MMA.ORG
We’ll show a video about the MMA Annual Meeting platform, called PSAV, to help attendees get the most from their experience.
Welcoming Remarks:
• MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith
• MMA President Cecelia Calabrese
Wes Moore, a bestselling author and CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, the largest anti-poverty nonprofit in New York City, has confronted war, poverty and political upheaval as an Army veteran and social entrepreneur. Moore speaks frequently about topics such as racial and economic injustice. In his keynote, titled “Evolve, Adapt, Inspire: The Tenets of Transformational Leadership,” he’ll talk about effective leadership during challenging times.
Against the backdrop of an especially difficult year, Moore encourages leaders to evolve, adapt and inspire others, while keeping an eye on the big picture and the future. He will address these goals in the context of the public health, political and financial challenges that local leaders face.
Moore is a frequent panelist on news and commentary shows, and has spoken in depth about navigating the difficulties of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the social unrest surrounding recent police killings of people of color, and a contentious election year. On the June 26 episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Moore stressed how important it is for elected officials to be clear and honest with the public as the nation’s challenges mount and its political divide widens.
“I think that what people are yearning for right now, what people are craving right now, is truth, and it’s transparency, and it’s honesty,” Moore said.
As Moore explains how America can persevere through these turbulent times, he often draws upon the challenges and adversity that he has overcome in his life. He lost his father at a young age, was raised by a single mother, and overcame a troubled childhood to graduate from the Valley Forge Military Academy and Johns Hopkins University, going on to become a Rhodes Scholar studying international relations at Oxford University.
After completing his studies, Moore served as a captain in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, leading combat paratroopers in Afghanistan. During President George W. Bush’s administration, he served as a White House Fellow to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and he is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has also worked in the financial industry, as an investment banker for Deutsche Bank in London and for Citigroup in New York.
As Robin Hood’s CEO, Moore oversees efforts to reduce poverty by partnering with more than 250 nonprofits to provide food, housing, education, legal and workforce development services to residents of New York City.
Previously, Moore founded BridgeEdU, a Baltimore-based startup giving underserved students college transition support to improve their chances of academic success.
Moore is the author of several books, including “The Other Wes Moore,” “The Work,” “Discovering Wes Moore” and “This Way Home.”
His most recent book, “Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City,” examines the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s 2015 death in police custody in Moore’s hometown of Baltimore. While addressing the roles that poverty, discrimination and economic injustice play in such tragedies, Moore urges the country to take an unflinching look at its problems in order to move forward.
“The pride and promise of America are too strong to allow our scattered past to hinder its prospects,” Moore writes. “Loving your country means fighting for the institutionalization of its core goodness. Loving your country does not mean lying about its past.”
To achieve progress in society, Moore urges people to learn from the past and to recognize that “our fates are profoundly intertwined.”
“Understand that the best way to protect our own future is to protect the future of others,” Moore writes. “To use our power to demand justice. We aren’t asking that everyone end up in the same spot. We are asking that everyone get a fair shot.”
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, a former selectman and legislator who has addressed local officials at every MMA Annual Meeting since she took office in 2015, serves as the Baker-Polito administration’s liaison to municipalities.
Lt. Gov. Polito typically presides over meetings of the Local Government Advisory Commission to discuss the intersections of state and local government, and has famously visited all 351 cities and towns as lieutenant governor. She has developed close relationships with the MMA and with mayors, town administrators and managers, and other municipal officials. Polito demonstrates the administration’s fundamental belief that the Commonwealth’s success is driven by the strength of its diverse expanse of people and places.
Lt. Gov. Polito has been a champion of the Community Compact Cabinet, which has signed agreements with every city and town to partner with state government on more than 800 smarter ways to deliver services.
She has worked closely with local officials to encourage housing production through the Housing Choice Initiative, improve roadways, sidewalks, bicycle lanes, pathways, and intersections through the Complete Streets program, and invest in on-the-ground, proactive projects to address climate change impacts through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program.
A lifelong resident of Shrewsbury, where she owns and operates a commercial real estate development firm, she has served as a Town Meeting member (1993-2000), a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals (1994-1995), and a selectman (1995-1998). She was the commissioner of the Massachusetts Lottery from 1999 to 2000, and in 2001, she was elected state representative for the 11th Worcester District (Shrewsbury and Westborough), serving five terms.
