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          2025 Government Affairs Forum | State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg

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

          12/09/2025

          9:45am - 11:00am

          Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

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          Read More
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          Read More
          Strategic Communication for Better Collaboration

          Level up your leadership and communication in this Boston Chamber workshop for professionals—gain essential skills in team alignment.

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2023 Fierce Urgency of Now Opening Ceremony

September 12, 2023 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm TD Garden, 1928 Club

Event Details

  • Thank you for joining City Awake for our 6th Annual Fierce Urgency of Now Festival Opening Ceremony, hosted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s City Awake program.

Tickets

  • This event is FREE!
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  • Overview
  • Panelists
  • Agenda
  • FAQs
  • Location

Connecting and Growing as a Community

Celebration is key, especially in the most tumultuous times. The desire for community, connection, and belonging is more important than ever after years of isolation witnessing traumatic events. When we celebrate the joy of what we are and the hope of what we will become, we cultivate belonging across industries, neighborhoods, cultures, and people. Thank you for joining us as we celebrated our 6th Annual Fierce Urgency of Now Festival Opening Ceremony. The discussion focused on establishing connections across differences and creating lasting change through civic engagement and business leadership. Attendees had the opportunity to cultivate social capital, support the community by visiting vendor tables hosted by local small businesses and local groups, and learn more about the festival.

ABOUT FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW

The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings together more than 1,000 diverse, young professionals of color and allies for 30+ transformative events. Organized by City Awake, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s young professional platform, this is the ultimate festival to build connections, advance careers, and ignite positive change.

This festival is inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s. speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where he described “the fierce urgency of now” — the pressing need for immediate action and lasting change in the face of racial injustice. Today and every day, we are answering this call to action to forge a more equitable, inclusive future for Greater Boston.

Join City Awake in celebration of the Fierce Urgency of Now Opening Ceremony for a chance to win FREE Red Sox tickets! During the event, winners will be randomly selected and receive a set of Loge Box tickets to a mutually agreeable home game during the 2024 Red Sox season.

Please Note: To enter this giveaway, registered guests must attend the event in its entirety. Upon arrival, you will receive a physical raffle ticket to enter the drawing. The winning raffle ticket will be randomly selected at the conclusion of the event. Winners must be present in order to accept the prize.

ABOUT CITY AWAKE

City Awake is the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s premier young professional platform that awakens and empowers the city’s next generation of thought leaders and change makers who are navigating Boston’s business, civic, and cultural communities.

Questions? Reach Out

Jessica Sanon
Jessica Sanon

Senior Program Manager

Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

Email Jessica

Special Performance by Notebook P

Notebook P

Songwriter and Vocalist

Notebook P is a Haitian-American songwriter and vocalist based in Randolph, MA. Primarily centered around the genre of R&B, his music ranges from upbeat, hip-hop…Read more
Notebook P is a Haitian-American songwriter and vocalist based in Randolph, MA. Primarily centered around the genre of R&B, his music ranges from upbeat, hip-hop influenced melodies to soft, sensual sounds over remarkably articulate lyricism. Aside from collaborating with various MA based artists, his growing accolades consist of a 2021 & 2022 Boston Music Award for R&B Artist of the Year, performing for Mayor Michelle Wu and Governor Charlie Baker, opening for DVSN, Charlie XCX, Sage the Gemini, Mereba, and a growing catalog that includes his most recently released, “Book of Sun” EP and the forthcoming “A Fool’s Tactics”. P is determined to contribute his voice and ideas to the ever changing sound of R&B and more genres to come.

Panelists

Adrian Madaro Headshot
Adrian Madaro

House Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, 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
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 resident and the son of an immigrant, he has focused on advancing environmental justice, protecting and increasing access to green and open space, making Massachusetts fairer and more inclusive, and improving our public transit and infrastructure. He currently serves as the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and

Recovery. In this capacity, he helped usher the most comprehensive reforms to mental health care in Massachusetts in decades through An Act Addressing Barriers to Care for Mental Health. Among other things, these reforms contain measures to support children and adolescents facing mental health challenges and improve access to on-demand care.

