Office of Alumni Relations

Alumni and Friends Events

Heller Alumni at Washington, D.C., reception, March 2023
Heller alumni gathered for a networking event at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2023.
Heller alumni and students at Artists for Humanity networking event
Heller alumni and students were excited to meet at Artists for Humanity on March 31, 2022, to network with each other.
zoom screenshot with Anita Hill, Lisa Lynch, Stuart Altman, David Weil and Jack Shonkoff
University Professor Anita Hill moderated a panel discussion among four Heller deans: Lisa Lynch, Stuart Altman, David Weil and Jack Shonkoff.
Ruth Brandwein, PhD'78, and Phyllis Hersch, PhD'77, co-hosted the June 24 PhD Reunion: the First 25 years.
MPP Program Director Michael Doonan hosted the domestic career panel during the 17th Annual DC Heller Alumni Reception.
alumni holding paintings
Heller Alumni Association Board Member Isaac K. Cudjoe, MA COEX'18, and Adam Motenko, MBA'16, hosted DC-area alumni for a painting event.
students with an alumna at networking night
Students and alumni mingled during an Alumni Networking Night.
alumni in Uganda
Heller Board of Advisors Member Charles Nalyaali, MA SID'98, and MS GHPM Program Director AK Nandakumar hosted a get-together for alumni in Uganda.
alumnus and student at holding muffins
Former Heller professor Walter Leutz, PhD'81, was one of the alumni who attended Heller's bi-annual muffin breakfast, sponsored by the Heller Alumni Association.
Jeanette Takamura, PhD’85, Heller Alumni Association Board member, hosted a dinner in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan for prospective students and alumni.
Africa Night included a panel discussion and debate, food, a fashion show, a student-produced documentary, live theater, and performances by emerging artists from the Heller community. 
Cupcakes for everyone! Students, faculty and staff celebrated Heller's No. 7 ranking in social policy from US News & World Report with tasty blue treats at our Heller Town Hall.
Heller students came together for International Mother Language Day, dressing in traditional clothing and dancing and singing in front of Heller community members.

Celebrate Heller's 65th Anniversary!

We're excited to share a great slate of events below for our alumni and friends to stay connected to Heller. Make sure to update your information to receive emails about upcoming events and receive monthly updates. You may also refer to the Brandeis Alumni Events Calendar for more event opportunities.

All events are part of the Heller 65th Anniversary year, Celebrating Knowledge Advancing Social Justice, #Hellerat65.

Featured Event:

Stanley Wallack Memorial Lecture featuring Ken Duckworth, MD
Tuesday, March 26

5:00-5:45 pm ~ Reception (Alumni Lounge)
5:45-7:30 pm ~ Lecture (Zinner Forum and Zoom)

Register to attend in person or on Zoom.

Please join us for the 8th Annual Stanley Wallack Distinguished Memorial Lecture with special guest speaker Ken Duckworth, MD, as he discusses "Mental Health in American, You are Not Alone." 

Ken Duckworth, MD, is the chief medical officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and has worked with NAMI since 2003. Ken is board certified in adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry, and is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He was previously acting commissioner and medical director at the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. Ken has worked on an assertive community treatment team, at an early psychosis program, at an elementary school, at a health plan, and with people who are unhoused. His passion for this work comes from his loving dad who had bipolar disorder.

Thank you for considering a gift to the Stanley Wallack Memorial Lecture Series in honor of Heller's 65th Anniversary year.

This event is sponsored by the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy and Research. If you have questions about this event, contact Kathy Cook

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Black History Month: CommUNITY Gathering

Thursday, February 29, 12:30 pm, Zinner Forum and Zoom

RSVP to attend via Zoom.

Join us for a Black History Month keynote presentation by Heller PhD student Quentin Cox. Gain insights and inspiration about the means to advance social justice in these complex contemporary times. Let us celebrate how far we have come and a promising way forward. Contact Elena Lewis with any questions.

Institutional Agility and Accelerating Technological Change: The Cases of AI and Geoengineering Ethics

Thursday, February 29, 3:30-5:00 pm ET, Altman Amphitheater (G1) or Zoom

Register to attend in person or on Zoom. 

