Government Affairs Forum: Regional Mayoral Panel on Transit and Housing

November 8, 2018 7:45 am – 9:15 am Marriott Long Wharf

Event Details

The mayors of Braintree, Framingham, Lynn, and Newton are coming together to discuss how issues around transportation and housing are affecting the Greater Boston region.

Tickets

Member:Individual $65, Table of 10 $650
Government:Individual $65, Table of 10 $650
Non-Member:Individual $110, Table of 10 $1,100
RSVPby Wednesday, November 7

The mayors of Braintree, Framingham, Lynn, and Newton are coming together to discuss how issues around transportation and housing are affecting the Greater Boston region.

At the Chamber, we focus on policies that keep Greater Boston competitive for the long term. Two serious issues affecting our competitiveness include our region’s transportation infrastructure and the availability and cost of housing in Greater Boston. A reliable and thoughtfully planned transportation system that meets current and future demand will allow businesses in the region – and across the state – to grow. Affordable housing is also critical for attracting and retaining a talented workforce, our region’s competitive advantage.

On November 8, we will be convening a mayoral panel representing Braintree, Framingham, Lynn, and Newton. Three of these mayors are newly elected, two are the first mayors of their cities, and two are their cities’ first female mayors. This discussion will focus on both past and new regional ideas and efforts to promote workforce development and economic growth. The focus will be on regional economic development and tackling these challenges together.

Luz Arregoces

Director of Programs

[email protected]
617-557-7345

FEATURING

The Honorable Ruthanne Fuller

Mayor of Newton Panelist

Mayor Ruthanne Fuller is the thirty-first Mayor of Newton and the first woman Mayor in Newton’s history. She and her husband, Joe, moved to Newton almost twenty-five…Read more

The Honorable Thomas McGee

Mayor of Lynn Panelist

Mayor Thomas M. McGee is a lifelong resident of Lynn. Raised with the value of the importance of public service, Mayor McGee has dedicated his life to serving…Read more

Mayor Thomas M. McGee is a lifelong resident of Lynn. Raised with the value of the importance of public service, Mayor McGee has dedicated his life to serving this community and working to make the lives of its residents better. Mayor McGee began his career in public service when he was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he served four terms in from 1995-2002, representing West Lynn and Nahant. In 2002, McGee took the next step in his career when he was elected State Senator for the Third Essex District, representing the communities of Lynn, Lynnfield, Marblehead, Nahant, Saugus, and Swampscott. As a State Senator, McGee was appointed to serve as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation from 2011-2017. He was also Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Afterschool and Out-of-School Time Coordinating Council, Co-Chair of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission, and Co-Chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization Commission. During Mayor McGee’s time in the Massachusetts Legislature, his commitment to the issues that impact our neighborhoods were always the top priority. McGee focused on quality education and extended learning opportunities for students in the Commonwealth, improving the state’s transportation system and fighting for regional equity, working to improve the lives of children and their families, ensuring accessible and affordable childcare and healthcare for working families, and expanding workforce training and development. In 2017, Thomas M. McGee was elected to serve as Mayor of the City of Lynn. He was sworn in for his first term in January, 2018. As Mayor, McGee draws from his past experiences to work collaboratively with the residents of the city. Promoting and preserving our communities and neighborhoods, improving our public schools, unlocking the potential of a revitalized downtown and waterfront, supporting arts and cultural opportunities, and ensuring fiscal responsibility, Mayor McGee believes there is much to be achieved because he believes in the strength of our city and its residents.

The Honorable Yvonne Spicer

Mayor of Framingham Panelist

Mayor Yvonne Spicer is the first Mayor of the City of Framingham. She was sworn into office on January 1, 2018, the same day Framingham officially became a city….Read more

