The Significant Women Reunion Weekend

A creative strategist and organizational leader, Aisha Francis, PhD, assumed the presidency of Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology in 2020, becoming the first female president and CEO in the Institute's 100+-year history.

Since her appointment, Dr. Francis and her team have overseen an extraordinary period of growth, financial improvement, and mission-alignment for the Institute. Under her five years of leadership, Franklin Cummings Tech doubled its enrollment to 1,100 learners, exceeded a $60 million campaign fundraising goal, and established or expanded majors and concentrations in such fields as electric vehicle technology, building energy management, robotics, cybersecurity, and biotechnology.

A hallmark of Dr. Francis’ tenure has been the planning and construction of a new campus, which opened in January 2026 in Roxbury’s Nubian Square. Designed to spec for 21st Century technical education, the 68,000-square-foot LEED-certified facility can accommodate 1,500 students and serves as an anchor institution in a vibrant neighborhood that 20 percent of its students call home. Citing the Institute's long educational legacy in Boston, Mayor Michele Wu recently described the new campus as “a major investment not only for Franklin Cummings Tech’s academic mission, but also for Nubian Square and the city.”

Passionate about access to higher education, economic mobility, and collective problem-solving, Dr. Francis believes in the ability of effective organizations and leaders to transform underserved communities for the better. Throughout her career, she has served as a strategist and capacity builder at best-in-class organizations, catalyzing programs that improve access to—and equity of—educational and economic opportunities. Her lifelong commitment to the nonprofit sector is rooted in its unparalleled ability to advance society through collaboration, resolve, and creativity.

Her professional and personal achievements have been widely recognized. She is a 2022 and 2023 recipient of the Boston Magazine 150 Most Influential Bostonians, a 2022-2025 Boston Business Journal Power 50 Movement Maker, and received the 2023 Pinnacle Award for outstanding contributions in the nonprofit sector from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Francis came to Franklin Cummings Tech following distinguished work in institutional advancement and program development for Harvard Medical School, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Foundation, and Boston Medical Center. Her leadership and scholarship have been recognized by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Aspen Institute. She is an active contributor to the civic health of Greater Boston, serving as a volunteer and advocate across a range of sectors and boards, including the New England Board of Higher Education, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the Association of Independent Colleges of Massachusetts, and WBUR-Boston.

A published author, Dr. Francis has been featured, quoted, or published widely in the media, including The New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Boston Business Journal, Elle magazine, and Ms. magazine.

Dr. Francis is originally from Nashville, Tennessee. She completed her undergraduate education at Fisk University, then earned masters and doctoral degrees in English Literature from Vanderbilt University. She resides in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston with her husband and children.