About the Conference
Agenda
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10am - Welcoming Remarks
Sunila Thomas-George, MCAD Chairwoman -
10:30am - Panel I - Combating Environmental Racism
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12pm - Lunch
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1pm - Afternoon Remarks
Monserrate Quiñones, MCAD Commissioner
Dan Weaver, Region I Director, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) -
1:45pm - Panel II - Resources in Place and Resources in Progress
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3:15pm - Closing Remarks
Neldy Jean-Francois, MCAD Commissioner -
3:30pm - Conference concludes
Panel I
Panelist Bios
Cheryl Andrews-Maltais is the Chairwoman of The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). She is serving her fourth term as Chairwoman. Before her re-election, Chairwoman Andrews-Maltais completed a Presidential appointment in Washington D.C. for the Obama Administration as the first Tribal Leader to become a Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah is located on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts. They are part of the Great Wampanoag Tribal Nation, and known as The People of The First Light.
Chief George Spring Buffalo is Council Chairman of The Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation and a direct decedent Massasoit and Pometacom, alias King Philip, who were the first Indigenous people to welcome the Pilgrims. He is the tribal government liaison between other tribal nations, and local, state and federal politicians and agencies. The Pokanoket Nation’s goal is to obtain holistic and culturally inclusive healthcare, as well as educational and employment opportunities.
Gary Adamkiewicz is Associate Professor of Environmental Health and Exposure Disparities at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where much of his work focuses on the connections between housing and health, and in understanding disparities in environmental exposure. He is particularly interested in research that aids practitioners in solving environmental health problems within low-income communities. He recently led a team of researchers to publish an interactive web resource that illustrated the connection between redlining and environmental health hazards in Greater Boston entitled, “Environmental Racism in Greater Boston.”
Moderated by
Jonathan Levy is a Professor of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health, and Co-Director of Center for Research on Environmental and Social Stressors in Housing. His work focuses on air pollution exposure assessment and health risk assessment, with an emphasis on urban environments and issues of heterogeneity and equity. His most recent research involved the patterns and predictors of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, resulting in a series of interactive maps of vulnerability factors for COVID-19 exposure or symptom severity, which illustrate unequal burdens across Massachusetts communities. Dr. Levy is the moderator for “Combating Environmental Racism.”
Panel II
Panelist Bios
Senator Lydia Edwards is the founder of the City of Boston’s Office of Housing Stability, and served as City Councilor for Boston’s District 1 (Charlestown, East Boston, and the North End). As 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. Senator Edwards is a Panelist for “Resources in Place and in Progress.”
Ethan Crawford is Commission Counsel at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) where he litigates discrimination complaints on behalf of the Commission. Ethan previously worked as an Attorney Advisor at the MCAD before transitioning to Commission Counsel. Prior to joining the Commission, Ethan worked as a Staff Attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, Mental Health Litigation Division where he assisted indigent clients in their mental health matters. Ethan is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago and Boston College Law School. Attorney Crawford is a panelist for “Resources in Place and in Progress.”
Laura Rosi, Esq., is CEO of Housing Families, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency shelter, affordable permanent housing, and services for homeless children and adults in our Greater Boston community. Housing Families offers housing assistance to over 2,000 homeless and/or very low-income people each year, over 1,000 of whom are children, including pro bono legal services to help families avoid homelessness in the first place. Attorney Rosi is a panelist for “Resources in Place and in Progress.”
Kelly Turley is the Associate Director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, where she leads advocacy work to provide housing assistance to people in the Greater Boston and the North Shore. Since its inception, the Coalition has been committed to developing programs that meet an unmet need, which in turn has led to long-term solutions to poverty and homelessness, including public policy campaigns, education initiatives, and community-focused programs that serve those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Ms. Turley is a panelist for “Resources in Place and in Progress.”
Moderated by
William Berman is a Clinical Professor at Suffolk Law School and Director of Suffolk University’s Housing Discrimination Testing Program (HDTP). HDTP's mission is to eliminate housing discrimination through testing, enforcement and education. Professor Berman and his colleagues have trained over 100 students and community members to conduct housing discrimination testing in the Boston area, and have referred numerous cases to local agencies for enforcement. Professor Berman also oversees Suffolk’s Fair Housing Fellowship Program and teaches a fair housing seminar. Professor Berman is the moderator for “Resources in Place and in Progress.”
Additional Resources
| Date published: | March 28, 2022 |
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