Moreover, Representative Madaro is committed to fostering opportunities for positive personal development and career pathways for young leaders. He supports youth employment and development opportunities through donations, state budget earmarks for afterschool and out-of-school programs, and advocacy as Co-Chair of the Afterschool Caucus.

As a new father, Representative Madaro introduced bold legislation to create a universal early education and care program in Massachusetts. He did this in concert with child care providers, early educators, and business leaders who have identified that child care and early education programs enable parents to remain in the workforce while establishing a foundation for lifelong learning, success, and well-being for our youngest residents.

See on LinkedInarrow-go
Kristen Riley headshot image
Kristen Riley

Diversity and Inclusion Director, 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 led…Read more
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 led her to be very successful as a veteran executive who has built diverse teams, achieved breakthrough results and creatively approached business in a way that increases revenue and profits while decreasing expenditures. Kristen is most proud of being selected as one of the industry’s Top women in Grocery, twice, through Progressive Grocer! Most recently, Kristen was selected as one of Boston’s Ten Outstanding Young Leaders by Boston’s Chamber of Commerce. Also, Kristen was the chair of the development committee for the Board of Directors at Florence Crittenton in Charlotte, NC.

For the past 3 years, Kristen was the Director of Operations over the greater Boston area at Stop and Shop. She led the most challenging stores in the company where she was able to make significant improvements with culture, people, customers, and overall results. Kristen is very passionate about building talented and diverse teams that play to win! With this, she has recently been promoted to the role of Director of D&I within Stop and Shop where she has been charged to lead this dynamic work of bringing an even more inclusive and diverse workplace to the business.

Kristen holds a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. She attended Winston-Salem State University (A proud HBCU alum) and quickly realized there, that she had a passion for leadership in business. Kristen also is the proud author of a self-help book titled, “From Journey Not Arrival”. Outside of being a leader in business, Kristen is a loving Wife of almost 8 years to her husband Derrick and Mother to her son (Chandler, 6 years old) and her daughter (Aubrey, 4 years old.)

Kristen enjoys every moment she gets to spend with her family and loves spending time developing her spiritual life, traveling, mentoring women, reading and learning all there is to know about life.

See on LinkedInarrow-go
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez

Member of the Boston Public School Committee and Chief Strategy Advisor, Mrs. Wordsmith

Brandon Cardet-Hernandez is a first-generation Cuban American. He has spent his career fighting to advance equity and access for our most vulnerable young people….Read more
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez is a first-generation Cuban American. He has spent his career fighting to advance equity and access for our most vulnerable young people. A life-long educator, Brandon has worked as a community organizer, college and career counselor, and special education teacher. Previously, he served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the New York City Department of Education, guiding strategy for the city’s most struggling schools. And, as a public school principal, Brandon led the Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters (BAL) through a dramatic turnaround. Under his leadership, the school held the highest graduation rate for an unscreened school in the district, far exceeded the city-wide average. Additionally, he grew college readiness by double digits, bolstered teacher retention, and reimagined learning through a justice-focused lens. Empowered and supported, his students would go on to develop now-nationwide organizations advocating for school integration and sports equity.

More recently, Brandon served as the Executive Director of Ivy Street – serving public school students and recent graduates with diverse neurocognitive and neurodevelopmental profiles. During his tenure, he increased revenue, designed and developed two new divisions, and lead the organization through the creation and launch of the organization’s strategic plan.

Prior to that, Brandon served as the Senior Education Advisor to Mayor Bill DeBlasio. A trusted partner, Brandon played a strategic role in realizing the Mayor’s signature Equity and Excellence agenda. He supported the strategy and execution of the nation’s largest expansion of early childhood education. In addition, he supported in labor negotiations, helping design and launch the Bronx Plan– NYC’s first salary differential for educators in persistently hard-to-staff communities. Through a restructured discipline code, an expansion of crisis supports, a city-wide development of Restorative Justice, and the launch of a system-wide Social-Emotional Learning curriculum, Brandon helped reshape school climate through a 30M programmatic initiative aimed at addressing the disproportionate impact of school discipline on young people of color and students with special needs. In his role as Senior Education Advisor, Brandon also supported the education departments 32B operating budget, advised on all communication and campaign efforts, and took the lead in strategic education-focused partnerships. Finally, in one of NY’s most challenging moments, Brandon played a central and critical role in executing NYC’s immediate and sustained strategy and response throughout COVID19.

