Linda Dorcena Forry

Linda Dorcena Forry (born 1973) is a former Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate, who represented the 1st Suffolk district from June 2013 - January 2018. She previously represented the 12th Suffolk District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives after winning a special election in April 2005. Haitian-American, Dorcena Forry, is the former House Chair of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business.

Early life and education Dorcena Forry was born in Boston and raised in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. She attended St. Kevin Grammar School and Monsignor Ryan Memorial High School in Dorchester and then Boston College. In 1997, she graduated from Boston College's Carroll School of Management in 1997. In 2014, she received a master's degree in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University. She was a Rappaport Fellow at Harvard.

Career

After graduating from Boston College, Dorcena Forry was a legislative assistant, working for then-State Representative Charlotte Golar Richie (Fifth Suffolk District serving Roxbury and Dorchester). in the First Suffolk Senate district, defeating Rep. Nick Collins. She defeated Republican Joseph A. Ureneck in the final election on May 28 and was sworn in on June 14, 2013. She stepped down on January 25, 2018, to become a vice president at Suffolk Construction.

Dorcena Forry serves as a trustee of Eversource Energy, New England's largest energy delivery company.

She is also the founder and principal of LDF Holdings, LLC, which she co-owns with her husband Bill Forry.

Sen. Dorcena Forry serves on multiple boards, including the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation's board of advisors, the Winsor School, Boston College High School board of trustees, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester, and Make a Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Senator Dorcena Forry is also one of the original founders of the New Commonwealth Fund, founded in 2020 by a coalition of leaders dedicated to transforming philanthropy by advancing funding models that prioritize innovation, effectiveness, and inclusion. Since 2020, NCF has committed over $16.3 million to organizations implementing solutions that strengthen communities and expand access to resources. Sen. Forry serves on the organization's board of directors.

Senator Dorcena Forry is one of the founding members of the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network (NHAEON), which she formed in 2009 with several other prominent men and women of Haitian descent serving in elected office in the United States. Sen. Dorcena Forry is an active member of the organization and remains an outspoken advocate for Haitian people and for all immigrants to the US.

Senator Dorcena Forry served as a trustee of the Boston Public Library from 2016-2021.

Senator Forry's legislative career and personal connection to Ireland through her family's roots has made her a sought after voice on US-Ireland relations in recent years.

During her tenure as State Senator, Sen. Dorcena Forry hosted the annual South Boston St. Patrick's Day Breakfast, a regionally televised event that has been a Boston political tradition since the mid-20th century. Sen. Forry's historic role as the first Black person and first woman to host the roast/breakfast was a major news event in Massachusetts and Ireland in 2014. The Irish Times proclaimed Sen. Forry to be "the new star of Irish America."

In 2025, she was a featured speaker at the Kennedy Summer School conference in Ireland, held annually to explore development in business and diplomacy between Ireland and the US.

Personal Dorcena Forry is married to Bill Forry, editor and publisher of the Dorchester Reporter. The couple live in Lower Mills, Dorchester and have four children: John, Conor, Madeline and Norah. He also was a candidate in the 2013 Boston mayoral election, but was denied ballot access due to submitting an insufficient number of valid petition signatures.

Awards

•Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Young Leader Award, 2013

• 2017 Legislator of the Year Award from Massachusetts Office for Victims Assistance 2011 MPAH Haiti Movie Awards Humanitarian Award Recipient UMass Chancellor's Award 2018 UMass Boston Chancellor's Award for Service Greater Boston PFLAG Cornerstone of Equality Award, 2020 Mass Mentoring Partnership Champion Award, 2017 Solas Award from RIAN, 2020 Silver Key Award, Charitable Irish Society of Boston, 2018