Mayor Yvonne Spicer is the first Mayor of the City of Framingham. She was sworn into office on January 1, 2018, the same day Framingham officially became a city. A 32-year Framingham, Massachusetts resident, and long-time educator, Mayor Spicer was previously the Vice President for Advocacy and Educational Partnerships at Boston’s Museum of Science. While there, Mayor Spicer was known for building partnerships in STEM education with policymakers, school districts, municipalities, business and other non-profit organizations. Prior to that, she was an administrator in both the Framingham and Newton public schools, after beginning her career as a teacher in Framingham. Appointed to the Massachusetts Governor’s STEM Advisory Council in 2010 by Governor Deval Patrick as the co-chair of the council’s teacher development committee, she was reappointed in 2017 by Governor Charlie Baker and served on the Computer Science and Engineering and Career Pathways committees. Mayor Spicer was instrumental in establishing the 2001 Massachusetts Technology/engineering curriculum framework and the first ever Kindergarten through 12th grade assessment for technology and engineering. She has also served as an advisor/content expert to the National Governors Association. Mayor Spicer has been a consultant to numerous states on technology and engineering standards, strategic leadership development and business engagement. Committed to sustainable economic growth, the Mayor served on the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the Massachusetts Office of the Treasurer Economic Empowerment Trust Fund, was a Town Meeting Member, and served on the Standing Committee on Ways abd Means. She is the 2017 President-Elect to the International Technology Engineering Education Association (ITEEA) an international organization designed to build capacity for technology and engineering education globally working with Kindergarten through 12th graders, higher education and business and industry. The Mayor is on the Board of Directors of the Plumbing Museum. Mayor Spicer grew up in Brooklyn, New York and attended Brooklyn Technical High School where she developed a passion for architecture and building structures from drawings. She accepted a scholarship to the State University of New York-Oswego, graduating with a B.S. in industrial arts and technology and an M.S. in technology education. She earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership at University of Massachusetts, Boston.

The Honorable Joseph Sullivan

Mayor of Braintree Panelist

A lifelong resident of Braintree, Mayor Sullivan attended Braintree Public Schools and graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Mayor Sullivan…Read more

Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, Ph.D.

Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, Brandeis University Moderator

Dolores Acevedo-Garcia is Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, and Director of the Institute for Child, Youth and Family…Read more

Dolores Acevedo-Garcia is Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, and Director of the Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University. Her research focuses on the social determinants (e.g. residential segregation, neighborhood inequality, immigrant adaptation) of racial/ethnic inequities in health; the role of social policies (e.g. housing policies, immigrant policies) in reducing those inequities; and the health and wellbeing of children with special needs. She received her B.A. in Public Administration from El Colegio de Mexico (Mexico City), and her MPA-URP and Ph.D. in Public Policy with a concentration in Demography from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She is Project Director for diversitydatakids.org, a comprehensive research program and indicator database on child wellbeing and opportunity by race/ethnicity across multiple sectors (e.g., education, health, housing and neighborhoods) and geographies, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Acevedo-Garcia is a member of the congressionally mandated National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Committee on Building an Agenda to Reduce the Number of Children in Poverty by Half in 10 Years. She is also an investigator and member of the Steering Committee on the Housing and Children’s Healthy Development Study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the MacArthur Foundation. She was a member of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on How Housing Matters for Families and Children (2009-2014). Her professional activities include invited presentations at the White House Open Opportunity Project (2016), the National Conference on Housing Mobility (2015, 2012, 2010), the HUD/MacArthur Foundation “How Housing Matters” Conference (2011, 2012), and the White House conference on the Future of Rental Housing Policy (2010). She served on two national expert panels convened by the Centers for Disease Control (Housing and Health, and Social Determinants of Health), and on the expert panel for the award-winning PBS documentary series “Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making us Sick?” She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Social Problems, and Cityscape. She has served on the Board of Directors of the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, the Board of Directors of the Council on Contemporary Families, the Advisory Board of the National Center for Children in Poverty, the board of PolicyLink, the Social Science Advisory Board of the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, the Research Advisory Panel of the National Coalition on School Diversity, and the National Hispanic Advisory Council of the March of Dimes. She has also served on the board of directors for the Fair Housing Center for Greater Boston, and the Committee on the Analysis on Impediments to Fair Housing (Boston Office for Civil Rights).

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Become a Member

About Us

Get to Know the Chamber

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Grow Your Business

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Not sure if you’re a member?

Events & Networking

WHAT’S NEXT

Upcoming Events

Engage & Learn

FEATURED EVENT

Series

2026 Government Affairs Forum | Mayor Michelle Wu

EXPLORE OUR PROGRAMMING:

Member Engagement

Series

Maximize Your Membership | December 2026

Membership Directory

Discover fellow Chamber members.

Upcoming Events

Stay Involved

Talent & Workforce

Young Bostonians Collective

Women’s Leadership Program

Massachusetts Apprentice Network

Boston’s Future Leaders

Partnership with Boston Public Schools

Leadership Accelerator: Building Trust, Influence, and Presence

Policy & Impact

GET INVOLVED IN OUR POLICY FOCUS AREAS

Business Climate

Climate & Energy

Health Care

Housing & Development

Talent

Transportation