Pine Street Inn, New England's largest homeless services agency, welcomes Laura J. Sen, President and Chief Executive Officer of BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. as the new Chair of its Board of Directors. Sen, a longtime supporter and volunteer, has been a Pine Street Inn Board member since 2005 and most recently served as Vice Chair before moving into this role.

"I am passionate about Pine Street Inn's mission to end homelessness by transitioning temporary shelter guests to permanent housing," said Laura Sen, President and CEO of BJ's Wholesale Club.

"Our homeless guests' need for shelter results from social safety nets failing to catch them. They may suffer from one or more severe physical, intellectual, and emotional challenges including mental illness, substance abuse, chronic health problems and domestic violence. I am honored to help lead Pine Street Inn to serve this vital role in the community."

Sen takes charge at a pivotal time, as Pine Street Inn is focused on a strategy to move individuals out of shelter and into permanent supportive housing. The organization recently tipped the scales, with more men and women now in housing than in shelter beds each night. Pine Street's focus on permanent supportive housing, along with job training, provides the means for individuals to move on to more self-sufficient lives.

"We are very lucky to have Laura as our new Board Chair," said Pine Street's President and Executive Director Lyndia Downie. "I look forward to working with her in her new role as we continue our mission to end homelessness. Laura's strategic thinking and planning expertise will be invaluable to the organization as we look ahead to the future," she added.

With a 35-year career in retail, Sen is active in the retail industry as well as other nonprofit organizations, and serves on the Boards of Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Boston Ballet, National Retail Federation, MassMutual and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Pine Street Inn is the largest provider of permanent supportive housing, emergency shelter, job training and street outreach for homeless men and women in New England. Pine Street welcomes more than 1,600 homeless individuals daily and 9,500 annually to provide short- and long-term solutions so they can begin to rebuild their lives.

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. is dedicated to providing members with high-quality, brand-name food and merchandise at prices that are significantly lower than supermarkets, supercenters, department stores, drug stores and specialty retail stores. Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, BJ's Wholesale Club is a leading operator of warehouse clubs in the eastern United States. The Company operates 202 clubs and 114 gas stations in 15 eastern states.