Brittany Cotton

Human Resources Business Partner, Employee Engagement, Massachusetts Lottery

By Insights Online

Published July 15, 2025

Employees are at the heart of everything a business does. Yet the workplace has changed, with remote work taking center stage during the pandemic, forever changing the concept of “place.” Companies often struggle with increasing costs, potentially impacting their ability to attract and keep quality employees. Employee engagement isn’t a new thing, but it’s an increasingly important strategy to keep businesses – and their employees – thriving. Just ask Brittany Cotton at the Massachusetts Lottery.

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“Since joining the Massachusetts Lottery in 2023, Brittany has brought incredible energy, creativity and a fresh perspective to employee engagement,” says Darnelle Bosquet-Fleurival, Assistant Director of Human Resources, Employee Engagement and Programs. “She has led impactful initiatives like ‘Lunch and Create,’ which fosters employee connection through shared creativity, and expanded regional volunteer opportunities with organizations such as Winsome Riding Academy – helping staff give back to their communities in meaningful ways. Her ability to build trust, listen deeply and turn ideas into action has strengthened our workplace culture across all locations. Brittany doesn’t just promote engagement – she cultivates community, purpose and belonging in everything she does.”

Brittany joined the Mass Lottery in October 2023 as the Human Resources Business Partner, Employee Engagement, in the Human Resources department. Her enthusiastic and personable nature, combined with a background of working with and motivating college students in different environments, was a great match for the Lottery’s desire to ramp up employee engagement. She is also responsible for the HR newsletter and has become the champion for the Lottery’s efforts with respect to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB).

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She came to the Lottery after about six years of working at universities, primarily at the University of New Hampshire as a residence hall director. “I wasn’t sure about a ‘human resources’ job here, but I’ve always done well engaging with people, which is exactly what the Mass Lottery wanted.”

When not improving employee life at the Lottery, Brittany loves to travel when she gets the opportunity. Some of her favorite destinations include Mumbai and Nairobi, and Japan is high on her wish list. She also loves Canada, and now that she’s back in New England, she has more visits there in her future.

In her travels, she immerses herself in local cultures, enjoys meeting people and sampling new cuisine. Importantly, she wants to break down the stereotypes of being American and a Black woman. “I feel like there’s such negativity about who we are and how we show up in the world. So, I really want the world to experience who I am.”

Aside from travel, Brittany loves to swim; she was on her high school swim team. She also enjoys reading and spending time at the beach. And she’s skillful with her hands, making jewelry and always trying new hairstyles.

But most of all, she loves being an aunt to her nieces and nephews. “I was put on this earth to be an aunt! That’s something I’m very proud of.” Now that she’s back in New England, she doesn’t get to see them too often but visits them in North Carolina whenever she can.

Brittany has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management (with a concentration in entrepreneurship) from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and a Master of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Western Carolina University.

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What brought you to the Mass Lottery?

I had previously worked at the University of New Hampshire but moved to Maryland to be closer to my sister in 2022. The next year, I had the opportunity to work as a hall director at Semester at Sea, a four-month “university on a ship” that travels with students to a number of countries. Upon my return, I wasn’t having much luck finding a job in the Maryland area. My friends in New England kept telling me to go back up there; one of them pointed out the human resources job posting at the Mass Lottery for a Human Resources Business Partner, Employee Engagement. The job description was a perfect match to everything I did well in my university work (coordinating student activities across a large campus, with virtually no budget). Ultimately, I received an offer, so I moved back to New England. It was a bit of a risk, but I was determined to choose work that would amplify my skills and challenge myself professionally. It has certainly been a great experience so far!

Tell us about some of the more interesting things you’ve done under the banner of employee engagement?

Lotteries give back to their communities, and I’ve found that people who work for a lottery generally want to give back at a personal level. Volunteer activities also happen to be a great way to get everyone engaged! Yet people are always challenged for time, so having the Lottery give them a certain number of hours per quarter for volunteering is a way to make it all work.

Our employees can choose volunteer activities on their own, subject to approval, or they can participate in our regional volunteer initiatives. I select different opportunities for each region twice a year. This year for our Braintree region, I chose the Winsome Riding Academy, which offers therapeutic activities with horses for people with physical, emotional or social challenges. We washed the horses, cleaned up after them, did some work around the farm, etc. The owner helped us understand the importance of the Academy and how it gives back to the community. One of our employees enjoyed it so much that he’s going back to volunteer on his own time.

