Ten Outstanding Young Leaders Awards

Adrian Madaro

State Representative-1st Suffolk District, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Adrian C. Madaro is the Massachusetts State Representative for the 1st Suffolk District, which comprises the neighborhood of East Boston. As a lifelong East Boston…Read more

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Ava Callender Concepcion

Commissioner, Cannabis Control Commission

Ava Callender Concepcion is a member of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission. Commissioner Concepcion has an extensive background in public…Read more

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Brandon Cardet-Hernandez

Executive Director, Ivy Street School & Skills for Life

Brandon Cardet-Hernandez has devoted his career to creating the conditions that allow young people to achieve their greatness. A life-long educator, Cardet-Hernandez…Read more

Brandon Cardet-Hernandez has devoted his career to creating the conditions that allow young people to achieve their greatness. A life-long educator, Cardet-Hernandez has worked as a community organizer, college and career counselor, and special education teacher. He is currently the Executive Director of The Ivy Street School and Skills for Life. Through residential and day programming, Ivy Street centers learning through a therapeutic approach that puts students’ goals and the vision they have for their lives at the center of every experience. In addition, through the Skills for Life division, Ivy Street provides 1:1 community-based services to neurodivergent young adults. Each client is working to realize targeted and individualized personal and professional goals.

Previously, as a public school principal at The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters, in New York City’s South Bronx, Cardet-Hernandez led a turnaround team in a dynamic re-envisioning of school culture and instruction. Under his leadership, the school went on to hold the highest graduation rate for an unscreened school in the district and far exceeded the citywide graduation average. Additionally, he grew college readiness by double digits, bolstered teacher retention and satisfaction, and reimagined learning through a justice-focused lens. Empowered and supported, his students would also develop now-nationwide organizations advocating for school integration and sports equity.

Cardet-Hernandez also worked as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the NYC Department of Education, guiding strategy for the city’s most struggling schools. And, most recently, Cardet-Hernandez served as the Senior Education Advisor to former New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio. In his role, he oversaw key initiatives, including the nation’s most significant expansion of early childhood education, the design, and launch of a $30M citywide Restorative Justice and Social-Emotional Learning program, strategy for the 32B education budget, and the launch of the Bronx Plan–  a partnership with the United Federation of Teachers that made room for NYC’s first salary differential for hard-to-staff schools. Notably, he also played a critical role in handling the COVID-19 emergency response in NYC public schools and for NYC families.

Brandon is a leader in advancing justice through education. His work has been featured in Essence Magazine, EdWeek, The Atlantic, People en Espanol, Commonwealth Magazine, and the Netflix documentary, Teach Us All. Brandon resides in Boston with his husband, Ariel, and their son, Cielo. In January, Boston’s Mayor Wu appointed him to the School Committee – a 7 person leadership body charged with defining and monitoring the vision, mission, goals, and annual budget for Boston Public Schools. In addition, the School Committee works to set and review district policies and practices that support student achievement. He currently serves on the board of EdVestors, Bronx Letters Foundation, and FairPlay.

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Constanza Cabello

Vice President-Equity Programs, State Street Corporation

Dr. Constanza Cabello (Connie/ she/ her) joined State Street in August 2021 as the inaugural Vice President for Equity Programs on the Global Inclusion, Diversity,…Read more

Dr. Constanza Cabello (Connie/ she/ her) joined State Street in August 2021 as the inaugural Vice President for Equity Programs on the Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Team. She is a driving force behind State Street’s efforts to become a more equitable organization. Connie applies an equity lens to initiatives and programs and leads the development and implementation of strategies to build greater equity related to human capital and business practices, services, and products. She also volunteers at State Street as a Mental Health Ambassador, Social Ambassador, and member of the Professional Development Committee of the Latin American Professionals Group.

Prior to joining State Street, Connie worked in higher education as an equity professional. Most recently she served as the Vice President for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement at Framingham State University (MA, USA). Connie has taught various social justice topics at Boston University and Framingham State University, and she continues to serve as a faculty member for the Equity Institutes Program at the University of Southern California Race and Equity Center. Much of her volunteerism is focused on racial equity in education. She is a board member with the Randolph Dream Project and her town’s Diversity and Inclusion Organization. Connie is most proud of her leadership with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s “New Undergraduate Experience” initiative, which serves as a guiding document to reimagine Massachusetts’ public higher education system through the lens of racial equity.