Brandon is currently Chief Strategy Officer at Mrs. Wordsmith – an award-winning literacy company that creates print resources and video games that, through the science of reading, aims to narrow the widening reading and opportunity gaps in literacy.

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. He was honored in the Banana Republic 2022 Pride Campaign. He is currently a Mayoral appointee by Mayor Michelle Wu on the Boston School Committee and was recently appointed by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy to the Council for Latino Empowerment. He is on the board of EdVestors and resides in Boston with his husband, Ariel, and their son, Cielo.

See on LinkedInarrow-go
Katrina Kincade

News Reporter, WBZ/CBS Boston

Katrina Kincade an Emmy-nominated reporter at WBZ/CBS Boston with a passion for community, diversity and equality stories. She previously worked at 22News in Springfield….Read more
Katrina Kincade an Emmy-nominated reporter at WBZ/CBS Boston with a passion for community, diversity and equality stories. She previously worked at 22News in Springfield. Katrina graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism with a minor in sociology. She’s won awards from the National Capitol Emmys and Massachusetts Broadcasters Association for her reporting. She was Miss Massachusetts 2022 and upon winning became the first Muslim woman to win the title. She placed in the Top 3 scholarship fundraisers at Miss America. In her free time you can find her volunteering at various organizations including Special Olympics for the past 16 years.

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Agenda

  • 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Registration, Light Reception, and Activities

    Attendees will be greeted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce staff with attendee nametags at registration. You will then be invited to grab some food and beverage while exploring resource tables hosted by various companies.

  • 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Welcome & Panel Discussion

    Enjoy some light bites with an interesting conversation from our panelists: Representative Adrian Madaro, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery for the City of Boston, Kristen Riley, Director of Operations | Diversity and Inclusion Director at Stop & Shop, and Brandon Cadet-Hernandez, Chief Strategy Advisor, Mrs. Wordsmith, and Member for the Boston Public School Committee.

    If time allows, audience members will have a chance to ask any questions to the panelists.

  • 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Networking

    During this portion of the night, attendees will have the opportunitity to meet other attendees and create some lasting connections!

FAQs

  • How do I get there?

    Public Transportation:
    TD Garden is connected to North Station giving you access to the Orange and Green Lines, as well as the Commuter Rail.

    Parking:
    Please note that there is limited street parking available. Several public parking lots are available in the area, with the closest being North Station Garage, located at 121 Nashua St.

  • Is this event handicap accessible?

    TD Garden and the 1928 Club are both handicap accessible. If you are in need of accommodations, please email our team at [email protected].

  • What do I wear?

    Please come dressed for your day!

  • COVID-19 POLICY

    The Department of Health and Human Services lifted the Presidential Declaration of a National Public Health Emergency arising from the COVID-19 pandemic on May 11, 2023. Therefore, COVID-19 will no longer be considered a national health emergency. The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce will continue to monitor trends and act accordingly based on Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance.

    Your health and safety remain our top priority while attending programs, events, and meetings. COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters are strongly recommended. The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce still follows exposure guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

    If you feel ill or learn of an exposure before an event or meeting, whether with COVID-19 symptoms or others, please stay home and contact your healthcare provider.

    *Please note -If the venue or host of the program has additional policies or protocols, we will adhere to them and notify attendees in advance.

Sponsor

Presenting

Barr Foundation logo

Platinum

TD Bank Logo

TD Garden – 1928 Club

100 Legends Way, Boston, MA, 02114

Get Directions

All cancellations must be received at least three (3) business days prior to the event to avoid being charged or to receive a refund.

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce encourages persons with disabilities to participate, and engage fully, in its programs and events.

If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation, including but not limited to, listening devices, closed captioning, large print, wheelchair access, allergies and environmental sensitivities, or if you have any questions about the venue, event format, or virtual platform, please contact us.

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