She is a graduate of Worcester’s Holy Name Central Catholic High School, Boston College and the New England School of Law. She and her husband, Stephan Rodolakis, have two children.
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Members will have an opportunity to connect informally in virtual breakout rooms to network, brainstorm ideas and even share a laugh!
Students and alumni of MMA-Suffolk programs are invited to join their fellow classmates and colleagues in a networking breakout session. Book award recipients will be announced, as well as details on next year’s MMA-Suffolk programs.
Presented by the Division of Local Services
This workshop will cover important current issues in municipal finance and look at fiscal 2021 and beyond.
Panelists
Sean Cronin, Senior Deputy Commissioner, Division of Local Services
Joanne Graziano, Chief, Bureau of Local Assessment, Division of Local Services
Michael Heffernan, Secretary, Executive Office for Administration and Finance (Live Q&A only)
Geoffrey Snyder, Commissioner, Department of Revenue
Moderator
John Robertson, Legislative Director, MMA
This workshop will explore the operation of municipal government during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics will include town meetings, remote hearings and meetings, and elections. Learn about the laws, regulation changes, and executive orders that have shaped this pandemic and State of Emergency.
Panelists
Lauren Goldberg, Shareholder and Managing Partner, KP Law, P.C.
Mark Reich, Shareholder, KP Law, P.C.
Moderator
Brittney Franklin, Senior Legislative Analyst, MMA
Presented by the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association
This session will discuss the adjustment to working virtually during the pandemic. Real human connection has been one of the biggest casualties, and many of us anticipate more of the same in 2021. Since many of us will continue to miss out on in-person opportunities to strengthen bonds with colleagues, reports and residents, it’s important to learn how to be as effective and connected as possible.
Panelists
Cally Ritter, LICSW, Principal, Positive Ripple Training and Consulting
Adam Sutton, Founder, Working Happier
Presented by the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association
This workshop will include an overview of cyber threats from a national, state and local perspective and an outline of the tools MassCyberCenter provides to municipalities, including the Municipal Minimum Baseline of Cybersecurity. A municipal CIO will explain how his community has put these tools in place, and there will be a conversation on how municipalities can create a cybersecurity culture. This will include some reference to services provided to those insured through the MIIA program, specifically how these services fit into a community’s Cyber Incident Response Plan. Time will be set aside at the end of the program for questions.
Panelists
Sam Curry, Chief Security Officer, Cybereason
Michael Kar, cybersecurity attorney, Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
Meg Speranza, Resiliency Program Manager, MassCyberCenter
Mike Steben, Chief Information Officer, City of Pittsfield
Moderator
Stephanie Helm, Director, MassCyberCenter
Presented by the MMA Policy Committee on Energy and the Environment
The Legislature is on the brink of passing landmark legislation to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. This workshop will explore the role of municipalities in helping to meet emissions reduction targets. Panelists will examine case studies from communities across the state as well as a regional net zero planning process.
Panelists
Carolyn Dykema, State Representative, 8th Middlesex District
Ben Hellerstein, State Director, Environment Massachusetts
Jillian Wilson-Martin, Sustainability Coordinator, Natick
Moderator
Ariela Lovett, Legislative Analyst, MMA
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Presented by Massachusetts Municipal Human Resources association
This session will focus on how to have conversations about race, equity and inclusion in the workplace. People often shy away from these conversations due to a fear of saying the wrong thing. This workshop will explain how to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable” and provide the tools needed to start difficult conversations about anti-racist values in your community and to initiate change through action.
Panelists
Vanessa Hale, Assistant Town Administrator, Southborough
Kathy Lopes, LICSW, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Newton Public Schools
Moderator
Rachel Glisper, Human Resources Director, Needham
Presented by the Massachusetts Highway Association
This session will highlight a statewide mutual aid in public works partnership between municipal DPWs and the Department of Transportation. The mutual aid initiative encourages and facilitates communities to provide backup and support to one another during emergencies.
Panelists
Chris Bouchard, Public Works Director, South Hadley; President, Massachusetts Highway Association
David Desrosiers, Highway Superintendent, Granby
David Lane, Public Works Director, Danvers
Moderator
Ariela Lovett, Legislative Analyst, MMA
This workshop will cover the ways that cities and towns can help their local businesses survive and thrive during the current economic downturn, as well as ways to promote their downtowns. Learn about relevant state programs and the most effective approaches to downtown revitalization using real community examples.
