Born and raised in Fall River, State Representative Carole A. Fiola is a very proud Durfee Hilltopper, and was the 1978 Senior Class President. She received her BA in Marketing Communications from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has served as state representative in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the past eleven years.
After college, Carole worked as the Marketing Communications Manager for the Fall River Office of Economic Development, the Marketing Communications Manager for a division of Pfizer, and, later, the General Manager and Vice President at WSAR/WHTB radio. In 2001, she was elected as the First District’s Governor’s Councilor, a position she held until 2011, when she returned to the private sector as a successful realtor. Carole has served on many boards and organizations in the city as her passion was and remains “to work tirelessly to make Fall River the best it can be and to help all those that need a hand.”
Organizations she has served include: The Durfee Hilltopper Athletic Foundation (Founder); Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Committee; Bristol Elder Advisory Board; Jack Brayton Trust Fund; University of Massachusetts Women into Leadership; and countless others. She proudly serves the 6th Bristol District and prioritizes constituent services, advocating for local funding and projects, and supporting women in all areas of her work.
State Representative Fiola currently is the House Chair on the Municipalities and Regional Government Committee and a board member of the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators. In previous sessions, Representative Fiola acted as the Chair of the Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development Committee, vice-chair of the Committee on Bills in Third Reading, and served on the Committee on House Ways and Means, Judiciary, and Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
In her youth, Carole took a bus downtown and, on the return trip, visited the Fall River Historical Society on a regular basis. Her deep fondness and appreciation for the FRHS has only grown through the years.
Carole married Ken Fiola Jr. in 1986, meeting him after a Durfee basketball game. They are the proud parents of Alexandra and Lauren and are blessed with two grandsons.
State Representative Fiola is being recognized for her outstanding commitment to the Fall River Historical Society, her longstanding public service, and for her many positive efforts to promote the city of Fall River and its multicultural people.