LEE PELTON

The Boston Foundation

Lee Pelton is the CEO & President of The Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s leading philanthropic organizations with $1.8 billion in assets. He joined the Foundation in June 2021, after serving as President of Emerson College (2011-2021) and Willamette University (1998-2011).

In May 2023, he ranked #3 on Boston Magazine’s annual list of the most influential people in Boston, following Maura Healey, the newly elected governor of the Commonwealth and Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

Pelton has positioned The Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s first and most influential community foundations, as an agent for social change by centering equity in its programs, grantmaking and civic leadership., Under his leadership, the Foundation’s defining ambition is to achieve equity, which first involves acknowledging and then seeking to eliminate the structural and underlying causes of outcome disparities for historically marginalized communities.

A signature Boston Foundation program is its Racial Wealth Partnership, established in late 2022, as part of the Boston Foundation’s commitment to close racial wealth gaps in Greater Boston and the region by expanding homeownership by people of color. The Partnership is a broad-based group of more than 40 members representing sectors including banking and finance, housing, issue advocacy, government, healthcare, life sciences and education.

As a college president for 23 years, he led with a core belief that higher education must serve to deepen students’ appreciation of humanities. He believes that the nation still looks to colleges and universities to solve its most pressing problems and, as such, college and university presidents have an obligation – in addition to broad mission driven duties on their campuses – to engage in the larger society. To Pelton, nurturing the humanistic spirit also goes hand in hand with confronting and trying to solve the urgent moral and social problems of the moment.

Pelton has combined authentic leadership, civic engagement, and a deep commitment to social justice with his skill and vision for growing institutional capacity and effectiveness. The result has been a legacy of stronger, more diverse institutions that have expanded opportunities for students. Along the way, Pelton often has been recognized as a civic and education leader, both regionally and nationally.

While a college president, Pelton emerged as a powerful national voice on social issues and the value of liberal arts education. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook mass shooting, he gathered over 250 college and university presidents to sign a letter asking President Obama to assist in establishing common-sense gun legislation. He has been active nationally and written widely in support of affirmative action, beginning with the 2003 Michigan University and Law School Supreme Court cases. Pelton has advocated for college in prison initiatives, seeing firsthand at Emerson College’s prisoner education programs that policy inadequacies hamper their effectiveness.

Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, Pelton’s essay America is on Fire, reflects powerfully on the significance of Floyd’s death with a frank and honest reference to his own experiences in America. His essay quickly and widely spread, having reached an audience of more than 6 million people around the globe. Forbes Magazine placed it the top of its list of the five most noteworthy writings that appeared after the George Floyd incident.

Pelton began his academic career at Harvard University, where he earned a Ph.D. in English literature with an academic focus on 19th-century British prose and poetry. He taught English and American literature at Harvard and served as senior tutor at Winthrop House. He later served on the Harvard Board of Overseers and as a vice-chair of its executive committee. After Harvard, Pelton served as dean of the college at Colgate University and Dartmouth College. He graduated from Wichita State University, located in his hometown.

He has been awarded three honorary degrees and he enjoys a very long list of awards and recognitions for educational excellence and social justice, including, among many:

• A Living Legend by the Boston Museum of African American History in 2021
• Inducted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce into its Academy of Distinguished Bostonians in 2020.
• Governor’s Award from Mass Humanities (2020)
• Appearances on the “Most Influential” and “Most Powerful” rankings at the Boston Magazine and the Boston Business Journal for multiple years.

BROOKE THOMSON

AIM

Lee Pelton is the CEO & President of The Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s leading philanthropic organizations with $1.8 billion in assets. He joined the Foundation in June 2021, after serving as President of Emerson College (2011-2021) and Willamette University (1998-2011).

In May 2023, he ranked #3 on Boston Magazine’s annual list of the most influential people in Boston, following Maura Healey, the newly elected governor of the Commonwealth and Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

Pelton has positioned The Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s first and most influential community foundations, as an agent for social change by centering equity in its programs, grantmaking and civic leadership., Under his leadership, the Foundation’s defining ambition is to achieve equity, which first involves acknowledging and then seeking to eliminate the structural and underlying causes of outcome disparities for historically marginalized communities.

A signature Boston Foundation program is its Racial Wealth Partnership, established in late 2022, as part of the Boston Foundation’s commitment to close racial wealth gaps in Greater Boston and the region by expanding homeownership by people of color. The Partnership is a broad-based group of more than 40 members representing sectors including banking and finance, housing, issue advocacy, government, healthcare, life sciences and education.

As a college president for 23 years, he led with a core belief that higher education must serve to deepen students’ appreciation of humanities. He believes that the nation still looks to colleges and universities to solve its most pressing problems and, as such, college and university presidents have an obligation – in addition to broad mission driven duties on their campuses – to engage in the larger society. To Pelton, nurturing the humanistic spirit also goes hand in hand with confronting and trying to solve the urgent moral and social problems of the moment.

Pelton has combined authentic leadership, civic engagement, and a deep commitment to social justice with his skill and vision for growing institutional capacity and effectiveness. The result has been a legacy of stronger, more diverse institutions that have expanded opportunities for students. Along the way, Pelton often has been recognized as a civic and education leader, both regionally and nationally.

While a college president, Pelton emerged as a powerful national voice on social issues and the value of liberal arts education. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook mass shooting, he gathered over 250 college and university presidents to sign a letter asking President Obama to assist in establishing common-sense gun legislation. He has been active nationally and written widely in support of affirmative action, beginning with the 2003 Michigan University and Law School Supreme Court cases. Pelton has advocated for college in prison initiatives, seeing firsthand at Emerson College’s prisoner education programs that policy inadequacies hamper their effectiveness.

Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, Pelton’s essay America is on Fire, reflects powerfully on the significance of Floyd’s death with a frank and honest reference to his own experiences in America. His essay quickly and widely spread, having reached an audience of more than 6 million people around the globe. Forbes Magazine placed it the top of its list of the five most noteworthy writings that appeared after the George Floyd incident.

Pelton began his academic career at Harvard University, where he earned a Ph.D. in English literature with an academic focus on 19th-century British prose and poetry. He taught English and American literature at Harvard and served as senior tutor at Winthrop House. He later served on the Harvard Board of Overseers and as a vice-chair of its executive committee. After Harvard, Pelton served as dean of the college at Colgate University and Dartmouth College. He graduated from Wichita State University, located in his hometown.

He has been awarded three honorary degrees and he enjoys a very long list of awards and recognitions for educational excellence and social justice, including, among many:

• A Living Legend by the Boston Museum of African American History in 2021
• Inducted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce into its Academy of Distinguished Bostonians in 2020.
• Governor’s Award from Mass Humanities (2020)
• Appearances on the “Most Influential” and “Most Powerful” rankings at the Boston Magazine and the Boston Business Journal for multiple years.

SENATOR LYDIA EDWARDS

THIRD SUFFOLK DISTRICT

Senator Lydia Edwards is a career advocate, activist, and voice on behalf of society’s most vulnerable. She was raised all over the world by her military mom but chose to make East Boston her home.

Prior to being elected to the State Senate and Boston City Council, Lydia worked extensively in the legal field. She worked as a public interest attorney with Greater Boston Legal Services focusing on labor issues such as fighting for access to unemployment insurance, back wages, fair treatment for domestic workers, and combating human trafficking.

Additionally, she coordinated a statewide campaign to pass the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights – and she won. Following the bill’s passage, she was named Bostonian of the Year, Honorable Mention, by the Boston Globe.

As a City Councilor, she led efforts to protect Boston’s affordable housing stock through innovative and bold policy proposals. She spearheaded reforms to Inclusionary Development and Linkage and passed through the council a real estate transfer fee on the sale of properties valued at over $2 million, with all proceeds dedicated to affordable housing.

Lydia pushed to reduce airport pollution, expand water transportation, address traffic congestion, ensure community voice in major energy projects, rebuild public housing and stop proposed highway expansion. She solidified her role in the community as a bridge-builder, convening and organizing community meetings to take on larger conversations like Suffolk Downs in East Boston, the Bunker Hill Redevelopment project in Charlestown, and climate resilience in the historic North End.

She spearheaded the effort to get the city’s charter amended and democratize the $3 billion city budget through participatory budgeting. Lydia advocated for greater transparency in city government while maintaining fiscal responsibility. She has fought to reform the Zoning Board of Appeals to reduce influence-peddling in the development process. Lydia fights for a Boston that works for everyone.
Her job title may change, but her values never have. Lydia Edwards has always been on the side of the underdog- and she’s found new ways to make change at each new role. As a State Senator, Lydia is continuing to fight for workers, renters, unions, immigrants, teachers, to make our commonwealth more affordable, more inclusive, and more democratic.

Lydia was raised by her mother, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and current union worker with the Veterans Administration. Lydia graduated from American University Washington College of Law and received an LLM in taxation from Boston University School of Law. She lives in East Boston and loves to run along the waterfront, and practice martial arts. Sometimes, she even skydives.