In celebration of the inauguration of the Florence G. Heller Chair, Professor Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, MBA Program Director, will address the institutional and ethical challenges of AI and Geoengineering. For human civilization, the accelerating roles of AI and geoengineering bring vast opportunities and existential threats. The ethical deployment of AI and geoengineering poses institutional challenges—they are beyond the scope of any individual, group, or organization. Calls for an embargo on the uses of AI and geoengineering will not work. Institutions, the very sources of stability in society, need to foster agile and adaptive responses. Only then can social systems effectively co-evolve with technology. This talk will present a theory and model for agile change at the institutional level of society and then apply it to AI ethics and geoengineering. This is a public address upon the inauguration of the Florence G. Heller Chair for Professor Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld. This event is a must-attend for anyone interested in the intersection of technology, policy, and ethics.

This event is sponsored by the Racial Justice and Technology Policy Program with the Institute for Economic and Racial Equity. If you have questions about this event, contact Ezra Tefera

Accessing Reproductive Justice

Thursday, March 7, 5:00 pm, Zinner Forum and Zoom

Register today.

Join us for the Distinguished Carrie Buck Fellowship and hear a conversation with our Carrie Buck Fellow, Robin Wilson-Beattie and Rebecca Cokley titled:

Accessing Reproductive Justice: Using Intersectional Self, Systems, and Community Advocacy to Create Inclusive Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare and Expression

Hear how Robin's journey utilizing an intersectional disability advocacy approach supports disability and reproductive justice worldwide.

Save the Date - Boston Alumni and Student Networking Event

Thursday, April 11, 5:30-7:30 pm, Time Out Market, 401 Park Dr, Boston, MA 02215

You are invited to join Heller Interim Dean Maria Madison, Heller School alumni, and current students gather for drinks and hors d’oeuvres to laugh, converse, and enjoy a night of Heller in the City! Come and support current Heller School students by sharing expertise, insight, stories, and connections as they prepare for internships and other post-graduate opportunities this summer.

Registration coming soon!

Previous Events, Spring and Summer 2023:

Violence Knows No Borders: a Continuum of Violence for Latin American and Caribbean Women

February 27, 2024

Feminist activism and movements in Latin America have a longstanding history. During their first encuentro, or meeting, in Bogotá, Colombia (July 1981), Latin American and Caribbean feminist activists and groups declared November 25th as “International Day Against Violence Against Women” in honor of Dominican political activists Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa, who were brutally murdered in 1960 by order of the country’s dictator, Rafael Trujillo. While gender-based violence has gained visibility at national, regional, and international levels, and important legislation has paved pathways towards addressing violence against women, Latin America remains the region with the highest rate of sexual violence in the world (UNDP, 2017). In a concerted effort to address the expanse of gender-based violence and its contemporary conditions in the region, attendees took part in a rich discussion organized and moderated by Brandeis professor María J. Durán and featuring Rosa-Linda Fregoso (University of California, Santa Cruz) and Bernadine Hernández (University of New Mexico).

Events in the year-long Mellon Sawyer seminar series, “Imperiled Bodies: Slavery, Colonialism, Citizenship and the Logics of Gender-Based Violence” are sponsored by a prestigious John E. Sawyer Seminar grant from the Mellon Foundation. For more information contact Carmel Ohman

Washington, DC Alumni Networking Event

February 22, 2024

Join Interim Dean Maria Madison and Ravi Lakshmikanthan, MA SID'99, Associate Dean, Global and Strategic Initiatives at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC and help us kick off our 65th Anniversary year! Expand your professional network, make new contacts, and hear about the latest news about the Heller School. Make a gift for Heller's 65th Anniversary Year! #Hellerat65

Heller Career Conversations - Alexandria Glaize, MA SID’17

December 6, 2023

Watch the Career Conversation Session with Alexandria Glaize, Head of Partner Marketing at Mentor Collective, and current Heller Alumni Association Board Member, organized by the Heller Career Development Center. The Career Conversations are one of the ways we keep Heller students informed about career opportunities and experiences, and how they can use the knowledge and skills acquired from Heller classrooms to achieve their desired careers. Alumni are welcome to attend. Glaize’s experience, expertise, and accomplishments have contributed immensely to academia and communities worldwide. We believe that Heller students will benefit greatly by gaining firsthand knowledge and insight from Glaize’s career journey. Watch recorded Career Conversations on the Career Center YouTube page.

