Women’s History Month Profile: Jaimie Doucette

For Nonotuck Vice President of Residential Services Jaimie Doucette, Women’s History Month is an opportunity to reflect—on the kind of leader she wants to be, and on the women who helped shape that vision.

Early in her career, Jaimie recalls a conversation with a supervisor who offered advice for navigating a male-dominated environment: be louder, harsher, and always appear in control—even when you aren’t.

That approach might work for some, but it never felt right to her.

“That had a lasting impression on me,” Jaimie says. “I remember thinking how sad that was—that this is what she felt she had to become to be respected. You learn from both the great supervisors and the ones who are not. There are things you keep—and things you decide you’ll do differently.”

Today, her leadership style reflects that intention. “I try to be fair. I try to be clear. I try to support people to reach their goals,” she says. “And I try to be someone who is approachable.”

For Jaimie, leadership is not about putting up a guard or becoming someone else—it’s about being authentic. “I think people can be true to who they are,” she says. “They don’t have to be someone else in order to move forward.”

Eleven years into her Nonotuck career—she was hired as a Program Director in 2015—Jaimie is quick to credit much of her leadership approach to the women in her life, especially her family.

She speaks often about her grandmother, whose life story left a lasting impact. Raised in an orphanage, her grandmother went on to become a correctional officer at an all-female prison in Framingham, Massachusetts at a time when opportunities for women were limited.

Despite the challenges of that era, the prison environment was, in some ways, ahead of its time—staffed entirely by women, from officers to medical professionals, creating rare opportunities for women to build meaningful careers.

One of her grandmother’s roles involved supporting a program for pregnant inmates, allowing them to give birth and remain with their babies until a family placement or adoption could be arranged. “That’s where her heart was,” Jaimie says. “She really advocated for that program. She had a great rapport with the inmates. She was tough—she didn’t deviate from the rules—but she earned respect from everyone around her.”

That balance—strength paired with compassion, structure grounded in humanity—has stayed with Jaimie throughout her life. Today, it continues to shape how she leads at Nonotuck: with clarity, respect, and a belief that people do not need to change who they are to be valued, supported, and heard.