Navjeet K. Bal, Class of 1984

In 2008, Navjeet K. Bal became the first ethnic minority and the second woman to serve as commissioner of revenue for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As commissioner, she oversees the Department of Revenue’s approximately 2,200 employees who work in tax administration, child support enforcement, and municipal finance across the state. In 2010, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts appointed her to the Access to Justice Commission, where she co-chairs the administrative justice working group. Prior to joining the Department of Revenue, Bal was a public bond lawyer in the public finance division of the Boston-based firm Mintz Levin. During her 17 years there, she co-founded the firm’s Domestic Violence Project and served on the pro bono committee. Bal served as a trustee for the Gaudino Fund at Williams from 1996 to 2002 and as chair of the board of the Legal Advocacy and Resource Center, a legal services hotline for low-income Massachusetts residents. She was honored with the 2008 Cornerstone Award from the National South Asian Bar Association. Bal graduated from Williams in 1984 and received her J.D. from Northesatern University in 1989.