This virtual event gives small business owners the chance to hear directly from procurement officers about opportunities to work with them.
05/29/2025
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Virtual
Join us for an exclusive networking event at the Museum of Fine Arts and enjoy self-guided tours of John Wilson and Van Gogh, showcasing the deep bond of family, friendship, and community.
06/05/2025
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Museum of Fine Arts
The Transportation First Series offers a platform to discuss the challenges faced by our region, with the input of experts and changemakers.
06/12/2025
2:45pm - 4:30pm
Hybrid | Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
This program is in redevelopment. Click this page for DEI resources.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.
Join us on June 12 for a highly interactive virtual workshop with Strategic Career & Leadership Coach Carole-Ann Penney.
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
Small businesses are the backbone of the Boston economy. Learn more about the resources available through the Chamber.
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For over 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
Our Annual Meeting is one of the biggest business and networking events of the year, bringing together more than 1,800 of the region’s leaders across sectors and industries. In honor of the 25th anniversary of our Women’s Network, this year we’re shining the spotlight on women, with the theme, “Women in Business: All In.” We will honor some of Boston’s most influential female leaders, including this year’s Distinguished Bostonians: Sandi Fenwick, CEO of Boston Children’s Hospital; Sheila Lirio Marcelo, founder, chairwoman, and CEO of Care.com; and Deborah Jackson, President of Cambridge College. We spoke with these amazing #BosBizWomen to find out what it means to be ‘All In’ for building a better, more inclusive Boston.
Have a Mission Driven Mindset
“Living a purpose driven life.” That’s what being all in means to Sheila Lirio Marcelo, founder of Care.com and one of this year’s Distinguished Bostonians. “It’s a sense of bringing our whole selves to work, I’m pursuing something that is holistically who I am,” she added.
Sandi Fenwick, CEO of Boston Children’s Hospital, is also driven by the deeper purpose of her work. “I am so inspired by the patients and families who come here. They are coming to Boston Children’s Hospital at the most difficult times of their lives and yet they come with unbelievable resilience,” she said. “When I watch the doctors and nurses and I watch the scientists who are looking for new answers, that’s what I am inspired by.”
Deborah Jackson has centered her career around mission, from her work at Roxbury Comprehensive Health Center and Goodwill to her current leadership position as President of Cambridge College. Her dear friend – and another outstanding Boston business leader – Bennie Wiley has witnessed President Jackson’s drive first-hand sharing, “She could have been a successful executive and leader in any sector in any industry, but she chose to build a career around issues she feels passionate about that she strongly believes are going to make a difference in the lives of other people.”
Be a Role Model
Our Distinguished Bostonians have shown that being all in means offering a powerful example (and sometimes a helping hand) to those seeking mentorship. “You have to give back and take people under your wing,” advised Sandi. “You have to have bits of time to give them, sometimes you can take a couple of people and go deeper.”
As someone who has been the only woman in the room time and time again, Sandi recognizes the importance of women supporting one another. Mentoring, she noted, is a vital way for women to learn from each other’s mistakes and gain from each other’s successes.
For Shelia Marcelo, being all in isn’t just about mentoring in the workplace. “Leadership is what I do beyond the four walls of our offices,” says Sheila. In addition to running Care.com, Sheila sits on the boards at Boston Children’s Hospital, the U.S. Library of Congress Trust Fund, and the Philippine Development Foundation.
Level the Playing Field
A commitment to increasing equity in Boston is at the heart of what it means to be all in. At Cambridge College, Deborah Jackson recognizes that education is the key to creating equal opportunities for those with fewer resources. “My life’s journey and my commitment has always been about leveling the playing field,” she asserted. “We are all born into some circumstance… our goal and our responsibility as a society is to make sure that no matter where you were born [or] what circumstances you found yourself in early in life, we have systems that will help level the playing field.”
As the chairwoman of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership’s Committee on Womenomics, Sheila also drives equity in Boston by advocating to put more women on boards and into C-suites. On top of that, she’s used her company to improve the lives of women internationally. A few examples include the training of refugees in Germany to become caregivers, and training women to become nurses in the Philippines.
Want to learn more about this year’s Distinguished Bostonians or hear from them in person? Register now for our Annual Meeting!
Popular Resources