Heller Career Conversations - Farhat Jilalbhoy, MA SID’14

November 30, 2023

Watch the Career Conversation Session with Farhat Jilalbhoy, Senior Director at Save The Children, and current Heller Alumni Association Board Member, organized by the Heller Career Development Center. The Career Conversations are one of the ways we keep Heller students informed about career opportunities and experiences, and how they can use the knowledge and skills acquired from Heller classrooms to achieve their desired careers. Alumni are welcome to attend. Jilalbhoy’s experience, expertise, and accomplishments have contributed immensely to academia and communities worldwide. We believe that Heller students will benefit greatly by gaining firsthand knowledge and insight from Jilalbhoy’s career journey. Watch recorded Career Conversations on the Career Center YouTube page.

Heller Career Conversations - Sandra Jones, PhD

November 20, 2023

Watch the Career Conversation Session with Dr. Sandra Jones, Executive Director of the Global Programs at Heller, organized by the Heller Career Development Center. The Career Conversations are one of the ways we keep Heller students informed about career opportunities and experiences, and how they can use the knowledge and skills acquired from Heller classrooms to achieve their desired careers. Alumni are welcome to attend. Jones' experience, expertise, and accomplishments have contributed immensely to academia and communities worldwide. We believe that Heller students will benefit greatly by gaining firsthand knowledge and insight from Jones's career journey. Watch recorded Career Conversations on the Career Center YouTube page.

International Alumni Panel - Part 2

November 17, 2023

The Heller Career Development Office and the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) at Brandeis University have collaborated to organize the Heller International Alumni Panel series. Alumni panelists included: Wafaa Arbash, MA SID/COEX'17, Head of Product Workforce, CloudFactory; Yasmine Acheampong, MA SID'16, Operations Officer, World Bank; Musukuta Badjie, MA SID'12, Independent Consultant, World Bank; Ninette Irabaruta, MA SID'18, Senior Director of Community Engagement and Outreach, United Way of Southern Maine; and Leulsegged Kasa Mekonen, MA SID'18/MS'18, Research Project Manager, Purdue Applied Research Institute. Our esteemed alumni have made significant contributions to academia and communities across the globe. We believe that Heller students can benefit greatly by learning firsthand knowledge and insight from their career journeys.

International Alumni Panel - Part 1

November 15, 2023

The Heller Career Development Office and the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) at Brandeis University have collaborated to organize the Heller International Alumni Panel series.

The panel will feature two distinguished alumni, Christian Mahillet, MA SID '11, and Field Finance Accountant at Action Against Hunger, and Pallavi Gupta, MA SID '18, and Program Director LASER PULSE (USAID).

Our esteemed alumni have made significant contributions to academia and communities across the globe. We believe that Heller students can benefit greatly by learning firsthand knowledge and insight from their career journeys.

Career Conversations with Prof A.K. Nandakumar

November 14, 2023

You are invited to join the Career Conversation Session with Prof A.K. Nandakumar, Professor of the Practice; Academic Director, Global Programs; Director, Institute for Global Health and Development, organized by the Heller Career Development Center. The Career Conversations are one of the ways we keep Heller students informed about career opportunities and experiences, and how they can use the knowledge and skills acquired from Heller classrooms to achieve their desired careers. Alumni are welcome to attend.

Nandakumar’s experience, expertise, and accomplishments have contributed immensely to academia and communities worldwide. We believe that Heller students will benefit greatly by gaining firsthand knowledge and insight from Nandakumar’s career journey. Watch recorded Career Conversations on the Career Center YouTube page.

75th Anniversary Celebration with the Brandeis Alumni Club of Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey

November 2, 2023

The Brandeis Alumni Club of Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey Cordially invited alumni and friends to Celebrate

The 75th Anniversary of Brandeis University
with President Ronald Liebowitz
at Lincoln Financial Field
Home of the Philadelphia Eagles

Includes Stadium Tours and a Reception in The Firstrust Bank Club Lounge

Special thanks to Heller alum and Eagles Chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Lurie, Heller PhD’87.

