Join us for an engaging and insightful evening as we delve into the rich history and future prospects of Boston and Cambridge as beacons of education, innovation, and civic engagement. 

Hosted at The Foundry in Cambridge, this fireside-style conversation promises a thought-provoking conversation featuring two distinguished speakers, Dr. Imari K. Paris Jeffries and Rev. Willie Bodrick II, J.D and moderated by the esteemed Dr. Karilyn Crocket, Assistant Professor at the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning. In this conversaton our speakers will reflect on the life, work, and legacy of Dr. MartinLuther King Jr. and share how that dream inspires their work and service.

Bios for both panelists and moderator are below.

When: Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (speaking program ends at approximately 7:00 p.m.)

Where: The Foundry, Cambridge MA

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About our moderator, Dr. Karilyn Crockett

Dr. Karilyn Crockett’s research focuses on large-scale land use changes in twentieth century American cities and examines the social and geographic implications of structural poverty and racial formations. Karilyn’s book "People before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners, and a New Movement for City Making" (UMASS Press 2018) investigates a 1960s era grassroots movement to halt urban extension of the U.S. interstate highway system and the geographic and political changes in Boston that resulted. In 2019 this book was named one of the “ten best books of the decade” by the Boston Public Library Association of Librarians. Previously Karilyn co-founded Multicultural Youth Tour of What's Now (MYTOWN), an award winning, Boston-based, educational non-profit organization. MYTOWN hired public high school students to research their local and family histories to produce youth-led walking tours for sale to public audiences. During its nearly 15 years of operation, MYTOWN created jobs for more than 300 low and moderate-income teenagers, who in turn led public walking tours for more than 14,000 visitors and residents. In a White House ceremony, the National Endowment for the Humanities cited MYTOWN as “One of ten best Youth Humanities Programs in America.”

Karilyn holds a PhD from the American Studies program at Yale University, a Master of Science in Geography from the London School of Economics, and a Master of Arts and Religion from Yale Divinity School. Karilyn served for four years with the Mayor's Office of Economic Development as the Director of Economic Policy & Research and the Director of Small Business Development for the City of Boston. She recently completed her service as the City of Boston's first Chief of Equity, a Cabinet-level position Mayor Walsh established to embed equity and racial justice into all City planning, operations, and work moving forward. She holds a faculty appointment as professor of urban history, public policy and planning in MIT's Department of Urban Studies & Planning. She is currently leading the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce in a partnership with the Boston Federal Reserve Bank to revisit the 2015 “Color of Wealth” report on closing the racial wealth gap. Karilyn’s career mission is to continue to work at the nexus of education, economic development policy and urban revitalization.

About Dr. Imari K. Paris Jeffries:

Imari K. Paris Jeffries, Ph.D., is the President and CEO of Embrace Boston, where he is leading a citywide racial equity transformation through The Embrace monument, the Embrace Center, and ongoing community organizing efforts. Imari brings a wealth of experience from the nonprofit management, racial equity, community activism, education reform, and social justice sectors and has served in executive roles at Parenting Journey, Jumpstart, Boston Rising, and Friends of The Children. He currently serves as a Trustee of the UMass System, UMass Global, Mass Humanities, Boston Ballet, the Huntington Theatre and former Governor Baker's Black Advisory Commission.

Most recently, he was the Executive Director of Parenting Journey with other leadership stints as Chief Executive Officer of the Italian Home for Children, Chief Operating Officer of Jumpstart, interim CEO of Boston Rising, and Executive Director of Friends of the Children-Boston. Imari has extensive professional experience in public, national, and nonprofit leadership and has supplemented his work with volunteer service on boards. These have included Jumpstart, the African American Federation of Greater Boston, Save the Harbor, Save the Bay, the Elizabeth Peabody House, the Massachusetts Mentoring Partnership, the Edward Brooke Charter School, The Providers Council, and Third Sector New England.

Imari was recently named one of Boston’s most Influential Bostonians by Boston Magazine and the Boston Business Journals Power 50. He is a four-time graduate of UMass Boston and received his Ph.D. through UMass Boston's Higher Education Program in June 2023. An Army veteran, Imari served from 1991-1996. He currently lives in Hyde Park with his family.

About Rev. Willie Bodrick, II, J.D.

Rev. Willie Bodrick, II, J.D., M. Div., serves as the Senior Pastor of the Historic Twelfth Baptist Church (TBC) and an outspoken advocate for social and economic justice. Rev. Bodrick is the Church’s fourteenth senior pastor, which celebrates 184 years (1840) as a congregation and 219 years (1805) since the founding of our mother church the African Meeting House.

Rev. Bodrick successfully led the 184-year-old church through profound challenges created by the pandemic, partnering with Boston Medical Center to establish a vaccination clinic at TBC that vaccinated 2,500 people and leading efforts to feed over 15,000 residents yearly through the continuing services of the church’s food pantry and other special programming. Concurrently, Rev. Bodrick is the President and CEO of The American City Coalition (TACC). He brings extensive executive leadership and a personal and professional commitment to social and economic justice in the Roxbury community. Under his leadership, TACC recently launched Roxbury Worx. This workforce development model will bring the untapped talent of Roxbury’s hidden workers and middle-skills workers into the talent pipeline in three industries: Bio- Tech/Life Sciences, Healthcare, and Green/Blue Tech. His accomplishments span social and community development, healthcare, law, politics, and human development at the international level. Born and raised in Atlanta, Rev. Bodrick was inspired by the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the history of the Civil Rights Movement; he is committed to continuing the legacy of creating a beloved community and balancing the scales of justice.

Prior to joining TACC, Rev. Bodrick worked in the Corporate Group at the law firm Brown Rudnick, LLP, as Senior Advisor for the successful 2020 Ed Markey Campaign for the U.S. Senate, and as the Outreach Coordinator in the Community Engagement Division of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General Maura Healey. Actively engaged in the community of Roxbury, the City of Boston, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Rev. Bodrick holds multiple leadership positions including member of Board of Trustees of Boston Medical Center, Boston Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the Roxbury YMCA, President of the Boston Network for Black Student Achievement, member of the Boston Public Schools Opportunity and Achievement Gap Taskforce, member of the Board of Directors of Massachusetts Advocates for Children, member of the Boston Medical Center Accelerator Community Advisory Committee, Co-Founder of the Forward Fund, The Boston Foundation’s Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Advisory Committee, member of the Building Bridges Board of Trustees, a member of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) New England Leadership Council, and appointed by Governor Maura Healey to serve on the Governor’s Advisory Council for Black Empowerment.

Rev. Bodrick holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Georgetown University, a Master of

Divinity (M.Div.) degree from Harvard Divinity School, and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from

Northeastern University School of Law. In May 2022, Rev. Bodrick received an honorary

Doctorate of Community Service from Northeastern University.