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Home > Thought Leadership > Those Closest to Pain Should Be the Closest to Power, Fierce Urgency of Now, Be the Change Panel
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  • Events
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          BIMA
          BIMA Summer Sizzler

          The BIMA Summer Sizzler is the must-attend networking event for marketing and media professionals.

          08/11/2022

          5:30pm - 8:30pm

          Museum of Science

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Events
          2022 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.

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Members-only
          Maximize Your Membership September

          This is an opportunity to meet the Chamber staff as you learn how to leverage your Chamber benefits effectively to meet your goals through our offerings.

          09/29/2022

          2:00pm - 3:30pm

          Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce 

          arrow-go
          Read More
  • Learning & Development
        • Learning & Development

          • Overview
          • Call for Nominations
          • Resources
        • 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
          Transformational DEI Certificate

          We are now recruiting for our 2022 fall DEI cohort! We hope you’ll join us in our mission to increase DEI fluency and change in the Boston business community – starting with you.

          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
  • Economic Inclusion
        • Economic Inclusion

          • Overview
          • Economic Inclusion Committee
          • Fierce Urgency of Now Festival
          • Pacesetters
          • Resources
        • ...
          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
        • ...
          Events
          2022 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.

          arrow-go
          Read More
  • Policy & Impact
        • Policy & Impact

          • Overview
          • Leadership Councils
          • Amicus Advisory Board
        • GET INVOLVED IN OUR POLICY FOCUS AREAS

          Business Climate
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          Read More
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          Read More
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          Read More
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          Read More
  • Our Networks
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          • Overview
        • OUR NETWORKS

          City Awake

          City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.

          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 more than 25 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
          MITX

          Through MITX (the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange), we’re building valuable connections between the people and ideas behind technology and its impact on the future of customer experiences, all to create a community that’s finding tomorrow’s solutions together.

          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
          Small Business

          We support small business through public policy initiatives, events designed to connect small businesses in Greater Boston to their peers and established business leaders, professional development offerings, and free small business advising.

          Read More
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Those Closest to Pain Should Be the Closest to Power, Fierce Urgency of Now, Be the Change Panel

October 20, 2021

On the second day of the Fierce Urgency of Now festival, a world-class panel convened to discuss how businesses impact our region, how people can advocate for change no matter the industry they work in, and what Boston’s tomorrow will look like.

As the panel kicked off, a quote from Massachusetts State Representative, Ayanna Pressley, was shared,  “the people closest to the pain should be the closest to the power.” 

The moderator and panelists detailed as follows: 

  • Dr. Karilyn Crockett, Professor of Urban History, Public Policy & Planning, MIT – MODERATOR
  • James Rooney, President & CEO, Boston Chamber of Commerce
  • Herbe Duverne, CEO, Windwalker Group
  • Micho F. Spring, Chair, Global Practice & President, New England, Weber Shandwick
  • Jim Canales, President & Trustee, Barr Foundation

In this event, questions were posed for the panelists to discuss. Below we recap the key takeaways.

What is the business community’s role in further amplifying the immigrant population’s voice in Boston?

The Boston Chamber of Commerce’s President and CEO, Jim Rooney, replied:

Even before COVID, the population of immigrants was increasing in Boston. We are in a moment now where 1/3 of the workforce in the region, and 22% of Bostonians, are immigrants. Immigrants hold $36B in spending power, and contribute $10B to federal taxes and $5B to state taxes. The business case is clear. What we need is advocacy at the federal level. We need to:

  • Uplevel the dialog beyond the wall and the southern border to talk DACA and visa reform
  • Use our collective voice to keep a dialog about workforce needs for native born Bostonians, folks that have relocated to work in Boston, and immigrants
  • Take responsibility – English language training programs can and should be set up by companies in-house, not just by the Federal government
  • Celebrate “We are Boston” and the incredible contributions of immigrants in our community

COVID-19 shifted the business community, from remote work to new jobs, to the challenge to communicate in the virtual world. What have we learned from the past year and a half? New skills?

Weber Shandwick’s Micho Spring, who came to this country from Cuba at age 10, replied:

After managing the communications of the racial riots in the 70s at City Hall, for American Airlines during 9/11 and the Boston Athletic Association through the Boston Marathon bombing, Micho says the important thing to do is “meet the moment and bracket it – this is the end, and we are now going to move forward.” COVID-19 defies bracketing in that there is no marker to take it back to what we knew.  

Nothing has as ever impacted every human being on the planet at the same time – the dynamics of work/family, employer/employee, and business/society. Here’s what we’ve learned about communication from this:

  • It is more important than ever. It is the currency for change, and we are living it. Companies earn unprecedented trust and confidence when they are in constant communication with employees.
  • Technology enables us to equate in-person meetings to a learning opportunity to better listen and create an empathetic and responsive environment.  
  • We’ve created new ways to reach further and deeper as we use this moment to define a new future.

Boston’s infrastructure was built with racism throughout. As a city, how do we come back from the history? What should urban planners focus on?

Windwalker Group’s Herbie Duverne shared:

We already see a prime example of how we are coming back from this history as a city by looking at the diversity in the candidates for the Boston mayoral election. People are focusing on making change. It is not just enough to invite a marginalized community to a space, but they have to be involved in the planning efforts. We need to examine their needs so that we can address them. Urban planners should focus on prioritizing green space so that everyone is able to go to parks.

How do we create safeguards to keep inclusive spaces in mind?

The Barr Foundations’ Jim Canales replied:

Boston ranks second in the United States as having the largest number of residents within a ten-minute walk of a public park. We are doing well, but one thing we have not done is to go to the neighborhood level and invite them to tell us what they want from open space, streets, and communities. We did experiments during COVID with turning converted parking to restaurant space in order to serve more people outdoors. This created spaces for dining and helped restaurants. We need to continue to drive a narrative that is more inclusive and inviting.

Amidst the pandemic, many people are at a crossroads in their career with 1/3 professionals looking for a new job when the pandemic subsides. How can leaders be bold, but pragmatic when planning professional journeys?

Micho Spring replied:

The most important things are to define your values and what is important to you while looking for opportunities that reflect and channel your values through an organization’s leadership. Think about where you will grow as a person. For many, the ability to grow personally and professionally means more than pay itself. As the lines between work and personal lives blur, find an environment where you will learn from the right people, that will make you proud each day, and that allows for progressive change. The pandemic has also shifted power to employees, so be bold in asking for what you want.

What excites you most about the new generation of Boston professionals?

A couple of our panelists weighed in on this final question:

Micho Spring said: “they not only demand business have a plan, a conscience and that it delivers. They believe in the role business can play in societal change, they don’t take no for an answer and expect a diverse workplace.”

Jim Canales added: “the level of energy, ambition and the push for bold and aspirational solutions. They hold managers accountable, are flexible and able to pivot and have a high level of engagement to help Boston fulfill promise.”

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