This month we recognize Alyssa O’Keefe as our May 2026 Workforce Hero, a social worker with Bay Cove Human Services, who in the words of of their Vice President of Mental Health Community Services, “is a great member of the Bay Cove community!”
1. Tell us about your background. How did you decide to pursue a career in human services?
I grew up on the north shore and from an early age, I gravitated towards making my peers in the special education classes feel as though they weren’t different from those of us in “regular” classes.
In Middle School and High School, I was asked to help in various different ways with the students in the special education classes. This meant sometimes sitting with them at lunch, helping them get to and from classes, and partnering up during class assignments.
I got into the human services field after college. I studied music in college and received a bachelor of arts in music with a minor in psychology. Once I graduated, I realized it was unlikely that I was going to be a rockstar (lol) which was my initial plan. So, a friend of mine thought I should follow her to a job which was case management for adults with disabilities who were living independently. 14 years later, I am the manager of a human rights department overseeing multiple divisions.
2. What does a typical day look like for you at your organization?
Literally everyday is different. I oversee over 40+ human rights officers and oversee all the complaints received from persons served as well as oversee the investigation process into allegations of abuse and neglect. I oversee training focused on human rights and mandated reporting. I also sit in on our client advisory board committee and run our agency’s own Human Rights Committee which is made up of peers in our community. Each day is so different but one thing that’s true day to day is that I love what I do!
3. What is your favorite professional memory?
After leaving the agency I previously worked at, I became a “1:1 staff” for a client who I had a special connection with. What a “1:1 staff” meant for me is that she and I went on a lot of vacations including going to Foxwoods and the Encore Casino! Navigating being out in the real world and seeing how people still react to someone who looks different was powerful. Nonetheless, we still played craps and blackjack, ate lobster and had Mimosas during breakfast. People would stop me and basically tell me I was doing the lord’s work but really, I was just hanging out and enjoying vacation with a friend.
4. This question is from our April Workforce Heroes, Zaida Gomez and Zack LaVergne: If you could change one thing about the various systems of care you work in, what would it be?
I wish we could pay direct care staff a livable wage. I think it’s ridiculous to expect staff who we don’t pay enough to be fully invested in the work. Most staff work multiple jobs in order to make ends meet and live paycheck to paycheck. I see that this issue of inadequate pay bleeds directly into human rights and affects the way staff treat persons served. I believe staff are overworked and underpaid and thus negatively impacts the culture in our programs.
5. Do you have a question for the next person we spotlight?
If you weren’t working in this field, what would you be doing?
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