About

Roy L. Austin, Jr. is vice president of Civil Rights and deputy general counsel at Meta.  He was previously a partner with the law firms of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP and McDermott Will & Emery where he primarily practiced criminal defense, civil, and civil rights litigation.  He has also served as a prosecutor with the Civil Rights Division and the DC US Attorney’s Office of the US Justice Department and as the White House Domestic Policy Council’s deputy assistant to President Obama for the Office of Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity. 

Dr. Harry Dumay is president of the College of Our Lady of the Elms.  He has consulted on projects related to international higher education and economic development. Dr. Dumay is a Board member for the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC). He is a past Commissioner and Treasurer for the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE) and a member of NECHE’s Annual Report on Finance and Enrollment committee. Dr. Dumay also serves as a Board member, Treasurer, and Member of the Executive Committee for the Association of Colleges of St. Joseph. He serves on several other boards including Endicott College, the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, the Pope Francis Preparatory School, Build Health International, Health Equity International, and the Haiti Development Institute at the Boston Foundation. From 2004-2006, Dr. Dumay served as associate dean for Finance, Research and Administration at Boston College.

Lise Leist is a diversity consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the professional training and coaching industry. Her expertise is in Nonprofit Organizations, Strategic Planning, Public Speaking, Management, and Program Development.  She has been cultivating intercultural dialogue in educational and faith-based communities since 2016.  She earned an associate’s degree from Pine Manor College in 1973 and a bachelor’s degree from Manhattanville College.  She also received a Diversity Management Certification from Cornell University.  

Brien O’Brien, Chairman and CEO of Port Capital LLC. As CEO, he is responsible for the overall management and strategy of the firm. Prior to establishing Port Capital in 2015, Brien co-founded and spent 25 years as Chairman and CEO of a $12.5 billion investment management firm based in Chicago and invested across global markets. Brien graduated with honors from Boston College with a B.S. in Finance and Theology. He is the Chair of the Board of the University of Chicago Medical Center. Brien is also a member of the Executive Committee of the University of Chicago and serves as a Trustee.  Brien is also a member of the National Park Foundation. Brien O’Brien is the chairman and CEO of Port Capital, a nationally recognized investment firm.  He previously served as chairman and CEO of investment firm Advisory Research, Inc., from 1996-2014. Brien is the chair of the board of the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Lee Pelton is the president and chief executive officer of the Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s leading philanthropic organizations, with $1.6 billion in assets.  He joined the Foundation in June 2021, from Emerson College, where he had served as president since 2011.  Prior to Emerson, he served as president of Willamatte University from 1998-2011.  Dr. Pelton began his professional academic career at Harvard University.  After Harvard, he served as dean of the college at Colgate University and Dartmouth College.  Dr. Pelton is the chair of the Boston Racial Equity Fund; he was appointed to this position by then-Mayor Marty Walsh in 2020.  He is a trustee of WGBH and the Barr Foundation.  He is also chair emeritus of the Boston Arts Academy Foundation, and is a former trustee of Facing History and Ourselves and the Black Economic Council of MA.  Dr. Pelton has received numerous honors in recognition of his civic leadership. In 2020, he was inducted into the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Academy of Distinguished Bostonians, received the Eos Foundation Racial Justice Award, and was chosen by then Governor Charlie Baker to receive the Massachusetts Governor’s Award in the Humanities.  In 2021, he received The Living Legends Award from the Massachusetts Museum of African American History, and the Robert Coard Distinguished Leadership Medal from the Urban College of Boston. Dr. Pelton earned a BA from Wichita State University in 1974, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1984.  He has received honorary degrees from the Urban College of Boston, Wichita State University, and Tokyo International University. 

Arivee Vargas Biography

Arivee is a lawyer, podcast host, women’s certified executive coach, speaker, and mother of three.  She’s the Founder of Humble Rising LLC, which aims to empower women professionals to realize their innate worth and harness their power to design a life and career unapologetically on their own terms.  Arivee coaches women, and first-generation and women of color professionals in particular, at personal and professional inflection points get clear and confident about the direction they’re headed in and why, so they can experience more personal alignment, fulfillment and joy in their lives. Her book entitled Your Time to Rise: Unlearn Limiting Beliefs, Unlock Your Power and Unleash Your Truest Self will be released in January 2025.

Arivee is also the host of the Humble Rising Podcast, aiming to help women of color navigate our personal and professional lives by interviewing experts and inspirational women who share their stories and provide actionable strategies listeners can apply in their own lives. Arivee offers her own life and career coaching tips and strategies, including how she has navigated and has helped others through career and life transitions, placing self-care and wellbeing as a top priority, being a first-generation Latina, and juggling work and family. 

Previously, Arivee was a litigator at two global law firms including the worlds’ largest law firm. She served as a law clerk at the federal district court for the first African-American woman federal judge in Massachusetts and for the first African-American woman judge on the First Circuit. Arivee also taught Business Law at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management as a lecturer for three years.

After practicing at a law firm, Arivee held several roles at a fast-paced, mission-driven biotech in Boston. She served as in-house counsel and the global head of the anti-bribery and anti-corruption program, among other roles in the Legal and Compliance department. Arivee later joined Human Resources, becoming the global head of employee relations. She then led senior leader development, executive coaching, and other initiatives focused on accelerating the growth of current and emerging senior leaders.

Arivee is passionate about serving her community. At Boston College, she serves as the Vice Chair of the AHANA (African-American, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian, Native American) Alumni Advisory Council, Vice President of the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, and serves on the Women’s Council, and the Board of Regents. She also serves on Boston College’s Forum on Racial Justice in America. Arivee is a member of the Board of Trustees of Boston Preparatory Charter Public School, serving on the Governance Committee.

Arivee has been named a top coach in Boston for the past three years and has been featured in Boston College Magazine, Hispanic Executive Magazine, the Boston Business Journal, Forbes, and Success Magazine. She is the recipient of multiple awards and recognitions, including being honored as one of Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 (2020) and a Latina leader in Hispanic Executive magazine (2019). 

Other select awards include the following: Excellence in the Law, Up & Coming Lawyer Honoree by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2013); Boston College John A. Dinneen, S.J. Hispanic Alumni Community Service Award (2014); Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Star (2015); Philip J. Callan, Sr., Young Alumni Award, one of Boston College’s Distinguished Alumni Volunteer awards (2017); Boston College’s 40 under 40 Young Alumni Leaders (2017); and Boston College Law School’s Recent Graduate Award (2018). 

Geoffrey Why is partner at Verrill Dana, a northeastern law firm with over 120 lawyers. Mr. Why started with the firm in 2016 as counsel. His practice focuses on Telecommunications and Energy. Prior to Verrill, Mr. Why was a partner at Mintz Levin.

Mr. Why has served in many roles for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts including as the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable from 2009 to 2014. He began working at the department as a general counsel. Mr. Why also served as an assistant attorney general and an assistant district attorney. Mr. Why was recognized in Chambers USA, “America's Leading Lawyers for Business under Telecom, Broadcast & Satellite.” He also received the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts’ Community Service Award in 2016, The New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners’ Outstanding Service Award in 2014, and The Edward J. McCormack Jr. Award for Excellence in 2006.