Alumni and Student Networking Event

October 27, 2023

Join Interim Dean Maria Madison in addition to Heller School alumni and current students, board members, faculty, researchers and staff for drinks and hors d’oeuvres as we laugh, converse, and enjoy a night of Heller at Mighty Squirrel Brewery in Waltham, welcoming new and returning students to Heller! Come support current Heller School students by sharing your expertise, insight, stories, and connections as they prepare for the semester, practicum searches, internships and other post-graduate opportunities. This event was co-sponsored by the Heller Development and Alumni Relations, Career Development Center, and the Office of Admissions.

2023 Gittler Prize Recipient Tressie McMillan Cottom presents "THICK: A Conversation about Power, Identity, and Public Discourse"

October 25, 2023

A special lecture was given by Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom, the 2023 Gittler Prize recipient. Dr. Cottom, a prominent sociologist and author, explores the intricate dynamics of race, gender, education, and social disparities in her award winning book "Thick: And Other Essays." Through personal stories and insightful analysis, she challenges stereotypes and provides a deep understanding of the complex experiences of Black women in America. She addresses the complexities of the intersections of identity and inequality. This talk will be facilitated by Heller Interim Dean Dr. Maria Madison. We anticipate a thought-provoking and consciousness raising conversation. Contact Elena Lewis with questions.

Slavery, Citizenship, and the Afterlife of Gender-Based Violence

October 24, 2023

Organized and moderated by University Professor Anita Hill, “Slavery, Citizenship, and the Afterlife of Gender-Based Violence” will feature Sarah Deer, Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas, and Crystal Feimster, Associate Professor of African American Studies, American Studies and History at Yale University. This session will undertake a comparative discussion about the logics of settler colonial genocide and sexual violence against Native and enslaved Black women with regards to the delineation of citizenship. It will lay bare the foundational inequities facing Black, Indigenous and other marginalized people that must be addressed in order to eliminate violence and other residuum of slavery and settler colonialism.

Events in the year-long Mellon Sawyer seminar series, “Imperiled Bodies: Slavery, Colonialism, Citizenship and the Logics of Gender-Based Violence” are sponsored by a prestigious John E. Sawyer Seminar grant from the Mellon Foundation that is led by PI Anita Hill (Heller School for Social Policy and Management), co-PI Harleen Singh (Senior Associate Provost for Faculty & Global Affairs, Director of the Women’s Studies Research Center, and Associate Professor of Literature and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies), and ChaeRan Freeze (Frances and Max Elkon Chair in Modern Jewish History).

Brandeis sponsors and resources include the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, the Mandel Center for the Humanities, the Women’s Studies Research Center, the Hadassah Brandeis Institute, the Feminist Sexual Ethics Project, the Rose Art Museum, the Kniznick Art Gallery, the Gender and Sexuality Center, and the Prevention, Advocacy, and Resource Center.

Law, Caste, and The Pursuit of Justice: The 6th International Conference on the Unfinished Legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

October 20-22, 2023

This event will feature a ketnote address by the Hon'ble Dr Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, The Chief Justice of India. GDS inaugurated in 2015 an annual conference on caste. While each focused on current ideations of caste, they each honored the Unfinished Legacy of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the preeminent 20th Century leader against untouchability. The first three conferences were hosted at Brandeis. The series continued as a “floating conference,” first at The University of Massachusetts/Amherst and then at The New School, New York. The Sixth International Conference returns home to Brandeis.

This event is co-sponsored by, Office of the Provost, Brandeis University; India Initiative, International Business School; The Legal Studies Program; Indian Institute of Dalit Studies; Community for the Eradication of Discrimination in Education and Employment, India; Ambedkar Initiative, Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, Columbia University; Boston Study Group; and Ambedkar International Mission, USA. If you have questions about this event, contact Jaea Compton.

Heller Career Conversations - Ye Pogue, PhD’19

October 18, 2023

You are invited to join the Career Conversation Session with Ye Pogue, PhD'19, public health researcher at RTI International, organized by the Heller Career Development Center. The Career Conversations are one of the ways we keep Heller students informed about career opportunities and experiences, and how they can use the knowledge and skills acquired from Heller classrooms to achieve their desired careers. Pogue’s experience, expertise, and accomplishments have contributed immensely to academia and communities worldwide. We believe that Heller students will benefit greatly by gaining firsthand knowledge and insight from Pogue’s career journey. Watch recorded Career Conversations on the Career Center YouTube page.