Panelists
Elizabeth Jenkins, Planning and Development Director, Barnstable
Elizabeth Wurfbain, Executive Director, Hyannis Main Street Business Improvement District
Moderator
Emmy Hahn, Program Coordinator, Massachusetts Downtown Initiative, Department of Housing and Community Development
Presented by the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association
Municipal attorneys will bring attendees up to speed on important developments in municipal law as they relate to Massachusetts cities and towns.
Panelists
Donna Brewer, Attorney, Miyares and Harrington
Ellen Callahan Doucette, City Solicitor, Woburn, and President, Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association
Moderator
John Robertson, Legislative Director, MMA
This session will explore the lessons learned from the COVID pandemic, and how we can be better prepared for future health crises. It will also discuss ways that regional collaboration is used for emergency preparedness and pandemic planning.
Panelists
Sigalle Reiss, Health Director, Norwood; President, Massachusetts Health Officers Association
Connor Robichaud, Principal Planner, Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission
Moderator
D.J. Wilson, Tobacco Control Director, MMA
Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer, who has transcended racial and gender barriers throughout her career, will reflect on her unconventional political path, her experiences as a woman of color, lessons she has learned as a science educator, Framingham’s efforts to become a more equitable and inclusive city, and what women leaders can do to advance racial justice in their own communities.
In an interview with former Boston news anchor Liz Walker, now the pastor of the Roxbury Presbyterian Church, Spicer will engage in a conversation and question-and-answer session during the 2021 MMA Annual Meeting’s only ticketed event.
“I look at ways in which I inspire other women, particularly young women, and that’s something that I don’t take lightly,” Spicer told the MMA in a recent interview. “I have not only the responsibility of doing my very best in this job, but I also carry generations with me on my shoulders. I carry women and women of color.”
Spicer has broken ground in both education and government. At the State University of New York in Oswego, she was the only woman of color in her technology education program. She became Framingham’s first mayor in 2018, after the town switched to a city form of government. And she is the state’s first African-American woman to be popularly elected as mayor.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Spicer holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial arts and technology and a master’s degree in technology education, both from SUNY Oswego, and a doctorate in educational leadership from UMass Boston. She spent 16 years working for the Framingham public schools as a science and technology teacher and as an administrator, and then as a school administrator in Newton. In 2007, she began a decade-long tenure as vice president for advocacy and educational partnerships at the Museum of Science.
In 2010, former Gov. Deval Patrick appointed Spicer to the Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council, and Gov. Charlie Baker reappointed her in 2017. She has served as an advisor to the National Governors Association and as president of the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association. With a focus on economic issues, Spicer has also served on the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and the state’s Economic Empowerment Trust Fund.
“I bring so many different lenses to this work, and I’m actually quite grateful for that,” Spicer said.
She was recently recognized with one of five Women of Courage and Conviction Awards given by the Greater Boston Section of the National Council of Negro Women.
Spicer has lived in Framingham for 35 years and, before becoming mayor, had served as a Town Meeting member and as a member of the Standing Committee on Ways and Means and the Framingham Human Relations Commission.
As mayor, Spicer said she derives energy from networking with other city leaders, ranging from the state’s dozen or so women mayors to big-city leaders across the country, including prominent mayors of color, such as Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
“We are all trying to do the same thing, which is run our cities in a way that is honoring who we are as women, and as women of color, but also against adversity,” Spicer said. “And sometimes, there’s quite a bit of adversity.”
Though people of color make up more than 30% of Framingham’s population, Spicer said, the municipal government’s workforce was 91% white when she arrived. She has since required officials to document efforts to attract and retain diverse candidates with each hiring request. She has also gotten City Council approval to fund a diversity, equity and inclusion officer, and the city is now advertising for that senior-level position.
Spicer has signed an executive order with her Health Department to declare racism a public health crisis, and signed a similar resolution with many other mayors across the state.
“If we’re going to make systemic and sustainable change, then we really need to be consciously focused on strategies that we’re doing to hire new people, things that we’re doing within purchasing and all of the practices that we have,” Spicer said.
Rev. Walker is pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church in the heart of Boston, where she leads the Cory Johnson Program for Post Traumatic Healing.
