Colleen O’Mara DelVecchio (CAS’92) found her passion through the unexpected turns in her career. Now, she’s helping others do the same.
DelVecchio’s career has spanned nonprofit management, higher education, and building her own business. Through each transition, she credits her liberal arts education at Boston University, along with her passion for helping others, with giving her the curiosity, adaptability, and confidence to embrace new opportunities
Today, DelVecchio is the founder of Maxady, a coaching and leadership business focused on empowering women to embrace career changes and to help them grow into leadership positions. DelVecchio coaches women one-on-one, speaks at events and conferences, and offers workshops and training designed to help women find possibility in unexpected paths.
For her commitment to empowering women to embrace change, grow as leaders, lift up others, and find possibility in unexpected paths, DelVecchio is being honored with a 2026 Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award. She will also receive a 2026 Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Access Leadership (IDEAL) Award.
“Colleen DelVecchio exemplifies the power of a liberal arts education to prepare us not simply for one career, but for a lifetime of growth, change, and possibility,” says Stan Sclaroff, dean of Arts & Sciences. “Throughout her career, she has embraced unexpected opportunities and transformed her own experiences into a source of guidance and inspiration for others.”
DelVecchio’s work has earned recognition beyond BU. Most recently, she received the Center for Women Entrepreneurs’ “Women Who Lift Up Massachusetts” Award, which honors women in business who have made significant contributions to the state’s economy.
DelVecchio also shares these messages with broader audiences as co-host of the podcast “Embrace the Squiggle.” She and her co-host, Ashleigh Beadle, explore stories of non-linear career paths and invite guests on to share their stories of navigating change and detours in their careers.
While DelVecchio’s career trajectory ultimately led her away from her undergraduate aspirations in sports psychology, she is hopeful she will have the opportunity to use her knowledge and experience with Maxady to help women in sports navigate their next chapter after retiring from athletics.
“Go out there and embrace the squiggles,” DelVecchio says. “Those detours aren’t necessarily taking you off course; they’re creating a new one. When an unexpected opportunity comes your way, get curious and give yourself permission to explore it. You don’t have to have the whole path figured out to take the next step.”