Connie holds a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership Studies from Northeastern University, a Master of Science in Counseling: Student Development in Higher Education from Central Connecticut State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Social Policy and Planning from the University of Connecticut.

Connie was born in Chile, grew up in the Greater Boston area, and currently resides in South Shore Massachusetts. In her free time she is likely spending time with family, friends, and her shih tzu, Luna. Her hobbies include traveling, watching documentaries, lounging at a beach/ pool, and making jewelry.

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Kristen Riley

District Director Of Operations, Stop & Shop

Kristen believes that every single experience in our lives connects us to where we should be in each season of our life. Kristen’s passion and hard work has lead…Read more

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Madeleine Rodriguez

Partner, Foley Hoag

Madeleine Rodriguez is a litigator whose practice is built on a strong foundation of state, federal, and international trial and arbitration experience. As Co-Chair…Read more

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Nieisha Deed

Founder & CEO, PureSpark

Nieisha was born and raised in Roxbury, a child of a two-parent family where she grew up as the youngest of three sisters. She did her entire K-12 education through…Read more

Nieisha was born and raised in Roxbury, a child of a two-parent family where she grew up as the youngest of three sisters. She did her entire K-12 education through the METCO program, an integration program, busing inner city minority children to affluent suburban towns in the name of a better education. Both the students and teachers at the suburban schools where majority white and this proved to be challenging in development her racial and cultural identity. Both students and teachers at the suburban schools were majority white. Her desire for cultural connection was the motivation behind her choosing Howard University for higher education. At Howard, she knew she would not only be surrounded by black students, but also back teachers who had a stake in her success. While at Howard in 2005, America faced the Enron-Anderson scandal, one of the largest accounting scandals to date, which brought a lot of attention to the accounting profession. Howard Business School, therefore, began encouraging students to major in accounting.

The summer before entering Howard, Nieisha worked for an entrepreneur, a white woman who had gone to Harvard Business School. This woman had quit her job to work at Nordstroms to learn about the shoe industry and to open a women’s shoe store with extended sizing.  Nieisha found inspiration in this and thought she would go to school for fashion to open a store for tall women.  Ultimately, fashion didn’t suit her, so she moved on to a business management major. Once Nieisha was in the business school, the school began a push towards an accounting major, bringing all the major accounting firms to campus to court students with events and the promise of a lucrative career and job security.

She then entered the field and realized on day 1 that it was not a good fit, but because of the time, energy and money invested in the degree, changing didn’t feel like an option. She arrived to the office and felt like a fish out of water. She felt stuck. The culture shock of leaving Howard University and going right back to white America, triggered the trauma from her time spent in suburban schools. Nieisha found herself code switching and hiding herself to appear to be the perfect corporate employee. She became indoctrinated into the office culture and received the message about professionalism that didn’t leave any room for her true self. For 15 years, Nieisha spent her life sacrificing who she was for corporate approval.

In October 2017, she began to feel like the facade of having to go into work and present in an inauthentic way was becoming too heavy of a burden. Despite the weight of her feelings, she kept pushing it aside and continued working. By the end of the year, in December, the emotional trauma began to manifest in her physical wellbeing. She could not get out of bed; she had lost her voice and significant amount of weight. Her sleeping patterns were off, and she was basically an insomniac. She was clinically depressed and experiencing panic attacks. Again, she continued to work.

On a visit to her psychiatrist to let him know what was going on, he could see that Nieisha was visibly in distress. She was no longer able to hide it, and he suggested she take time off work, which she did. Later that week was her first attempt at suicide. The entire time, she continued close contact with her family, but the day of the attempt, her family was not able to reach her and became concerned. Her sister and cousin immediately came to DC to check on her wellness and when they arrived, Nieisha was on her way to an inpatient psychiatric ward.

