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          Make Your Voice Heard: Reimagining Nightlife with Corean Reynolds

          Corean Reynold was recently appointed the Director of Nightlife Economy for the City of Boston, where she brings a wealth of experience and a passion for fostering an equitable and thriving nightlife ecosystem.

          10/04/2023

          6:00pm - 7:30pm

          Roundhead Brewing Company

          arrow-go
          Read More
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          Government Affairs
          2023 Government Affairs Forum: State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg

          Don’t miss our upcoming Government Affairs Forum with Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg. Register now!

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          9:45am - 11:00am

          Bank of America

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          Talent
          MA Apprentice Network Fall Quarterly Event

          Learn about new ways of utilizing the professional apprenticeship model to create diverse, sustainable, and scalable talent pipelines.

          10/12/2023

          10:00am - 11:30am

          Edenred

          arrow-go
          Read More
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          • Call for Nominations
          • Resources
        • EQ to Elevate Workplace Well-being

          Designed for mid-level managers and supervisors, this new certificate program addresses workplace well-being through unique, innovative, and actionable methods.

          Read More
          Transformational DEI Certificate

          Join our Transformational DEI Certificate! Our comprehensive learning & development offerings are designed to connect and grow strong leaders who lead both inside and out of the office.

          Read More
          Women’s Leadership Program

          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.

          Read More
          Boston’s Future Leaders

          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.

          Read More
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          • Overview
          • Economic Inclusion Committee
          • Fierce Urgency of Now Festival
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        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          Economic Inclusion

          Our Economic Inclusion Committee provides strategic support around research, policies, and programs that are focused on building equal opportunity.

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Fierce Urgency of Now Festival
          2023 Fierce Urgency of Now Festival

          The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.

          09/12/2023 -

          09/16/2023

          Greater Boston

          arrow-go
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          City Awake

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          Read More
          BIMA

          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.

          Read More
          Women’s Network

          For nearly 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.

          Read More
          Massachusetts Apprentice Network

          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.

          Read More
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          Read More
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Speaker Series Recap: Three Aha Moments from Carbonites Mohamad Ali

June 7, 2017

Carbonite CEO and President, Mohamad Ali, spoke at yesterday’s City Awake event. As the Chamber’s newest intern, I was excited to attend my first event (at Carbonite’s awesome Star Wars-themed offices) and to have the opportunity to hear from one of Greater Boston’s leading tech CEOs. Here are three key messages I took away from this great discussion:

Immigration is crucial for innovation and a strong community

Mohamad opened the Forum by talking about how he immigrated to America from Guyana with his mother when he was 11. He reminded us that there are tremendous opportunities here in the U.S. and that, “you really still can have the American dream here.” He emphasized the importance of open and fair immigration policies by saying that America was built on waves and waves of immigrants, and these waves bring a diversity of thought. We are constantly infusing the population with new, diverse thinking, which then creates a unique culture from which we can all benefit. If we limit immigration, Ali said, then we limit the potential for this diverse flow of ideas.

The value of mentorship and picking “the right thing to do”

Mohamad told us that throughout his life, he had people who encouraged him, provided moral support, and presented him with opportunities. He referred to his eighth grade math teacher who told him about the magnet schools in New York and urged him to apply, something that he never would’ve done had it not been for her.

Mohamad also talked about knowing when not to give up. He told us a story of when he and a group of his college friends at Stanford were working to develop a search engine but gave up, shrugging it off as something that couldn’t be done. The next year, someone a year behind him at Stanford created Yahoo, and then Google was created shortly after that. Ali reminded us that there is great value in learning from your experiences, and he encouraged us to go out and try new things, because you never know what could come from it.

The talent gap is widening and we need to do our best to fill it

Greater Boston has shifted from a skills-based economy to a global, knowledge-based economy.As the baby-boomer generation retires, Mohamad stressed that we must keep working to develop our region’s talent to ensure that our state continues to grow, not shrink. To fill this gap, he recommended that leverage the students in the state, and recruit talent from the many graduates of Boston schools. He highlighted the fact that people aren’t just looking for a job anymore, they are looking for a purpose. And Ali believes in Carbonite’s purpose to protect their customers and the community. He ended by saying, “We are all members of this community, and we all want to make it better.”

Learn more about Mohamad Ali here.

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