Covid learning loss head on.

“The GIGL Board is grateful to Bopha for stepping into this critical role and leading during a time of real transformation,” said Jennifer Aradhya, president of GIGL Board. “Her deep connection to Girls Inc. and the Greater Lowell community is unsurpassed and we look forward to working with together.”

“Girls Inc. is an extraordinary organization that has nurtured, guided, and empowered girls for more than 100 years, preparing them for their futures and helping them to become the best versions of themselves” said Jack Clancy, Enterprise Bank CEO. “Bopha has consistently embodied Enterprise Bank’s core value of ‘community’ during her time with us and I am delighted to see her bring her talents to this new role at Girls Inc., an organization she is truly passionate about with a mission she so deeply believes in. She will provide tremendous leadership. passion, and purpose to Girls Inc. and she will make a very positive and meaningful impact and difference.”

“Girls Inc. provides a sisterhood of support and transformational programs to help girls tap into their inherent power and become the leaders they are intended to be,” said Patricia Driscoll, Chief Operating Officer Girls Inc. National. “I have witnessed Bopha’s evolution from a girl balancing traditional cultural norms with her new life to an impassioned professional supporting her community, running for Congress, and now leading Girls Inc. of Greater Lowell. She embodies ‘strong, smart, and bold,’ and her combined lived and Girls Inc. experiences will be a tremendous asset in the development of the new generation of girl leaders. I am honored to be working alongside her.”

Bopha immigrated to the U.S. at the age of eight, and credits caring mentors for helping her get to where she is today. She joined Girls Inc. of Lynn at the age of 15 and worked as a Peer Leader, educating youth about racism, homophobia, and the dangers of tobacco use and gun violence, among other issues.

“As a first-generation Cambodian American, Girls Inc. played a tremendous role in my life growing up and was instrumental in helping me become the woman I am today, “said Malone. “I am grateful to Enterprise Bank for supporting my involvement with nonprofits over the 16 years I’ve been with them and am honored by the opportunity to inspire the next generation of girls to be strong, smart, and bold as interim executive director for Girls Inc.”

As a first-generation Cambodian American who benefited from the support and encouragement of others, her passion is to seek opportunities through her roles at the bank and in the community to give back and help others in the ways that she has been helped.

In addition to helping thousands of people create financial success for themselves, their families, and their businesses, Malone is actively involved with several nonprofit organizations.  She is a trustee of Middlesex Community College, Tufts Medicine (Lowell General Hospital), International Institute of New England, Women Working Wonders and is a member of the Bedford, MA Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce. She lives in Bedford with her husband and two children and serves as a member of the Bedford Select Board.