She spent two weeks, including Christmas to the psych ward and was released into the care of her family. While still on leave from work, she headed to Connecticut to stay with her cousin until she started to feel better. The whole time, she found herself worried. Worried about where her life would head from here. What would she do for work. What would her co-workers, friends and family think about her. How can you start the healing the process when you’re dealing with trauma? During her time in Connecticut, she had multiple suicide attempts and ideation was prevalent daily. Family continued to love and support her through it. Later that year, she had another visit to impatient while in Connecticut and her family decided that it was best for her to finally quit her job and move back to Boston.

In 2019, Nieisha moved back home and received a proper diagnosis and medication. She was able to work with a great therapist and later discovered other wellness modalities. She began healing. After doing some reflection, she realized that accounting was never the field for her. She was trying to fit into a space that wasn’t the right place. She reflected on the things that she cared about and what she did well – wellness and connecting. This realization was the impetus for PureSpark.

Using her lived experience, Nieisha realized that there was something missing in the wellness industry. Clinical wellness, behavioral health and therapy and ancient healing practices were presented as separate, her goal was to merge the two, providing a holistic healing experience. This was important because it reflected Nieisha’s own healing journey. While attending weekly therapy sessions, she also attended yoga classes in her neighborhood. She realized the two were complimentary to each other and she wanted to curate a similar healing experience for her community.  We all need a strong foundation, support, time with self, for self-discovery. 

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Sabrina Antoine Correia

Vice President-Public Engagement, JPMorgan Chase

Sabrina Antoine Correiais a Financial Coach & Community Organizer in Boston. She is a local ambassador for Chase Bank whose job is to build and nurture relationships…Read more

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Tiffany Vassell

R.N. Board Member, Bay State Birth Coalition

Tiffany Vassell is a registered nurse who has worked as a labor and delivery nurse for several years at a community hospital in Cambridge….Read more

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Vilas Dhar

President, Patrick McGovern Foundation

Vilas Dhar is President and Trustee of the PatrickJ. McGovern Foundation, a $1.5B 21st century philanthropy advancing artificial intelligence and data solutions…Read more

Vilas Dhar is President and Trustee of the PatrickJ. McGovern Foundation, a $1.5B 21st century philanthropy advancing artificial intelligence and data solutions to create a thriving, equitable, and sustainable future for all. Under his leadership, the Foundation bridges technological innovation and social impact with a commitment to justice and equity(seewww.mcgovern.org).

Vilas is an entrepreneur, technologist, and human rights advocate with a lifelong commitment to creating more robust, human-centered social institutions. Fusing his experience as a lawyer, an investor, and a philanthropist, he has dedicated his professional pursuits to exploring solutions for some of the world’s largest challenges like child labor, refugee crises, and data privacy and sovereignty.

A leading voice on equity in a tech-enabled world, Vilas champions a new social compact for the digital age that prioritizes individuals and communities in the development of new products, inspires economic and social opportunity, and empowers the most vulnerable. He is especially passionate about building public awareness about the potential opportunities and impacts of emergent technology on social infrastructure, corporate responsibility, and human behavior. Vilas’ work has been published in the Harvard Business Review, Nature, The Independent, USA Today, Forbes, and Project Syndicate, addressing data for good, the role of philanthropy in AI, and how CEOs, policymakers, and civil society leaders can guide their organizations through the AI revolution.

Vilas serves on the Advisory Council at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence(HAI), the Board of Directors at AccessLex, as Expert Contributor to OECD. AI, Co-Chair of the Global AI Action Alliance at the World Economic Forum, Advisor to MIT SOLVE, Director of the Network of Engaged International Donors, and as a Trustee of the Christensen Fund. He has been named a Young Global Leader and Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum, and has previously served as a Senior Fellow of the Berggruen Institute, the Gleitsman Fellow on Social Change at Harvard University, a a Practitioner Resident on Artificial Intelligence at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Illinois.

Vilas holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law, a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Illinois. His ongoing doctoral work at the University of Birmingham drives novel approaches to economic and policy infrastructure for a data enabled society to support and empower vulnerable populations.

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Learning & Development

EQ to Elevate Workplace Well-being

Transformational DEI Certificate

Women’s Leadership Program

How to Be an LGBTQIA+ Ally in the Workplace

Economic Inclusion

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