After 21 years as Boston’s first African-American television news anchor on WBZ-TV, Rev. Walker earned a master of divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School in 2005. Her calling as a minister is the latest and highest reach of a life journey that includes 11 years of humanitarian work in South Sudan, one of Africa’s most troubled countries.
Rev. Walker co-founded “My Sister’s Keeper,” a humanitarian organization that in 2007 built a girls’ school in the village of Akon, Sudan, the first of its kind in that region. On the first day of school, 1,000 girls enrolled. Despite persistent violence and political upheaval, the school continues to operate today.
The Cory Johnson Program, named after a promising young church member who was murdered in 2010, is a faith-inspired, clinically supported, community-based program that addresses the epidemic of post-traumatic stress in a neighborhood too often overrun by violence. The program offers weekly community gatherings where residents are encouraged to share painful and often unspeakable experiences, increase their understanding of psychological trauma, and learn coping skills. The program also offers access to mental health support that some residents might not otherwise receive.
Motivational speaker and author Risha Grant is a renowned expert in the areas of diversity, inclusion and bias. Her interactive session, “Get Rid of the BS (Bias Synapse),” will teach participants how to recognize and acknowledge their biases, while giving them easily applicable tools to move past those biases.
Whether implicit or conscious, bias is the number one threat to humanity and any organization’s success, she says. She created the term “Bias Synapse” – or BS – as a way to explain our brain’s involvement in the processing and validation of bias.
“My edgy equity training facilitates honest, authentic conversations about unconscious bias, inclusive cultures and microaggressions,” she says on her website. “My goal is to lead my audience to a new place of respect, understanding, authenticity and inclusion.”
Although diversity can be an uncomfortable topic, Grant’s approach helps attendees understand the concept without feeling judged. She will share her perspectives as a woman of color and truths about unconscious bias, microaggressions and other actions that perpetuate discrimination and inequality. She’ll also offer practical advice for finding respect, understanding and inclusion.
“Dancing around a topic is not my forte,” she says on her website. “I like to wade right into your BS (and mine) to explain how bias is a roadblock to acceptance and inclusion.”
She calls sexual harassment, racism and bias “the dire consequences of a dearth of diversity in the workforce.”
Grant’s presentation will give attendees:
• An understanding of diversity and inclusion
• A thorough awareness of their biases
• A realization of how their biases originated
• A recognition of the symptoms and results of bias
• Tools to address bias internally and externally
• Tips to navigate the “hot spots” of workplace diversity
She asks difficult but necessary questions, such as:
• How do we address the present social unrest and racial injustice, and what are some steps we can take now to promote inclusion?
• What are the next steps that we need to take as individuals to help to repair the rifts and move toward a society that’s both diverse and inclusive?
Motivated by her passion to recognize her own BS and correct societal “isms” – like racism, sexism, classism and “plain old stupidism” – Grant says her mission is to expose the value of diversity and inclusion while shining a light on the economic impact it creates.
Grant is the CEO and founder of Risha Grant LLC, an award-winning, full-service diversity communications, recruitment, training and consulting firm. She has nearly 20 years of experience working in “one of the reddest states in the nation,” Oklahoma, where she covers diversity, inclusion and bias as community correspondent and host of the “Risha Talks” series on KJRH in Tulsa. Through her Tulsa World column, “Risha Talks” and as a contributor to Black Enterprise magazine, she has motivated and educated numerous corporations, associations and universities. Her clients include the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder and the University of Oklahoma.
In her book, “That’s BS! How Bias Synapse Disrupts Inclusive Cultures and the Power to Attract Diverse Markets,” and her corresponding “BS” video series, Grant has led audiences to new places of respect and understanding.
Grant earned degrees from Kansas State University (broadcast journalism) and Northern Oklahoma College (mass communications), both of which she attended on basketball scholarships.
She has been named a 2019 Top 100 HR Influencer by Engagedly, a 2018 Inclusive Leadership Award Winner, and Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017.
Short videos of Grant speaking can be found on her YouTube channel.
We’ll be right back!
Visit our lively online Trade Show. Click for more information.
Presented by the Massachusetts Select Board Association
This session will focus on best practices in municipal government to ensure equitable engagement of diverse communities. Opportunities for civic engagement should be open and accessible to all, particularly to those who have been historically underrepresented. Learn how to develop equitable community engagement strategies that provide opportunities for all voices to be heard in your community.
