Black History Month Celebration

Thato R. Mwosa is an award-winning illustrator, screenwriter, playwright, and filmmaker whose work has been broadcast nationally and internationally. Her debut feature film, Memoirs of a Black Girl, earned multiple accolades, including Best Feature Film at the Hamilton Black Film Festival and the Roxbury International Film Festival, and she won Best Feature Director at the Hamilton Film Festival. A finalist for the Mass Cultural Art Fellowship in Dramatic Writing, her latest script, Rati, was a finalist for the Stowe Narrative Lab in Vermont and The Writer's Lab NYC. Thato’s artistry spans multiple mediums, with her illustrations showcased in galleries and her African trivia game, SAWA Trivia, used by schools and universities. She is also the author of 14 African Women Who Made History and serves as an Assistant Professor at Emerson College, where she teaches screenwriting.

Kris Dorsey is an associate professor in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation Sciences and a core faculty member at the Institute for Experiential Robotics at Northeastern University. Previously, Dorsey was a faculty member in the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, and an MLK Visiting Associate Professor at the Media Lab at MIT.

Dorsey graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and earned her Bachelors of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Olin College. Dorsey’s current research interests include reconfigurable, novel morphology, and active soft sensors and the design of soft sensors for soft robot actuators and wearable medical and rehabilitation devices. Dorsey’s work has been recognized by an NSF CAREER award and the Emerging Leader ABIE Award in honor of Denice Denton.

Dr. Renée Richardson Gosline is a Research Scientist and Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan, and head of the Human-First AI group at MIT's Initiative on The Digital Economy. She is an expert on the intersection between behavioral science and technology, and the implications of AI for human decision-making. Renée is an award-winning professor and has been named a Digital Fellow at Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab, to the Thinkers50 Radar List of thinkers who are “putting a dent in the universe,” one of the World’s Top 40 Professors under 40 by Poets and Quants, a 2024 NSBE Inspire STEM honoree, and recognized in 2024 by Inc. Magazine as “one of the brightest minds in AI.” Renée has delivered keynotes on 6 continents and presented her research to the White House, the OECD, and at SXSW. She received her Undergraduate, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees at Harvard University.

Madam President(s): Black History is not just a reflection of the past; it is a celebration of the strides Black leaders are making today to shape The Future. This inaugural episode of The Future shines a spotlight on two groundbreaking trailblazers in STEM—Dr. LaShyra Nolen, the first Black woman Student Council President at Harvard Medical School, and Danielle Geathers, the first Black woman Student Body President at MIT. Their achievements in 2020 marked a historic moment at two of the world’s most prestigious institutions. 

Join us as we delve into their inspiring journeys: their history-making victories, the challenges they overcame as leaders, and their visions for the future of Black leadership in STEM. Together, we will kick off the first day of Black History Month exploring how their legacies are paving the way for generations to come.

Dr. Anderson’s diverse experience across the healthcare industry has made him a regular speaker in the classroom, at conferences, and in the media on the intersection between healthcare, wellness, and technology, where he often shares his unique perspectives from his career journey which began as a freshman at Princeton University at the age of 15. Dr. Anderson received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, an MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and an MBA from Questrom School of Business. Dr. Anderson currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, the Board of Overseers, at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Board of Directors at The Boston Foundation, an External Advisory Board Member at the Harvard Catalyst, and as a Trustee at the Berklee College of Music.

Boston’s Stax is a force carving space for voices once erased. On stage and behind the scenes, Stax stands at the intersection of her ancestors’ dreams and a reality that calls her to disrupt.

Zili Misk, founded in 2000, bridges cultures, generations, continents & people! With captivating sounds that evoke the African continent, Zili retraces routes of forced exile and cultural resistance through diasporic rhythm and song.

The Haus of Glitter Dance Company (based in Providence, RI) works, through movement and choreography, to shift the energetic center of the universe towards Queer Feminist BIPOC Liberation. In the work we share and co-create with audiences, we strive to embody ancestral liberation, healing and love in every step and every breath of our creative process and pedagogy. Our choreography aims to reach beyond the stage and into the streets; into our homes; into our institutions; into our hearts.

Good Vibes and Good Music. One Love. The Conscious Band performs classic reggae and reggae-influenced pop covers with four to seven pieces. Featuring Boston’s renown vocalist, Eroll Strength, the Conscious Band has had a standing engagement every Friday night in South Boston’s Shenanigan’s for the past 12 years.

Founded in 1981, the Floor Lords have inspired communities worldwide through workshops, performances, and events. With 40+ years of impact, they continue empowering youth and championing hip-hop culture from their Harvard Square studio.

We are dedicated to inspiring, motivating, and building the next generation of STEM leaders by supporting students’ fundamental learning in math.

Black Tech Pipeline is a job board, newsletter, and recruitment platform connecting Black technologists with career opportunities and helping companies hire Black tech talent.

The American Cancer Society works to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer.

The late Marion Stubbs Thomas founded Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated, on January 24, 1938, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Twenty mothers came together to discuss creating an organization to provide social, cultural and educational opportunities for youth between the ages of 2 and 19. In 1946, 10 chapters were involved in the national restructuring process. The constitution and bylaws were drawn up, and the organization was incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware. Today, Jack and Jill boasts 262 chapters nationwide, representing more than 50,000 family members.

NSBE Boston is honored to join MOS to honor Black History Month and demonstrate the presence of Black STEM and STEAM professionals.

Boston Young Black Professionals (YBP), a 501(c)3 charity organization, was founded in August 2012 with the intent of bringing together young, black professionals for networking, fellowship, and community-building.

The mission of the National Center for Race Amity (NCRA) is to cultivate race amity as the key tool as well as the end goal in advancing access, equity, social justice and unity. NCRA develops forums, workshops, service projects, films and other initiatives to advance cross-racial and cross-cultural friendship.

The Harvard Laboratory for Developmental Studies is a group of researchers studying how infants and children think and learn about people, the world around them, and language as they grow up.

The mission of the American Association of Blacks in Energy Greater Boston Chapter is to cultivate and sustain our New England communities in the pursuit of an equitable energy future for Blacks through Workforce Development, Education, Public Policy, and Community.

Graduate students in the Anatomy & Neurobiology department at BU want to help you get to know your BUtiful brain.

HSBSE is dedicated to the support and uplifting of Black students and youth pursuing or interested in careers in STEM, seeking to promote Black scholastic achievement, both at Harvard and in the broader Boston community.

YPP uses Math Literacy Work to develop the abilities of elementary through high school students to succeed in school and in life, and in doing so involves them in efforts to eliminate institutional obstacles to their success.

We will be engaging visitors with 3 simple science experiments that demonstrate the drug manufacturing process.

Takeda's employee resource group dedicated to advancing Takeda’s impact on Patients, People and our Planet, by promoting and fostering allyship, equity and fair representation for employees of African Ancestry at all levels of the organization.