Honoring the Life and Legacy of Kitty Dukakis

Registration Link

The event will be livestreamed! Tune in here:

Schedule

Lunch and Keynote Speaker – 12:00-1:15pm

Guests arrive and get food (12:00-12:20pm)

Opening Remarks by Distinguished Guests (12:20-12:30pm)

  • Hosts Alicia Modestino and Ted Landsmark open and introduce distinguished guests
  • Dukakis Family Member: TBD – John, Andrea and/or Kara Dukakis
  • Policy School Director: Maria Ivanova
  • Northeastern University Provost: Beth Winkelstein [confirmed]

Keynote Speech (12:30-12:40pm)

Mayor Wu, Boston Mayor [Request in queue]

Maura Healey, MA Governor [Request in queue]

Fireside Chat (12:40-12:50pm)

Alicia, Ted, Dukakis Family member, keynote speaker

Award Presentation (12:50-1:00pm)

Alicia and Ted to Keynote Speaker

Break (1:00-1:15pm)

Panel 1: Addressing Housing Insecurity and Affordability – 1:15-2:15pm

Panel 2: Destigmatizing Mental Health and Substance Use  – 2:15-3:15pm

Coffee Break 3:15—3:30pm

Panel 4: Preserving Community through the Arts  – 4:30-5:30pm

Dukakis Scholarship Presentation (5:30-5:35pm)

Massachusetts Historical Society to student winner

Closing Remarks and Reflections: 5:35-5:45pm

Ted Landsmark and Alicia Modestino

Member of Dukakis Family

Ted’s Retirement and Birthday Celebration Reception: 5:45-6:30pm

            Surprise guest?!?

Panel 1: Addressing Housing Insecurity and Affordability – 1:15-2:15pm

Moderator

Alicia Modestino, Director, Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy [Confirmed]

Panelists

  • NU Researcher: Patrice Williams, Assistant Research Professor of Participatory Action Research and Provost Impact Fellow;
  • Dr. Williams is a member of the Healthy Neighborhoods Research Consortium, which leads the Healthy Neighborhoods Study (HNS) – a 7-year multidisciplinary, multi-site participatory action research project focused on neighborhood change in 9 low-income, racially/ethnically diverse communities in metropolitan Boston. Her work focuses on understanding the systems of benefit and harm influencing real estate development at the neighborhood level which have constrained inventory such that housing production has not kept up with demand, causing prices to skyrocket. Alongside a group of resident researchers, she helped develop two interactive data tools that(1) will allow neighborhoods to look up corporate ownership of properties within their neighborhoods as well as the eviction history of corporate-owned property, and (2) enable residents to look up different types of subsidized housing available in its neighborhoods and the disparity between what is deemed affordable for residents and the housing options that meet their needs.. https://news.northeastern.edu/2024/08/20/housing-disparities-research/
  • Patrice’s Community member: Participant researcher, Healthy Neighborhoods Study
  • Government agency: Rachel Heller, CEO, Massachusetts Housing Partnership [Confirmed]
  • Private sector: Aisha Miller, Related Beal
  • Non-profit: Kimberly Lyle, Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation

Panel 2: Destigmatizing Mental Health and Substance Use  – 2:15-3:15pm

Moderator

Kim Lucas, Associate Director for Civic Research , Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy [Confirmed]

Panelists

Social/emotional difficulties among children 1-8 years are associated with future psychopathology and other impairments. However, only 25% in need receive services, with underrepresented minorities experiencing worse gaps. Family Partners (FP) are paraprofessionals and parents who raised children with health/mental health difficulties. Working with the Boston Public Health Commission, we will utilize user-centered, participatory design approaches to develop smartphone technology to enhance and personalize care coordination and family support provided in a model we previously evaluated pairing FPs with mental health clinicians. Development of innovative technological tools has potential to decrease gaps in screening, referrals, and services and to promote sustainability.

Coffee Break 3:15—3:30pm

Panel 3: Building Resilient Urban Neighborhoods– 3:30-4:30pm

      Moderator

      Joan Fitzgerald, Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

      [Confirmed]

      Panelists

Refuge: Community-Guided Design Guidelines for Extreme Heat and Green Space Inequity in Chelsea, MA: Extreme heat widens spatial and health inequities as the brunt of heat islands, flooding, and air pollution fall on low-income neighborhoods and communities of color which often also lack parks and urban tree canopy that can mitigate these environmental effects. Prioritizing public space improvements that provide shade and cooling in the summers and opportunities for year-round activities should be prioritized as a key civic infrastructure. This project, , based in Chelsea, MA, with GreenRoots as a partner, seeks to advance best practices for public space, shade, and cooling as a civic resource and means towards climate justice.

  • Community member: Bianca Bowman, Climate Justice Coordinator, GreenRoots (Sara’s partner)
  • Government agency: Christopher Osgood, Director of the Office of Climate Resilience, City of Boston {Confirmed]
  • Private sector: Jen Lawrence, Sasaki (Kim knows her)
  • Non-profit: Ed Gaskin, Executive Director of Greater Grove Hall Main Streets

Panel 4: Preserving Community through the Arts  – 4:30-5:30pm

      Moderator

      Ted Landsmark, Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

      [Confirmed]

      Panelists

Cara has worked will work with Boston teens and Brooklyn participants to analyze the mapping process and develop a youth participatory mapping toolkit. These community-based collaborations offer mechanisms for policymakers and urban designers to interpret artistic output as data that can inform culturally sensitive planning decisions.

  • Community member: One of Cara’s Student participants?
  • Government agency: Kairos Shen, Chief of Planning, City of Boston
  • Non-Profit: Kate Gilbert, Boston Art Triennial
  • Museum: Anne Hawley, former Director of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum