Deep Dives

Yesterday, the people of Massachusetts elected Attorney General Maura Healey to be the next governor of Massachusetts. Governor-elect Healey was a guest on this podcast last year, where she talked about her views on health care, racial justice, education, food access, and other key issues. It was an engaging conversation that sheds a lot of light on how she'll approach the job of governor, and so today, direct from the vault, enjoy the re-release of this episode of “Catalysts for Change” featuring Attorney General, and now Governor-elect, Maura Healey.

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On September 28, for the first time in 50 years, the White House held a Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. This year’s conference comes as millions of families across the country struggle to access high-quality calories. In 2021 alone, 13.5 million households were food insecure, and in June of 2022, more than 24 million Americans reported they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat during the week. Why do so many families struggle with food insecurity? And, why, in the past 50 years, have we seen such a giant increase in chronic diseases like obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer?

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be speaking with food leaders of different types to understand America’s relationship with food and the resulting impact on all of us, and particularly our most vulnerable communities, in a special series called “Catalysts for Change: Ingredients for Success.”

In this first episode, Jill is joined by Representative Jim McGovern, who represents District 2 in Massachusetts and serves as Co-Chair of the House Hunger Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, to talk about the recent White House conference and the role of government in solving food access and health issues that have largely stayed the same or worsened since the first conference on food was held in 1969.

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In this episode of “Catalysts for Change,” Jill is joined by Rahn Dorsey, Chief Impact Officer at the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation and former Chief of Education for the City of Boston under Mayor Marty Walsh. Jill speaks with Rahn about how public and private partners can effectively work together to spark innovation in education and improve student outcomes.

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In this episode, Jill speaks with Noubar Afeyan, Co-Founder and Chairman of Moderna, about the development and growth of novel mRNA technology, the growing role of biotechnology in our lives, and the behind-the-scenes decision-making that made Moderna a household name in the fight against COVID-19.

To learn more about Noubar’s work and about Moderna, check out the resources below:

Noubar Afeyan’s Biography

Moderna Website

Noubar Afeyan’s Twitter

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Boston is an incredible place to live and work – full of innovative leaders, brilliant researchers, institutions at the cutting edge of their fields, and wonderful and effective public and private partners. In many ways, the work that happens here in Boston serves as a model for the rest of the country.

This summer, we’re speaking with four local leaders in a special podcast series we’re calling, “Catalysts for Change: In and Around Boston.” These four leaders share a deep commitment to building a stronger, healthier, and more livable city, and we hope you gain as much from their perspectives and insights as we did.

In our fourth and final episode of this special series, Jill is joined by Dr. Robyn Riseberg, founder of Boston Community Pediatrics, which is piloting a new and innovative model for comprehensive medical care for our city’s most vulnerable children. Jill talks with Robyn about why she started this practice and what opportunities this model presents for the future of pediatric care in our state and our country.

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Boston is an incredible place to live and work – full of innovative leaders, brilliant researchers, institutions at the cutting edge of their fields, and wonderful and effective public and private partners. In many ways, the work that happens here in Boston serves as a model for the rest of the country.

This summer, we’re speaking with four local leaders in a special podcast series we’re calling, “Catalysts for Change: In and Around Boston.” These four leaders share a deep commitment to building a stronger, healthier, and more livable city, and we hope you gain as much from their perspectives and insights as we did.

In our third episode, Jill is joined by Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Chief of Streets, Transportation, and Sanitation for the City of Boston, to talk about how the pandemic impacted transit in Boston, what the Wu administration is doing to improve our outdoor quality-of-life, and how he weighs the tradeoffs between buses, bikes, and cars when reimagining our transportation system.

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Boston is an incredible place to live and work – full of innovative leaders, brilliant researchers, institutions at the cutting edge of their fields, and wonderful and effective public and private partners. In many ways, the work that happens here in Boston serves as a model for the rest of the country.

Over the next few weeks, we’re speaking with four local leaders in a special podcast series we’re calling, “Catalysts for Change: In and Around Boston.” These four leaders share a deep commitment to building a stronger, healthier, and more livable city, and we hope you gain as much from their perspectives and insights as we did.

In our second episode, Jill is joined by Robert Lewis, Jr., President & CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, to talk about how his leadership was shaped by his childhood in the Boston Public Schools, the important life lessons learned from team sports, and how the language we use shapes the expectations we set for the next generation.

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As we get into the full swing of summer in Boston, we're excited to share a special series of "Catalysts for Change" that we're calling "In and Around Boston." Over the next few weeks, we’re speaking with innovative local leaders about what they’re doing to make Boston a stronger, healthier, and more livable city.

In the first episode of this limited series, Jill speaks with Justin Pasquariello, Executive Director of the East Boston Social Centers, about growing up in Boston, the critical ways in which his organization creates joy for East Boston families, and how his life experiences help inform a more comprehensive approach to social services.

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In this episode, Jill is joined by Todd Rose, co-founder of the think-tank Populace and author of the new national bestseller, Collective Illusions. Jill speaks with Todd about how to understand what is happening in our country culturally, politically, and civically; how Populace’s method of private opinion polling allows for a better understanding of people’s true beliefs; how Americans are often closer aligned than it may appear; and how to confront these “collective illusions” in our day-to-day lives.

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Introducing a special episode from the Shah Family Foundation's other podcast, Last Night at School Committee:

The City of Boston has a new mayor, and Mayor Wu and her appointed school committee have begun a search for a new Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Boston has had 6 superintendents in 16 years - three of whom served Interim roles - and all who worked tirelessly on behalf of students, families and staff to improve aspects of BPS. 

What type of leader does BPS need now? What are the city’s priorities for our public school system? Who can be successful in the role? What can Bostonians do to make the next Superintendent’s term impactful and successful? 

In this special series of “Last Night at School Committee,” we bring together more than a dozen community leaders, as well as all 6 superintendents from the last 16 years, and ask them to weigh in on these questions.

This first episode features the voices of 14 Boston leaders – teachers, principals, education advocates, nonprofit leaders, union leaders, political leaders, former School Committee members, and others – offering their perspectives on the role of the superintendent, key priorities for Boston Public Schools, and how the community can come together to support our school district and its new leader. Below is a list of all participants in this episode:

To learn more about the participants and see a video version of the episode highlighting each speaker, visit BostonSuperintendent.com. And be sure to subscribe to the Last Night at School Committee podcast for the rest of the episodes in this series.

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