Heller Career Conversations - Maria Madison, Interim Dean at the Heller School

October 17, 2023

Dean Madison's experience, expertise, and accomplishments have contributed immensely to academia and communities worldwide. We believe that Heller students will benefit greatly by gaining firsthand knowledge and insight from her career journey.

“Maria Madison succeeded David Weil as the Heller School’s interim dean on July 1, 2022. Madison previously served as Heller’s associate dean for equity, inclusion and diversity and director of the Institute for Economic and Racial Equity (IERE). Maria Madison originally joined Brandeis in 2017 as Heller’s first associate dean for equity, inclusion and diversity, a new leadership position created in response to student-led activism during Ford Hall 2015. As associate dean, Madison developed and implemented a targeted, evidence-based approach to improving DEI for all members of the Heller community, and forged innovative and effective partnerships across the school and the university as well as with policymakers and various organizations. In August 2020, Madison became director of Heller’s Institute for Economic and Racial Equity (formerly the Institute on Assets and Social Policy). Under her leadership, the institute adopted a new name, expanded its team and deepened its focus on policy-driven racial disparities. In December 2021, IERE secured a landmark $1 million gift from the Kapor Center to support a new initiative on racial justice and tech policy. As in her DEI work, this new initiative is designed to be cross-cutting, incorporating participation from research, the academy, and students at the graduate and undergraduate levels."
~Excerpt from the Heller School School of Social Policy and Management Website.
Watch recorded Career Conversations on the Career Center YouTube page.

A Weekend for the Ages: Celebrate Brandeis at 75

October 13-15, 2023

A successful weekend that brought the entire Brandeis community — past and present — back to campus for a celebration like none other. Read more and watch videos of the best of the university’s events celebrating the university’s bold past and bright future. 

MBA Distinguished Management Lecture: Big Ideas, Bold Leaders: Building Tomorrow's Social Innovation Leaders

October 4, 2023

The Heller Social Impact MBA Program invited students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community partners to the annual MBA Distinguished Management Lecture featuring a trailblazing physician and social entrepreneur, Cheryl Dorsey. She currently serves as the president of Echoing Green, a global nonprofit that supports emerging social entrepreneurs and invests deeply in their ideas and leadership. She has served in two presidential administrations and began her career by launching The Family Van, a community-based mobile health unit in Boston.

We are also celebrating Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, the new Social Impact MBA Program Director, who is being invested as the Florence G. Heller Chair. Florence Heller was a charitable pioneer, supporting medical research and the Jewish Welfare Board. In 1959, she provided the founding grant to launch our school, originally named the Florence Heller Graduate School for Advanced Studies in Social Welfare at Brandeis and served as a trustee of the University. Thank you for considering a gift to any fund in honor of Heller's 65th Anniversary. For more information contact Elena Lewis at ewilson@brandeis.edu. This event is co-sponsored by the Heller MBA Program and Office of Equity, Inclusion & Diversity.

Heller Alumni Gathering with Interim Dean Madison in Kigali, Rwanda!

September 24, 2023, Kigali, Rwanda

To celebrate our 65th anniversary year, we're gathering alumni from around the world to reconnect and reflect on 65 wonderful years. Join Heller's Interim Dean Maria Madison in Kigali, Rwanda. Heller alumni, friends and prospective students are welcome to attend. 

Celebrate with Us! Join the MPP program to Thank Professor Mike Doonan for 16 years of Leadership

September 19, 2023

The Heller School and Interim Dean Maria Madison honored Professor Michael Doonan, PhD'02, as he concludes his 16-year term as MPP Program Director to be the Heller Online Program Director, looking forward to Heller's future of innovative online learning. He will still be serving as the MPP Health Policy Concentration Chair and teaching History, Social Policy Analysis and State Health Policy with the MPP program. Teaching the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion course for the MPP program since 2016, Alexandra Pineros-Shields, PhD'07, will take the reins of MPP Program Director this coming academic year.

