Deep Dives

On today’s episode of Catalysts for Change, Jill talks to Mariel Novas, the Assistant Director of Partnerships and Engagement for The Education Trust. A resident of Boston, first generation college student and immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Mariel works toward equitable education experiences for all students, particularly black and brown students. In her work Mariel supports the Massachuse...

On today's episode of Catalysts for Change, we talk to the Executive Director of Educators for Excellence, Sarah Iddrissu. At age 11, having suffered through five different elementary schools in two different countries, Sarah took matters into her own hands. She found a challenging school 15 miles from home, which offered a rich and engaged learning experience. Sarah became the first in her family...

On today's episode of Catalysts for Change, we talk to the President of the Boston Teachers Union, Jessica Tang. She is the first person of color, first openly queer and first woman in over thirty years to serve in this role. Jessica is a co-founder of the Teacher Activist Group-Boston and serves as a board member for several civic and labor groups, including Citizens for Public Schools and the As...

On today's episode of Catalysts for Change, we talk to behavioral scientist and professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, Todd Rogers, Todd has dedicated his career to studying the gap between intention and action, helping families effectively support student success, and improving democracy. In our second podcast with Todd, we dive deeper into absenteeism through a pre-COVID lense, an...

On today’s episode, we talk to Tom Kane. An economist and Walter H. Gale Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has committed his career to both K-12 and higher education efforts focused on school accountability systems, teacher recruitment and retention, financial aid for college, race-conscious college admissions, and the earnings impacts of community colleges. Ou...

On today’s episode of Catalysts for Change, we talk to Dan Giusti, the founder of Brigaid. A world-class chef who formerly served as the head chef at Noma, in Copenhagen, Dan left the #1 restaurant in the world and headed back to the U.S. to work in school food. Dan started Brigaid, with the mission of helping school districts trade processed meals for meals made from scratch. Learn more about you...

On today's episode of Catalysts for Change, we talk to Todd Rogers. A behavioral scientist and professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. He has dedicated his career to studying the gap between intention and action, helping families effectively support student success, and improving democracy. Our conversation with professor Rogers explores the ins and outs of behavioral science, cost-e...

On today’s episode of Catalysts During Covid, we talk to Tim Daly, founding partner of EdNavigator. With nearly two decades of experience in public education, Tim has been an advocate in supporting public education and working to help ensure greater access of high quality schools to all families and assisting families understand and work with the public education system. Learn more about your ad c...

On today’s episode of Catalysts for Change, we talk to Tim Daly, founding partner of EdNavigator. With nearly two decades of experience in public education, Tim has been an advocate in supporting public education and working to help ensure greater access of high quality schools to all families and assisting families understand and work with the public education system. Learn more about your ad cho...

In this episode of our special series, Catalysts During the Crisis, we talk with Jon Feinman, CEO and Founder of InnerCity Weightlifting (ICW). Having previously talked with Jon, this conversation focuses on how ICW has adapted and changed due to COVID-19 and his response to important problems that ICW faces on a daily basis. Jon’s work is a clear example of change agents throughout the city forgi...

In this episode, we hear from Manny Lopes, President of East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC). We hear how EBNHC has adapted to continue to support their patients and those being affected by COVID-19, the community response in East Boston, Chelsea and Revere, and what needs to continue to happen to support communities being impacted the most by this pandemic.  Learn more about your ad cho...

On today’s Catalyst for Change, we talk to Jon Feinman, Founder and CEO of InnerCity Weightlifting (ICW). Working with those most impacted by gun violence and incarceration in the City of Boston, Jon works to provide economic mobility and social inclusion through InnerCity Weightlifting’s Impact Model. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joining us for this episode of Catalysts for Change is Will Austin, CEO of the Boston Schools Fund. A graduate of the Boston Public School system, and a former educator in Boston, Will works with and invests in high-performing public, private and charter schools to help them increase the number of seats in their schools and move the city to a goal of providing high quality seats for all Boston stu...

Today on Catalysts for Change we are joined by John Connolly, former City Councilor for Boston and founder of the non-profit organization School Facts. A lifelong resident of Boston, John’s work focuses on helping Boston families advocate for positive changes in education and other sectors across the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, Jill is joined by Mayor Marty Walsh to discuss the release of the film Eat Up, a documentary about transforming school food in Boston. Jill and Mayor Walsh, along with others from the city, the Boston Public Schools and the Shah Family Foundation, play starring roles in this entertaining film, produced by the VII Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoic...

In today’s episode, we talk to Keri Rodrigues, mom-in-chief at Massachusetts Parents United. Keri is an advocate for safer neighborhoods, stable, secure, and supportive homes, and high quality education for every child. In addition to her work at Massachusetts Parents United, Keri is also on the executive committee for the Massachusetts Democratic Party and on the advisory board for Democrats for...

Mande helps explain why we have a growing malnutrition problem in America, and shares his point of view on where we go from here in making healthy food more accessible to all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Hyman about provocative data from research currently being done in food and nutrition, and what both unhealthy and healthy meals mean for our youth, including impacting academic performance, and physical and behavioral health. We also press him to help us define what “good food” is - and isn’t. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We talk with Councilor Campbell about her goals for the next two years, her education plan, and what she sees as the most critical needs of her constituents. We also discuss how her past, education, and family have influenced her work to help and inspire others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we talk to Meggie Noel, who, as a senior at Boston Latin, spearheaded the Black at BLS movement, which eventually grew into the Black at BPS movement, illuminating the need for greater awareness and support of diversity and equity for students of color across the city of Boston. This Bostonian of the Year winner in 2016 talks to us about growing up in Boston, her education journey to BLS, an...

Today we talk with Gene Roundtree, current headmaster at Snowden International School, an open enrollment high school in the Copley/Back Bay area. We talk to Gene about his efforts at Snowden to create more opportunities for students and grow the International Baccalaureate college preparatory curriculum to help prepare all of his students for life beyond high school. Gene also looks back at his e...

Today we talk with Lisa Barrow, an acclaimed economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Lisa’s recent work explores the impact of work done by Chicago Public Schools to increase diversity in their schools, as well as the results of this work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This podcast features a conversation with Kelly Glew, President of The Steppingstone Foundation, and Chris Parris, its Chief Program Officer, who talk about their program, it’s expansion, and the support they offer to students across Boston Public Schools. Steppingstone aims to provide support and tutoring services to diverse students who are working to attend some of the top high schools in Massa...

Today we get insight into the ISEE with Associate Professor of Economics at Brandeis University, Joshua Goodman. Mr. Goodman recently published a policy brief on BPS exam schools last year titled Increasing Diversity in Boston’s Exam Schools. We talk about four ways in which BPS might increase its pipeline of qualified Black and Latinx candidates for admissions to the exam schools, as well as disc...

Today we talk with Michael Contompasis: long-time authority in BPS and current overseer of a turn-around of the Devers school in Dorcester. He talks with us today about running a low-performing elementary school, and the efforts underway to transform it into a successful and high-performing one. We also discuss how he feels race and income play into outcomes and readiness for academic success, and...