Panelists
Dottie Fulginiti, Select Board Chair, Easton
Eunice Zeigler, City Councillor, Methuen
Moderator
Mehreen Butt, Town Councillor, Wakefield
Attorneys will discuss recent developments in labor and employment law, including major court cases, agency decisions and legislation.
Panelists
Katherine Hesse, Partner, Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP
Demitrios Moschos, Of Counsel, Seder and Chandler
Melissa Murray, Partner, Norris, Murray & Peloquin, LLC
Moderator
John Robertson, Legislative Director, MMA
This workshop will focus on best practices for the permitting of housing and commercial development during the pandemic. Hear how three very different communities adapted their permitting practices during the pandemic, and what they’ve learned.
Panelists
Jennifer Raitt, Planning and Community Development Director, Arlington; Member, MMA Policy Committee on Municipal and Regional Administration; Board Member, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Stephen Rolle, Assistant Chief Development Officer, Planning and Regulatory Services, Worcester
Andrew Shapiro, Community and Economic Development Director, North Andover
Michelle Smith, Chief Planner, Worcester
Moderator
Brittney Franklin, Senior Legislative Analyst, MMA
Presented by the Massachusetts Municipal Management Association
This session will explore how racism impacts minority groups within a police department, and proven ways to address the issue and end it both internally and in the wider community.
Panelist
Brett Parson, Lieutenant (retired), Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, D.C., and public safety consultant
Moderators
Nina Nazarian, co-chair, Massachusetts Municipal Management Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force
John Mangiaratti, Town Manager, Acton; co-chair, Massachusetts Municipal Management Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force
Presented by the MMA Policy Committee on Energy and the Environment
Experts from state and local government and a regional watershed organization will discuss water resource issues affecting municipalities, including stormwater management, MS4 permitting, PFAS contamination, and the drought.
Panelists
Kerry Reed, Senior Stormwater and Environmental Engineer, Framingham
Martin Suuberg, Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection
Julie Wormser, Deputy Director, Mystic River Watershed Association
Moderator
Ariela Lovett, Legislative Analyst, MMA
Visit our lively online Trade Show. Click for more information.
Members will have an opportunity to connect informally in virtual breakout rooms to network, brainstorm ideas and even share a laugh!
Guest Speaker: Gov. Charlie Baker
Gov. Charlie Baker, a former cabinet secretary and Swampscott selectman, has been serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since Jan. 8, 2015. First elected in November 2014, he was re-elected in November 2018.
Gov. Baker is a frequent speaker at MMA Annual Meetings.
Since taking office, Gov. Baker has implemented a “get stuff done,” bipartisan approach to state government. He had the highest approval rating of any governor in the country from early 2017 through late 2019.
Baker became undersecretary of Health and Human Services under Gov. Bill Weld in 1991 and was appointed secretary a year later. He later served as secretary of Administration and Finance under Weld and his successor, Gov. Paul Cellucci.
He then became CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care for 10 years, where he turned a company on the brink of bankruptcy into the nation’s highest-ranked health care provider for member satisfaction and clinical effectiveness for six straight years.
Raised in Needham, Baker attended Massachusetts public schools and earned a bachelor’s degree at Harvard University. He went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, where he met his wife, Lauren.
After graduating, Baker served as corporate communications director for the Massachusetts High Technology Council.
The Bakers reside in Swampscott and have three children.
The Annual Business Meeting features important and timely policy discussions on key municipal issues.
Municipal Awards:
• Innovations
Andrew Dreyfus
Andrew Dreyfus, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, will be the keynote speaker during the MIIA Annual Business Meeting on Friday, Jan. 22, during the MMA Annual Meeting & Trade Show.
In a video recorded just for MIIA, Dreyfus plans to discuss the insurer’s COVID-19 response, including the adoption of telehealth programs and the expansion of access to mental health services.
He also anticipates talking about improving diversity, inclusion and health inequities among BCBS’s members and its workforce. Dreyfus also expects to speak about the economic toll that the pandemic has taken, and the ways that Blue Cross Blue Shield is improving health care value and affordability.
(Note: These topics may change depending on breaking news.)
The Annual Business Meeting, to be held from 2 to 3 p.m., will also feature the winners of MIIA’s annual Risk Management and Wellness awards.