Reforming Access to Quality Education in America

July 13, 2023

The Racial Justice and Tech Policy (IERE) program presented an inspirational conversation on reforming access to quality education in America.  Five panelists examined the challenge of establishing a system of education that is fair and equitable for all as well as the role of technology. Panelists will include Gabrielle Hibbert, SID'21, Adjunct Lecturer; Alexandra Pineros-Shields, PhD'07, MPP Program Director; Janelle Ridley, Founder and CEO Affirmation Education; Interim Dean Maria Madison; and Steve Tompkins, Sheriff, Suffolk county Sheriff’s department. Micro-credentialing programs as well as the relationship of the criminal legal system and education were discussed. For more information, contact: Ezra Tefera MD, MS, Program Director and Research Associate; Racial Justice and Technology Policy (IERE)

Brandeis Alumni Pride Reception: Reconnect at the Iconic Black Cat

June 26, 2023, The Black Cat, Los Angeles, CA

The Black Cat is the site of the first documented LGBTQ civil rights demonstration in the nation. This demonstration, held in 1967, was the first time in U.S. history that the LGBTQ community organized publicly to protest the harassment, brutality, and persecution they suffered at the hands of the police. Let’s honor our Brandeis legacy by showcasing our continued support for equality and love. Event hosted by the Brandeis LGBTQIA+ Alumni Network. Reconnect with old friends and make new connections within the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Segal Convening: Systemic Racism & Technology: Algorithmic Bias in AI and ML

June 22, 2023

This online program was part of The Segal Program's quarterly Racial Justice and Antiracism Learning Community gatherings, for a conversation on combating systemic racism in technology with Ezra Tefera MS'22, Director of The Racial Justice x Technology Program at Heller's Institute for Economic and Racial Equity, and with Segal Fellow Gabby Zilkha '16, Senior Product Manager for Learning at SAP SuccessFactors.

Faculty in the Field with Prof. Alain Lempereur - Mediation to Solve Conflicts: The Power to Empower Negotiators

June 11, 2023, Toronto, Canada

Timely, efficient, and responsible resolution of conflicts is more important than ever.  Prof. Alain Lempereur  answered the question of what to do when tensions escalate, and parties fail to negotiate on their own? How can we give negotiation a last chance, instead of going to court, strike, or even war? We can try mediation, which enables the pursuit of negotiation by other means. Mediation is increasingly sought by individuals, corporations, and governments, because they wish to remain in charge of their destiny and seek constructive solutions to end their most intractable disputes.

Celebrating Pride: Expanding our Timeline of the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement

June 6, 2023, Los Angeles, CA

Hosted by Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Program, this event provided a guided interactive LGBTQ+ history timeline tour.

Meeting the Challenge to Promote Health Equity and Wellbeing featuring Barbara Ferrer, PhD'94

April 23, 2023, Contemporary Art Studio, Los Angeles, CA 

The evolution of public health in California has been a long one, with ups and downs and improved through years of trial and error. With guidance from Barbara Ferrer, PhD’94, Los Angeles County - the largest county in the United States - has been able to survive and build, but the work is far from done. Dr. Ferrer explained past public health issues, current challenges in this new era, and plans of health equity for all.

Barbara Ferrer, PhD’94, is the nationally recognized director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which prevents disease and promotes health equity and wellbeing among more than 10 million county residents. The discussion was moderated by another Heller alum, Fernando Torres-Gil, MSW’72, PhD’76, a professor of social welfare and public policy at UCLA; an adjunct professor of gerontology at USC; and director of the UCLA Center for Policy Research on Aging.

Gifting Stolen Wealth? Toward a New Path in American Philanthropy

April 20, 2023

Dr. David Lowry, an Indigenous scholar (Lumbee Tribe), author, and Visiting Fellow at the Heller School's Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy, will be discussing his ongoing research related to philanthropy in the United States. This event was sponsored by the Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy. If you have any questions, contact Sheryl Seller.

