2024 Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients
Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients
Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH
Former Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dr. Rochelle Walensky served as the 19th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021-23), Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School (2012-2021), and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital (2017-2021). Dr. Walensky is an infectious disease clinician whose research career is guided by a belief that the clinical and economic outcomes of medical decisions can be improved through the explicit articulation of choices, the systematic assembly of evidence, and the careful assessment of comparative costs and benefits. She has focused these beliefs on mathematical model-based research toward the promotion of global access to HIV prevention, screening, and care. Her ground-breaking work and over 300 research publications have motivated changes to US HIV testing and immigration policy; promoted expanded funding for HIV-related research, treatment, and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPfAR); and led to policy revisions toward aggressive HIV screening—especially for the underserved—and earlier treatment in resource-limited international settings. In light of these contributions, Dr. Walensky has been an active member of policy discussions at the WHO, UNAIDS, the DHHS HIV Guidelines Committee, and the NIH Office of AIDS Research. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Council on Foreign Relations.
Dr. Walensky served on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts until beginning her tenure at the CDC on January 20th, 2021. While at the CDC, Dr. Walensky led the nation—and the world—through unprecedented times, navigating the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and further facing the largest density of diverse infectious threats likely ever seen in this country. During her tenure, she participated in nearly 100 press conferences and countless media appearances, and provided testimony at 17 Congressional hearings.
Dr. Walensky received her BA (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1991) from Washington University in St. Louis; her MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (1995) and her MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health (Clinical Effectiveness, 2001). She completed her Internal Medicine residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital (1995-1998) and her Infectious Disease fellowship at the Massachusetts General/Brigham and Women’s Hospital combined program (1998-2001). She is married to Loren Walensky, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist and pediatric oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children’s Hospital. The Doctors Walensky have 3 sons ages 20, 22, and 24.
Honorary Degree Recipient
Lester Baker
Police Chief, Framingham Police Department
Chief Baker is a hands-on public safety administrator who utilizes a strategic and focused approach to developing creative solutions to community challenges. He is a hard-working law enforcement professional with a strong focus on equity, transparency, and accountability, and an emphasis on evidence-based policing and crime prevention.
Sworn in as Framingham Police Chief in 2020, Baker first joined the department in 2003 after seven years with the Lexington, MA, Police Department. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2008, Lieutenant in 2014, and Deputy Chief in 2018.
Baker’s managerial and leadership style has helped to foster a variety of Framingham Police Department’s community engagement efforts, including regular neighborhood meetings and the Jail Diversion Program (JDP). An advocate of the program since its inception in 2003, the JDP pairs specially trained crisis clinicians with police officers in an effort to re-direct individuals committing non-violent offenses out of the criminal justice system and into more appropriate community-based behavioral health services.
In addition to his ongoing outreach efforts with community service organizations and community activists and leaders, Baker also volunteers for a number of youth programs. These include the Police Athletic League’s boxing and basketball programs, the Read-Along program with children at the local elementary schools, and Bigs in Blue, a one-to-one mentoring program that connects youth with police in area communities to help build strong and trusting relationships.
Baker’s work and volunteerism have garnered him a number of service recognitions, including MADD Greater Boston Officer of the Year, the Chief’s Service Award, Distinguished Service Award, Police Service Award, Meritorious Service Award, and other commendations. He holds certifications from the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Program, the Senior Management Institute for Police, and FBI LEEDS.
Baker earned a bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement from Western New England University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Framingham State University.
Josephine McNeil
Executive Director of CAN-DO, Citizens for Affordable Housing in Newton Development Organization, Inc.
Josephine McNeil’s experience in community-based nonprofit housing development spans three decades of commitment to local families. The Executive Director of Citizens for Affordable Housing in Newton Development Organization, Inc. (CAN-DO) was an organizing member of the nonprofit—serving as inaugural President of its Board of Directors until 1999 when she was appointed Executive Director. McNeil retired in 2017, returned as interim Executive Director in 2019, and was named permanent Executive Director in 2021.
Since 1994, CAN-DO has been mission-driven to create and manage affordable housing in the City of Newton. Under McNeil’s leadership, the nonprofit has developed 50 housing units (43 of which are deed-restricted, ensuring they remain affordable in perpetuity) aimed at serving a diverse array of residents including individuals with developmental disabilities; female heads of households who have experienced domestic violence; and formerly unhoused families including veterans. McNeil’s collaboration with various agencies has secured essential services for residents, among them the skills needed to achieve financial self-sufficiency.
McNeil’s commitment to and passion for issues impacting housing stability for income-eligible families permeates myriad arenas. As a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, McNeil sits on the Civil Rights and Social Justice Council; as a member of the American Bar Association, she acts as Special Advisor to the Commission on Homelessness and Poverty.
As Co-Chair of Uniting Citizens for Housing Affordability in Newton (U-CHAN), McNeil has been instrumental in educating community members about the need for housing options across income ranges. Her advocacy efforts extend to Newton Wellesley Hospital where she sits on the Board of Governors and serves on the Community Benefits Committee.
As a member of Advisory Boards to the City of Newton, including the Fair Housing Committee and the Newton Housing Partnership, McNeil routinely assesses housing projects and reviews credibility to ensure a percentage of units remain affordable. At the Mission and Social Commission of the Eliot Church, McNeil guides the distribution of resources to social justice organizations.
McNeil's commitment to the continued allocation of Community Development Block Grant funding for affordable housing and services for low-income individuals and families in Newton led to former mayor David Cohen inviting her to accompany him and the then Associate Director of Housing to Washington to testify before Congress in 2002.
Her service to the community at large has been recognized through awards from the Boston College Law School, City of Newton, Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, Charles River Chamber of Commerce, and the Eastern Bank Foundation. McNeil is a graduate of Vassar College and Boston College Law School.