Ward 1 City Councilor Craig Welton never envisioned a career in disability services when he was studying politics at Saint Anselm College more than two decades ago. However, volunteer work at Best Buddies ignited a passion in the City Council president, and he has never looked back. After his journey brought him to Northeast Arc in 2018, he now departs for his next position — but not without leaving a lasting impact.
Northeast Arc has developed programs in the region to support both children and adults who have a wide range of disabilities for nearly 70 years. Its goal is to ensure that people with disabilities are able to live, work, and engage in civic life and play in the community.
Northeast Arc President Jo Ann Simons recruited Welton after he served as the Best Buddies state director of Massachusetts and Rhode Island for a decade. Welton does not have a close loved one with disabilities, but he says Simons’ personal connection and dedication is what took his commitment to the next level.
“She’s just an amazing leader in the disabilities service space,” Welton said. “She has a son in his early 40s who has down syndrome. She often says when she had her son, it wasn’t the world she envisioned for him, so she made it her life’s work to make the world more inclusive for him.”
Welton served as the chief development officer during his Northeast Arc career. His job entailed generating private funds, which he said are important in delivering the best possible programs for the community.
“A lot of the programs that Northeast Arc provides, they have some funding from state contracts and insurance,” Welton explained. “But what makes us different is we really focus on generating private revenue so we can do innovative things that would never be covered by a state contract.”
The biggest program that Welton was the driving force behind was the Center for Linking Lives. Northeast Arc bought 26,000 square-feet of vacant space in Danvers’ Liberty Tree Mall. The project began right around the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and Welton and his peers decided it was too crucial to wait until the pandemic was over.
“The folks that we work with historically have been socially isolated as a baseline, so during the pandemic it was even worse,” Welton said. “We wanted to get everyone into the center as soon as possible.”
One of the main programs at the Center for Linking Lives is Steps to Independence, which helps equip disabled people with living and working skills. It also directly facilitates the acquisition of jobs by providing internships at Peabody’s own Breaking Grounds Café.
Welton is ready to take the next step in his career path. He has departed Northeast Arc to become the chief development officer of Dorchester’s Boys and Girls Club. He will now be in charge of fundraising for the Martin Richard Fieldhouse.
“One of the things that has really drawn me to this is the scale of it. It will impact tens of thousands of kids for decades to come,” Welton said. “The work of the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester has always been purposefully inclusive … it’s gonna help to support youth of all abilities in a truly inclusive setting. To be able to do another large, impactful project on the heels of the Center for Linking Lives is really exciting for me.”
Welton made sure to note that he fully plans to continue his involvement with Northeast Arc, this time as a volunteer.