REPRESENTATIVE HANNAH KANE

ELEVENTH WORCESTER DISTRICT

Hannah graduated from Boston University’s School of Management in 1993. Hannah has significant leadership experience in both the public and private sectors, beginning her career working at Unum Insurance Company before being recruited by Lt. Governor Paul Cellucci to work in the Weld/Cellucci Administration on the redevelopment of the former 4,400-acre Fort Devens Army Base and on the merger of 2 quasi-public state agencies into the economic development authority MassDevelopment. Hannah served as Director of Marketing and Product Development, helping generate over a billion dollars in economic development across the Commonwealth. Hannah returned to the private sector as Vice President of Marketing Services for a consulting firm, developing and implementing business growth and marketing strategies for her clients. Hannah co-owned and was managing partner of Beaton Kane Construction 2010-2015.

Hannah is deeply committed to public service. Hannah serves as an elected Town Meeting Member for 20-years, President of the Shrewsbury Public Schools Foundation and a member of the Shrewsbury Coalition for Addiction Prevention and Education. Hannah is President of the Hannah Kane Charitable Foundation that hosts a charity golf tournament primarily benefitting Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services, St, Anne’s Human Services and Westborough Food Pantry, donating over $500,000 in her district in the past eight years. Hannah is a Trustee for the Seven Hills Foundation and serves as Board Chair for Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, CT. Hannah is a former member of the Shrewsbury Finance Committee, past President of the Shrewsbury Development Corporation and a former board member of Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services.

Hannah serves in the 193rd Legislative Session as the Ranking Minority Member on the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, on the Joint Committee on Public Health, and on the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, and she is also a Member of the House Committee on Ethics. Hannah is an advisory board member of the 495/MetroWest Partnership, a member of the India Society of Worcester, a member of the Central MA Opioid Task Force and a State Director for the national Women in Government Foundation. Hannah is Co-chair of the bipartisan and bicameral Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators.

Hannah serves as Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones designee on the Rare Disease Advisory Council, the Women’s Rights History Trail Task Force, the Massachusetts Food Policy Council, the Commission on Malnutrition Prevention Among Older Adults, and the Massachusetts Commission on Unaccompanied Homeless Youth. Hannah served as Governor Baker’s appointee to the 2020 Special Commission on Family Care and Child Care Services, on the 2018-2019 Regional Transit Authority Task Force and Hannah served on the 2016-2018 Special Commission on Local and Regional Public Health. She is a Founder and Co-chair of the first in the nation Food System Caucus, the second largest caucus in the Massachusetts Legislature with 142 members, and Hannah serves as a member of Governor Baker’s Food Security Task Force assembled to respond to the impact of COVID-19 of increased food insecurity and the challenges to the food system’s production and distribution. Last fall, Hannah launched the MA Legislative Caucus on Cancer Awareness with Rep. Thomas Golden.

Hannah has helped lead and shape policy on the state level, working in a bipartisan manner to grow consensus and advance critical legislation and budget priorities on public health, life sciences, health disparities, food security and marijuana policy. Hannah greatly enjoys public speaking opportunities and has also appeared numerous times as a guest panelist on WGBH’s Greater Boston with Host Jim Braude.

JUAN FERNANDO LOPERA

BETH ISRAEL LAHEY HEALTH

Before joining BILH, Juan Fernando served as Vice President and Corporate Business Diversity Officer at Point32Health, where he led company-wide diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and co-chaired the company’s Anti-Racism Leadership Taskforce. He also oversaw the Rhode Island Medicaid business and led marketing and community outreach efforts for Tufts Health Public Plans. Previously, he served as the company’s Director of Health Services leading medical cost management and provider contracting strategy and analytics. Earlier in his career, Juan Fernando served as Director of Affordability Strategies at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and held management roles at Deloitte Consulting.

Juan Fernando’s civic engagements include, Vice-Chair of the Dimock Center Board, Trustee of Stonehill College, Co- Founder of the Health Equity Compact, Co-Chair of The Boston Foundation’s Latino Legacy Fund, Eastern Bank’s Board of Corporators and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Economic Opportunity Board. He has also served on State of
Massachusetts appointments, including the COVID-19 Health Equity Advisory Group, Latino Empowerment Council and the Health Policy Commission Advisory Council.

Juan Fernando earned a B.S. from the School of Management at Boston College. He is originally from Medellin, Colombia and resides in Waltham, MA with his wife and two children. In his spare time, Juan Fernando is a competitive cyclist and was the 2019 Massachusetts Masters Road Champion.