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It’s just one example of how much impact we can have beyond the revenues we provide for Massachusetts cities and towns. We have other initiatives as well, such as a collaboration with the Boston Children’s Bloodmobile; our employees can get comp hours for donating blood up to four times a year. For the event this past January, I reached out to the businesses surrounding our Dorchester headquarters and Braintree regional office to promote the blood drives to boost community involvement. There were a total of 77 participants who signed up and 56 successful blood donors. Those numbers were up 20% from last year.

I also started a program designed to spark employee creativity to help us be more productive. We can’t forget about the importance of creativity in finding cost-effective solutions in virtually all parts of our business. With Lunch and Create, I encourage people to take a lunch break and work on something creative. I used to have my own jewelry line, so I would teach them how to make or repair jewelry. Another employee has a card business, and she taught us how to make birthday, holiday and event cards. We have an almost endless variety of creativity among our employees, and by sharing our talents and inspiration, we can increase satisfaction as well as productivity. The first Lunch and Create at our Dorchester headquarters was very successful, and we have another one scheduled in July. I hope to turn this into a mobile program that we can adapt for each of our regions.

There’s so much more we are doing – and can do! One of the reasons these initiatives are taking hold is that our employees realize that “someone is listening” to them. And they really want to reach out and interact with their fellow employees outside their own inner circles. It sounds simple, but it’s very effective. I encourage all our employees to contact me with other ideas they have for things or activities that would make their jobs better.

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Do you have any advice for other lotteries to help with employee engagement?

At the very least, it helps to really understand what employees actually do. Yes, there are job descriptions, but there’s more than that. We had an “HR Position Shadow Initiative,” where we would go on the road with our field techs and account reps to really learn about them and their work, how they engage with their agents, and how we can better support them.

It’s really important to ask employees what interests them and what they’d enjoy doing, and follow up by actually listening to what they are saying. And don’t be surprised if some people just want to do their job – they are not used to other activities during “working” hours. You might have to gain their trust that these new opportunities for engagement are all about THEM. And if there’s any room in the budget, you might offer incentives – even just lottery swag designed especially for employees to help show your appreciation.

Has anything surprised you about the lottery industry?

The main thing would be just how honest and transparent lotteries are in every aspect of their business. I never realized how much money lotteries give back to their good causes, and that information is out there for everyone to see. Here in Massachusetts, we provide unrestricted funds to all of our cities and towns, so every community benefits. I also didn’t realize all the winning experiences we provide for our players, the commissions earned by our retail agents, and how those agents are trained in how to interact with customers and to watch for changes in their behavior. I really like everything we do for our communities and our customers!

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From your perspective, is there anything you wish the Mass Lottery, or the lottery industry in general, could do differently?

I am all about our employees, and I want to see them thrive and do well. That even helps us better serve our customers. People in general sometimes concentrate on the negative things that happen to them and forget about the great things they are doing. So, I wish Mass Lottery could have a bigger budget for employee engagement for personal and professional development. I understand that budgets can be particularly tight with state agencies. But really it wouldn’t take much – it’s more about being able to get creative with our different programs, such as DEIB events, training and panel discussions. There is so much to learn from experts on these topics, so giving employees the opportunity to meet some of these experts in person for one-on-one conversations would go a long way.

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What do you like most about working at the Mass Lottery? The least?

I like traveling to our regional offices and interacting with all employees. My favorite part is just being able to engage with our employees from different walks of life, with different personalities and demographics. And there is so much history among them, both with their lottery work and also their lived experiences; they have so much knowledge to share. I really appreciate learning from everyone.

I also appreciate the autonomy of my position, and that my creativity is valued. When I have a great idea, we all try to figure out how we can implement that idea. And even though my position is hybrid, I’m usually in an office somewhere, because everyone is so great – it gives me a sense of home, even though I’m from North Carolina.

The only possible downside is the fact that we are so spread out, with employees scattered in offices around the state. I feel like we miss engagement opportunities because of that. Yet you can always work around challenges! I personally love to drive, so I’ve developed mobile programs that I take to our regional offices to help people connect. Sometimes employees will even ride with me to visit their colleagues in other offices, so maybe my ideas are catching on!