Conversations on Equity and Justice: CLOSING THE EQUITY GAP: A Conversation with Impact Investors Freada Kapor Klein, PhD'84, and Mitch Kapor

March 30, 2023

Freada Kapor Klein, PhD’84, and Mitch Kapor are founding partners at Kapor Capital and co-chairs of the nonprofit Kapor Center in Oakland, California, and coauthors of "CLOSING THE EQUITY GAP: Creating Wealth and Fostering Justice in Startup Investing." In CLOSING THE EQUITY GAP, Freada and Mitch share their core beliefs that all companies must make a positive impact, and that the obstacles entrepreneurs overcome in life are a far better predictor of long-term success than the schools they attend or investment dollars raised from friends and family. "For years we’ve said it in private and in public: America must hold up a mirror to its own biases. Now we’ve done just that, and the payoff in uplifting people—and building wealth—is indisputable." This Fireside Chat facilitated by the Heller School’s Interim Dean Dr. Maria Madison explored how Freada and Mitch are changing the world through impact investing and expanding opportunity and diversity. Read more about this event.

This event was co-sponsored by The Heller School Office of the Dean, Office of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity, Office of Career Development, Institute for Economic and Racial Equity and Brandeis Office of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity, COMPACT, Brandeis Department of Computer Science, and Brandeis International Business School.

Advocacy & Action at the Intersection of Disability & Reproductive Justice

March 29, 2023

Laurie Bertram Roberts was awarded the inaugural Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship and held a conversation with Rebecca Cokley of the Ford Foundation on reproductive rights and disability justice. Laurie Bertram Roberts (she/they) is a low income, black, queer, disabled grassroots reproductive justice activist, freelance writer, doula, aspiring midwife, and mother. She is the co-founder and current Executive Director of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund, Mississippi's only reproductive justice organization that provides direct funding and practical support for abortion access, emergency contraception, birth control, community-based sex education, parenting, and no-strings/stigma pregnancy support regardless of pregnancy outcome. The Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship is awarded by the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy. Funded by the Ford Foundation, it is awarded to activists, scholars, and community organizers with disabilities whose work draws national attention to systemic ableism in reproductive health policy. Distinguished fellows are selected through our community-led Advisory Board.

Boston Alumni and Student Networking Event

March 28, 2023, TimeOut Market, Boston, MA

Heller Interim Dean Maria Madison, fellow Heller School alumni, and current students gathered for drinks and hors d’oeuvres to laugh, converse, and enjoy a night of Heller in the City the very same week the Red Sox return for opening day! They supported current Heller School students by sharing expertise, insight, stories, and connections as they prepare for internships and other post-graduate opportunities this summer.

7th Annual Stanley Wallack Distinguished Memorial Lecture

March 16, 2023

The Schneider Institutes presented featured speaker Marylou Sudders, former Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for a discussion titled "Health Care in a Post Pandemic World: Lessons From The Trenches." She oversaw 12 state agencies and MassHealth, with a combined budget of over $27 billion and 22,000 public employees. She is a social worker who has spent her career dedicated to public service. She has been an impactful leader in both the public and private sectors, including Massachusetts Commissioner of Mental Health, a nonprofit CEO, and a college professor. Sponsored by the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy and Research at the Heller School and hosted by Dr. Stuart Altman, Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy, and Connie M. Horgan, Professor; Co-Director of the Schneider Institutes for Health Policy and Research; and founding Director, Institute for Behavioral Health. Thank you to those who have continued to honor Stan's legacy by making a gift to the Stanley Wallack Distinguished Memorial Lecture Series.

Post Overdose Outreach Presentation & Discussion: PRONTO Best Practice Guidance: Public Safety and Public Health Partnerships

March 15, 2023

Overdose deaths in the United States exceeded more than 100,000 for the first time in the 12 months ending in April 2021. Post-overdose outreach programs have emerged as one potential strategy to reduce future overdose risk among overdose survivors. From 2019 to 2022, the PRONTO study was conducted as a way to characterize post-overdose outreach programs across Massachusetts, evaluate their effectiveness, and develop best practice guidance for their implementation. The panel which included PRONTO study leaders, Alex Walley (Boston Medical Center) and Traci Green (Brandeis University, The Heller School), shared the PRONTO Best Practice Guidance for Post-Overdose Outreach, followed by an engaging panel discussion with harm reductionist Mary Wheeler (Healthy Streets), and researcher and former police chief Brandon Del Pozo (Brown University/COBRE on Opioids and Overdose).

