Todd Grossman
Interim Executive Director and General Counsel
Todd Grossman was named the Interim Executive Director of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on July 10, 2023, ahead of the departure of the then-Executive Director of the MGC, Karen Wells. Mr. Grossman also serves as the General Counsel to the Commission, overseeing the legal department that offers counsel to the commissioners and staff on a wide variety of matters relating to the oversight and administration of the agency, gaming, and racing in the Commonwealth. Mr. Grossman has been with the Commission since his arrival in 2012, near the inception of the agency.
Mr. Grossman has contributed to the development and implementation of new regulations and policies governing the process by which gaming licenses were awarded, related municipal issues addressed, and ultimately how the casinos are regulated, as well as being involved in the development of an enhanced code of ethics for commissioners and staff of the Commission.
Prior to his role at the Commission, Mr. Grossman served as one of the inaugural commissioners of the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission, which body is charged with the regulation of mixed martial arts and boxing events in the Commonwealth. Mr. Grossman began his career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office prosecuting a wide variety of criminal matters in the district and superior courts of the Commonwealth. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and holds a law degree from New England Law Boston.
Bruce Band
Director of Sports Wagering
Bruce Band has served the Commission as Assistant Director of the Investigations & Enforcement Bureau and Gaming Agents Division Chief since 2014. As Director of Sports Wagering, Band – a longtime gaming industry professional – heads the MGC’s Sports Wagering Division and coordinates with other divisions within the MGC including Research & Responsible Gaming, IT, Legal, and the IEB.
Through his previous roles with the MGC, Band was an active member of the Commission staff working to stand up sports wagering in the Commonwealth. Moving forward, he is tasked with leading these efforts as the head of the Commission’s newest division.
Band has over 45 years of regulatory and casino operations experience having opened nearly 20 casinos in New Jersey and Massachusetts. He has served in various roles at the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and has previous work experience as a casino industry consultant; a consultant on National Geographic’s Casino Wars; Director of Casino Solutions, Surveillance, Security, & Information Systems at 21 CSI; and, most recently, in his roles at the MGC. He is a graduate of George Washington University.
Joe Delaney
Chief, Division of Community Affairs
Joe Delaney is the Chief of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s Division of Community Affairs Division. He is responsible for the implementation of the Community Mitigation Fund and ensuring licensees’ compliance with the myriad permits and agreements required as part of the development and operation of the gaming establishments. He has been with the Commission since 2016, first serving as the Construction Project Oversight Manager, overseeing more than $3.5 billion of casino construction projects until his promotion in October 2020.
Since 2015, the Community Mitigation Fund has awarded numerous grants to cities, towns and other governmental entities to offset the costs associated with the construction and operation of the gaming facilities. The Commission has awarded nearly $48 million in grants since the program’s inception.
From 2006 until 2016, Mr. Delaney served as the Deputy Director of Municipal Services for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. In that position, he was a Senior Manager in the State Revolving Fund Loan Program, providing more than $400 million per year in low-interest rate financing for cities and towns for water and sewer infrastructure projects. He has also held positions in municipal government as the Town Engineer in Reading MA and in various consulting roles. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Massachusetts.
Katrina Jagroop-Gomes
Chief Information Officer
Katrina Jagroop-Gomes has served as the MGC’s Chief Information Officer since 2018, managing information technology services and gaming technical compliance. Her team aims to leverage the power of technology by providing a secure and reliable computing environment, creative solutions, responsive services and access to a current and robust infrastructure, and is also responsible for planning, organizing, managing, and implementing the regulations, policies, procedures, and testing needed to ensure the integrity of electronic gaming devices and associated software and equipment.
She has more than 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, previously holding IT positions in organizations like WGBH, Suffolk University and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. She has expertise in operations, finance, compliance and technology, and has worked with business heads to help create strategies to leverage technology in their organizations.
She holds both an MBA in Information Technology from Southern New Hampshire University and a Bachelor’s degree in Management from Suffolk University. She was inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success, and was one of the recipients of the Massachusetts Excellence in Technology, Leader in Digital Government Award in 2017.
