The Racial Wealth Gap: Wealth Building Now and Tomorrow

October 19, 2022 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Virtual

Event Details

Thank you for joining us for for the fifth and final event of the Chamber’s new series, The Racial Wealth Gap.

The Racial Wealth Gap series convenes national and local economic experts and community leaders to revisit The Color of Wealth, a 2015 research report that outlined the extensive racial wealth gap that impacts communities.

Tickets

Free & Open to the Public
(Advanced registration is required)

Guest List

The Racial Wealth Gap: Wealth Building Now and Tomorrow. Getting Started at Home.

In partnership with The Boston Foundation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, The Barr Foundation, and Eastern Bank Foundation, the Chamber is advancing new research to identify solutions for closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap across greater Boston.

We wrapped up our 5-part speaker series by taking a big picture look at innovative investment strategies that lay the ground for long-term wealth building for individuals, families and businesses.

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce encourages persons with disabilities to participate, and engage fully, in its programs and events.

If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation, including but not limited to, listening devices, closed captioning, large print, wheelchair access, allergies and environmental sensitivities, or if you have any questions about the venue, event format, or virtual platform, please contact us at [email protected]

Watch the Event Here

Speakers

Dr. Karilyn Crockett

Professor of Urban History, Public Policy & Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Karilyn Crockett’s research focuses on large-scale land use changes in twentieth century American cities and examines the social and geographic implications…Read more

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Segun Idowu

Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, City of Boston

A lifelong resident of Boston, Segun Idowu is a proud product of the Boston Public Schools. Following his graduation from Boston Latin Academy, he earned his Bachelor…Read more

A lifelong resident of Boston, Segun Idowu is a proud product of the Boston Public Schools. Following his graduation from Boston Latin Academy, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in History at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and honors from the Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key Societies. In August 2014, Segun organized the Boston Police Camera Action Team (BPCAT) with his colleague, Shekia Scott. BPACT’s mission was to further accountability and safety in Boston through the mandatory use of police body-worn cameras. As a result of their efforts, Boston began a yearlong mandatory body-worn camera pilot program and policy in September 2016. In 2018, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced a $2 million investment in a permanent citywide body-worn camera program.

In 2018, Segun was elected to serve as the first Vice President for the Boston chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the first chapter of the oldest civil rights advocacy organization in the nation. In this role, he managed the much heralded and research intensive report card project that assessed the city’s efforts and results in addressing systemic racial disparities.

In 2019, Segun stepped off the NAACP board to join the board of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Massachusetts and focus on other board obligations at Mass Budget and Policy Center, Southwest Boston CDC, and the New Leaders Council (NLC). He also advised initiatives at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Beginning in November 2018, Segun served as the President and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Inc. (BECMA), the chief advocacy organization for Black businesses across the Commonwealth. BECMA represents the over 2,000 Black firms that employ 17,000 Massachusetts residents and generate over $2B in annual revenue. In this role, he helped transform the organization, including growing membership by 300%; tripling the budget to help develop new services; increasing staff support to more than ten people; expanding the footprint of the organization beyond Boston’s limits to communities across the Commonwealth; establishing dozens of partnerships with local business support organizations, as well as with local and state government officials and entities; shepherding key pieces of state legislation to successful ends, helping to reshape the procurement process for Massachusetts and direct millions in relief grants to small businesses; and working with allies to file a federal civil rights complaint against the City of Boston when reports showed a lack of contracts awarded to diverse small businesses.

In April 2020 and 2021, Boston Magazine recognized Segun as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the City of Boston.” In July 2020, the Boston Globe recognized him on the front page of their Sunday edition as a “Man of the Moment” for his work in ramping up BECMA’s efforts to advocate for and direct resources to Black businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Globe also honored him as a “Bostonian of the Year” later that December. In 2021, Lawyers for Civil Rights recognized Segun as their “Keeper of the Flame,” and Eastern Bank recognized him as their “2021 COVID Warrior.”

Segun stepped down from his role as BECMA’s CEO in December 2021 in order to join the Wu Administration as the Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, beginning this role on January 3, 2022. In this new position, he is focused on making Boston a resilient, economically equitable, and vibrant city that centers people and creates opportunities to build generational wealth for all communities.

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Betty Francisco

CEO, Boston Impact Initiative Fund

Betty Francisco is business executive, impact investor and community leader. She is known as a powerful convener and changemaker, unapologetic about creating visibility…Read more

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Paul W. Lee

Chair, Asian Community Fund at The Boston Foundation

Paul Lee grew up in the Boston Chinatown and Brookline, Mass. His Chinese immigrant parents worked in restaurants and garment factories. After earning a degree…Read more

Paul Lee grew up in the Boston Chinatown and Brookline, Mass. His Chinese immigrant parents worked in restaurants and garment factories. After earning a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Columbia University and working briefly as a computer programmer, he decided to become a lawyer to promote equity and justice.

Upon graduating cum laude from Cornell Law School in 1976, Mr. Lee worked at a major New York law firm. He joined Goodwin Procter in Boston in 1980, and was a partner from 1984-2013. Mr. Lee represented public and privately held technology and financial services companies in business, corporate governance and transactional matters including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, IPOs, technology licensing issues.

Mr. Lee has been active in the American Bar Association. He has served on the ABA Board of Governors, in the House of Delegates and as a member of the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, the Commission on Women in the Profession, the Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and the Commission on the Future of Legal Services. In 2007, he received the ABA Spirit of Excellence Award for his work promoting diversity in the legal profession. In 2013, he became the first individual to receive the Boston Bar Association Beacon Award for Diversity and Inclusion. Recently, he received the Diversity, Equity and Change Award from the Boston Business Journal.

Mr. Lee serves on The Boston Foundation Board, where he is a past chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee,, and he is a founder and Board President of the Asian Community Development Corporation, which has built three housing projects, contributing over 600 units of housing to the Chinatown community, including 250 affordable units. He also serves on the Boards of The Conservation Law Foundation and WGBH, public broadcasting.

He is a founder and current chair of the steering committee of the Asian Community Fund at The Boston Foundation (ACF) which is dedicated to strengthening the AAPI community and promoting collaboration and unity across all communities of color. ACF is incubating the Asian Business Empowerment Council (ABEC) which provides advocacy and technical assistance to Asian owned businesses.

He is past Board Chair for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC in Washington DC. Mr. Lee is a past president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), and a past president and founder of the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALA). He was also an advisor to the founders of NAAAP-Boston and has previously served on the Board of the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence.

Brett Goldstein

Co-Chief Investment Officer, Global Asset Allocation Investment Management, Putnam Investments

Mr. Goldstein is Co-Chief Investment Officer, Global Asset Allocation (GAA), and a member of Putnam’s Operating Committee. In his role as Co-CIO of GAA, he directs…Read more

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Events

Premier Event

2025 Annual Meeting

Pacesetters

Doing Business with Columbia Construction

City Awake

Art of Connection: An Evening at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Learning & Development

Transformational DEI Certificate

Women’s Leadership Program

Boston’s Future Leaders

Authentic Professionalism for Early Career Professionals

Economic Inclusion

Economic Inclusion

City Awake

Economic Inclusion

Pacesetters

Small Business

Small Business

Policy & Impact

GET INVOLVED IN OUR POLICY FOCUS AREAS

Business Climate

Climate & Energy

Health Care

Housing & Development

Talent

Transportation

GBCC’s Networks

OUR NETWORKS

Small Business

City Awake

BIMA

Women’s Network

Massachusetts Apprentice Network

Pacesetters

Membership

About Us

Our Impact

Membership Directory