Washington, DC Alumni Networking Event

March 12, 2023, The Middle East Institute, Washington, DC

This social event in Washington, DC connected alumni with Interim Dean Maria Madison and Ravi Lakshmikanthan, MA SID'99, Associate Dean, Global and Strategic Initiatives. Alumni had the opportunity to expand their professional and social contacts and hear the latest news about The Heller School.

Conversations on Equity and Justice Series: Reproductive Freedom: Legal Rights, Political Context, and Opportunities for Action featuring Julie F. Kay, J.D.

March 8, 2023

This event on International Women's Day included a discussion on reproductive freedom with women's rights attorney and activist, Julie F. Kay, J.D., in conversation with Interim Dean Maria Madison. Attorney Julie F. Kay is an expert on women's human rights domestically and internationally. Her initiatives increase support for access to reproductive rights and religious freedom, advance gender equality and work to prevent family violence and promote women's economic security. This event is co-sponsored by the Heller School Dean's Office and the Eli J. & Phyllis N. Segal Citizen Leadership Program, which is celebrating its 15th Anniversary this year. Watch the video!

Conversations on Equity and Justice Series: The Power of Civic Engagement: The History and Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement

February 16, 2023

Dr. Roy DeBerry ’70, MA’78, PhD’79, is an accomplished community organizer, human rights activist, author, and the co-founder of the Hill Country Project. He co-hosts the “Dad Daughter Dialogues” podcast. DeBerry is also a Brandeis Alum who led the 1969 Ford Hall takeover protesting the campus racial climate. This conversation was co-facilitated by Interim Dean Maria Madison and Dr. Sara Shostak, Professor of Sociology and Health: Science, Society, and Policy Program, about the success of the Civil Rights Movement and its contemporary global impact. Attendees heard powerful testimonies of Benton County, Mississippi residents and their extraordinary courage to fight for justice from the book ‘Voices from the Mississippi Hill Country.’ We discussed the legacies of segregation, human rights, and one community’s journey for freedom. This event was co-sponsored by the Heller School Dean's Office, the Office of EID, and COMPACT.  Watch the recording.

Disabled Parenting within Multigenerational Families

January 31, 2023

Multigenerational households are defined as three generations or more, living together. Common throughout time, and across different cultures, the number of multigenerational family households in the US has been on the rise since the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to service gaps in home and community based services and other factors many adults with disabilities including those who are parents may continue to live with their families of origin. In this webinar we explored the experiences of disabled parents living within multigenerational households. Panelists Judith Brown and Jennifer Senda shared the successes and challenges they experienced while living in multigenerational households with their children. The policy implications of this type of living arrangement were discussed. This event was sponsored by the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy

Privileged or Radicalized: The Image of the Jew and Managerial Dilemmas with Edith Pick

January 26, 2023

How does Jewish identity fit into debates around diversity, equity and inclusion? Insider or outsider - What is confusing about the management of Jewish difference? Why has antisemitism become contentious in public debates? In this workshop, we explored some of the tensions and dilemmas that the elusive nature of "Jewishness" poses on the management of difference. Edith Pick is a Research Associate at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute and a PhD Candidate at Queen Mary University of London. Her research lies at the intersection of organizational sociology and Jewish studies. She is interested in work inequality, race and gender, ideology of diversity, authenticity and belonging, and particularly how those concepts manifest in Jewish contexts. Her current research explores the politics of difference in UK Jewish organizations. She previously held professional and leadership positions in nonprofit organizations in the UK and Israel. This event was co-sponsored by the Heller EID Office and the Heller Dean's Office.

17th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

January 16, 2023

We honored Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy with A Day to Reflect and Reimagine through service, learning, inspirational performances, poetry, and speeches. Dr. Maria Madison, Interim Dean of the Heller School, was the keynote speaker. She shared her words of wisdom and reflected on the significance of the day. In addition to the daytime events, there was an evening of performers and speakers. Sponsored by the Dean of Students Office, the Intercultural Center, Alumni Association, Alumni of Color Network, Heller School of Social Policy and Management, Office of Spiritual Life, Department of Community Engagement and Leadership, Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program, Samuels '63 Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation (COMPACT), and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.