She is an active volunteer in her community with a special focus on teenage girls and women at risk, and was named to the Essex County Commission on the Status of Women in December of 2020.
Alexandra Lightbown
Director of Racing
As Director of Racing, Dr. Alexandra Lightbown is responsible for coordinating the regulation of the state’s horseracing industry and implementing Chapters 128A and 128C.
She has over 26 years of experience in horseracing, with 23 of those years in a regulatory position. Dr. Lightbown most recently held the position of Chief Veterinarian and Operations Manager for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. In this role, she was responsible for implementing a series of regulatory reforms put in place by the Gaming Commissioners.
Prior to this role, for three years she was the Acting Director of Racing and Chief Veterinarian for the Massachusetts State Racing Commission and for the Massachusetts Department of Professional Licensure. This included being responsible for the field operations at the state’s racetracks, overseeing auditors, licensing, the drug testing laboratory, test barn, and stewards/judges. Dr. Lightbown began her regulatory career with the Massachusetts State Racing Commission as Chief Veterinarian, overseeing the health and welfare of the state’s racing animals.
Dr. Lightbown’s first job at a racetrack was in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a veterinary assistant. After completing her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, she worked in a private practice at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, MA for about a year, and next at Rockingham Park in Salem, NH for two years.
Dr. Lightbown earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in North Grafton, Massachusetts. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Colorado State University, after spending her first two years of college at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Mark Vander Linden
Director of Research and Responsible Gaming
Since 2013 Mark Vander Linden has served as Director of Research and Responsible Gaming for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. In this role, he manages an extensive research agenda to advance an understanding of responsible gaming, gambling disorders, and the social, economic and public safety impacts of gambling in Massachusetts. In addition, he works collaboratively with casino operators and other stakeholders on a range of casino, web and community-based initiatives to build a sustainable, accountable and socially responsible industry in the state.
Prior to joining the MGC, Mark was the Executive Officer of the Office of Problem Gambling Treatment and Prevention with the Iowa Department of Public Health where he oversaw problem gambling treatment prevention, treatment, recovery services, and workforce development. Mark serves on the Board of Directors of the International Center for Responsible Gaming. He received his Masters degree in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. Mark has clinical experience in community-based settings with addiction, HIV/AIDS issues, and children and family mental health.
Thomas Mills
Chief of Communications
Thomas Mills began as the Communications Division Chief for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in early 2022 to lead the Commission’s external communications efforts. Mills oversees the Commission’s media relations, digital communications, and public outreach efforts to inform the public and stakeholders about the work of the Commission. He serves as an advisor to the Chair, Commissioners, and MGC staff on several issues before the Commission.
Mills has helped leaders of organizations across public, private, and non-profit sectors tell their stories for over a decade. He has served in communications, policy, management and government affairs positions in the Massachusetts State Legislature and the administrations of two Massachusetts governors.
Directly before coming to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Mills worked at Harvard University’s public affairs and communications office where he helped communicate about Harvard’s impact on the communities it serves. His writing has appeared in the Harvard Gazette, To Serve Better, and Harvard Local among other places. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
David Muldrew
Chief People and Diversity Officer
At the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Chief People and Diversity Officer, David Muldrew oversees the Commission’s Human Resource and D.E.I internal and external efforts. Dave brings more than 30 years of business experience in both the private and public sectors.
Prior to his arrival at the MGC, Dave served for seven years as the Assistant Secretary for Employer Services at the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. In this role, he collaborated closely with MassHire Field Offices and MassHire Department of Career Services in the design and implementation of a full-cycle recruitment model providing qualified talent to Massachusetts businesses, Recruitment Solutions Initiative.
Prior to working with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Dave held senior management and executive human resource roles of progressive responsibility in the banking, investments, enterprise sales, electronics, and hospitality industries.
In his executive role at MGC, Dave will continue to develop and provide a positive, supportive and diverse working culture for all MGC employees. As the MGC transitions out of the COVID-19 era and continues to grow with our existing licensees, keeping primary focus on the sourcing, hiring, development and retention of all MGC employees is essential.
Dave graduated from Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts with a B.A. in English Literature.