When Randace Rauscher took over as executive director of the Fields Corner Main Street last month, she found herself confronted by challenging misconceptions about her new locale.

“Some people just brush it off as a dangerous neighborhood,” she said. “We’re working to educate people outside of the Dorchester community.”
Rauscher, who lives in Jamaica Plain, said she’s found a supportive and enthusiastic community that’s not so different from the one she calls home.

“Both have the same amount of pride. Fields Corner has so much pride,” she said.

Rauscher took over at Fields Corner Main Streets in mid-September from Rosanne Foley, who served as a temporary replacement after former executive director Evelyn Darling left in March 2014. Rauscher, a native of New York, moved to Boston over 20 years ago and started her non-profit career as a fundraiser working at organizations like The Pine Street Inn and The Children’s Trust Fund. She became interested in working with Boston Main Streets after participating in an art stroll sponsored by the program.

As a mixed-media collage artist, she was impressed by the level of support that Main Streets provided to her and others involved with the stroll, and she wanted to get involved.

“I couldn’t believe they would do all the work for you. I just thought that was so great,” she said.

Rauscher spent five years working as executive director at JP Center/South Main Streets, where she expanded the district’s Art Walk, which aims to encourage patronage of local artists, to a year-round program featuring 40 different businesses. Now, a focus on art and creativity is something Rauscher hopes to bring to Fields Corner through pop-up galleries and stores that highlight local work.

“JP was a very different district, it was very art-driven,” Rauscher said. “I’m hoping to do more art-related things in this district.”

Rauscher said she’s most looking forward working on storefront improvement efforts in Fields Corner, and particularly hopes to restore and maintain the neighborhood’s historic beauty. She plans to work with businesses to design and install new building facades, awnings and windows, which she hopes will create a more welcoming appearance for potential customers by removing potentially off-putting barriers.

“Some of the things we’re looking forward to in the future are our anti-grate campaign, ‘Make Dorchester Great, Not Grate,’ to get businesses to remove their grates,” she said. “We want to dispel the myth that Fields Corner is such a dangerous neighborhood that people can’t visit it to have dinner in one of our great ethnic restaurants or shop in one of our businesses.”

While Rauscher said she’s always looking for support from new volunteers and interns, her efforts in Fields Corner have been bolstered by an active board and an enthusiastic board president, Lee Adelson, who she calls a “true champion” for the community.

“It’s so refreshing to work with people who really believe in the neighborhood and improving it, and who have so much enthusiasm for people working together to improve it,” Rauscher said.

To learn more about opportunities to volunteer with the Fields Corner Main Streets, visit the website at fieldscorner.org.