Mass Humanities is thrilled to welcome seven exceptional community leaders to its board of directors.
“Our incoming board members bring new energy, new ideas and new connections,” said Aaron Vega, who was elected board chair at the September meeting. “Our new board members also represent a very diverse range of age, ethnicity, backgrounds and geographical locations across the Commonwealth. As the new chair for Mass Humanities I am thankful and proud to have worked with our outgoing board members and equally excited to work with our new board members joining us.”
Board members serve three-year terms, renewable for one term. This latest group joined Mass Humanities at the foundation’s September board meeting.
Muhammad Burhan is an award-winning multimedia artivist, innovation expert, and community organizer. Known for being the youngest in leadership rooms, they bring over a decade of experience in sustainability, tech justice, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Overcoming a low-income upbringing as a queer person in Pakistan, they emerged in the U.S. as a teenage scholar and social entrepreneur, helping their college become carbon-neutral and pioneering initiatives that intersect technology, race, caste, class, immigration, climate, and gender globally. Burhan’s contributions include advancing economic opportunities for marginalized communities and leading climate projects with lasting impact. They have held leadership roles in nonprofits and community organizations, aiding over 100 grassroots movements and institutions, including Out in Tech, Harvard, and the United Nations. Most recently, they accelerated startups in East Africa and Asia, empowering underrepresented founders to address climate and healthcare technology issues. Their art is a tool for social change, with over 150 digital works blending art, culture, and activism, gaining 72 million social media impressions. Currently, Burhan is building Intersectional Innovation and Inclusion (III) in Massachusetts, a venture dedicated to decolonizing innovation and expanding access.
Deena Caswell has served as the director of Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield, MA, since 2020. Her librarianship is centered around civic engagement and serving underrepresented populations. She has been project director of several grants administered by NJ Humanities and Mass Humanities in support of initiatives like One Book, One Cherry Hill, and the Smithsonian traveling exhibit Crossroads: Change in Rural America. Originally from the Philadelphia area, she holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Smith College and a master of science in library and information science from Drexel University. Deena has previously worked in event planning and administration for the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Executive Education and the School of Social Policy and Practice. She also served as the inaugural outreach librarian and then supervisor of outreach and diversity for Cherry Hill Public Library in Cherry Hill, NJ. In 2016, she was named a “Rising Star” by the New Jersey Library Association.
Michael Chambers II is a visionary and innovative cultural leader with a 15 + year track record of incubating, developing, and executing high-quality programming, championing racial equity and inclusion, cultivating fruitful partnerships, donors, and deepening community engagement. Chambers has led transformations of cultural organizations by introducing new audiences, diversifying grantees, developing impactful boards, and ushering inclusionary programmatic practices at the local, state, and national levels. His clients and former employers include the National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Alabama Humanities Foundation, Howard University, National Women’s Law Center, and others. He is currently associate director of special projects at Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research and managing principal of Humanities in Public, a cultural program management consultancy. Chambers is an alum of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
CJ Crowder is the director of tutor acquisition at Ignite Reading, leading the design and implementation of strategies that have significantly increased the number of high-quality online tutors, thereby improving the learning experience for students nationwide. With over 20 years of experience in education, Crowder has developed expertise in learning and teaching, staff development, adult education, and leadership development. Prior to joining Ignite Reading, Crowder was the regional director at Catapult Learning, where Crowder was instrumental in providing academic and professional services to schools and districts in the Northeast region. Crowder also served as the managing director of alumni leadership development at Teach For America, supporting and empowering a network of over 250 alumni educators and leaders. Crowder holds a master’s in education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and a bachelor of arts from Syracuse University.
Dr. Leo Hwang is currently the Associate Dean of Inclusive Excellence and the Assistant Academic Dean for the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Hwang is particularly interested in using participatory action research and asset based community development as a model for enhancing how we engage in diversity, equity, and inclusion work. He earned his doctorate at the University of Massachusetts in Geosciences with a focus on utilizing participatory action research to better understand the diverse community economies of artists and artisans in Franklin County; a master’s of fine arts in fiction writing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; and his bachelor of arts in English and Fine Arts from the University of the South. His work has appeared in The Handbook of Diverse Economies, Human Being & Literature, The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Travel and Tourism, Route Nine, Rethinking Marxism, Solidarity Economy I: Building Alternatives for People and Planet, Meat for Tea, The Massachusetts Review, Glimmer Train Stories, Rivendell, Fiction, Gulf Coast and other journals and publications. He has taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Mount Holyoke College; Greenfield Community College; and Westfield State University and served as the Dean of Humanities and then the Dean of Humanities, Engineering, Math, and Science at Greenfield Community College for over 16 years.
Christopher E. Goode is a seasoned public policy professional with more than 30 years of leadership experience in global, Federal, state and local public policy and philanthropy. Goode recently served as senior director of government affairs at Indigo Ag, a biotech agriculture start-up in Boston and Memphis that is dedicated to helping farmers sustainably feed the planet. Previously, Goode was SVP & Chief Public Affairs Officer at EMC Corporation, the global leader in information technology. Goode was responsible for managing the interests of EMC on various state, Federal and global public policy issues and strategic projects of importance to EMC’s competitiveness and growth. During his thirty years in the public policy field, Goode was the Director of Public Policy at the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, an organization of eighty of Massachusetts’ leading chief executives, where he led the Roundtable’s efforts on major issues ranging from education reform to transportation infrastructure improvement. Previously, Goode served as Director of State Relations at Boston University, where he led initiatives on real estate development, state scholarship aid, the Boston University/Chelsea Schools Partnership, and other issues. Some of Goode’s past Board experience include the Board of Directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation & Camp Harbor View, and two terms on the Board of Mass Development, appointed by Governor Romney & reappointed by Governor Patrick. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Goode graduated from the Boston Latin School and Holy Cross College, and lives in Hingham with his wife and three children.
Brittney Peauwe Wunnepog Walley, Nipmuc, is an interdisciplinary thinker, traditional weaver, and tribal activist. Brittney earned a master of science from the University of Massachusetts, Boston in the Critical Ethnic Community Studies program, with a concentration in historical archaeology. She earned a bachelor of arts in sociology with minors in philosophy and business management from Rhode Island College. Brittney’s weaving work has been featured in various museums in the Northeast and beyond (the Mead Museum at Amherst College, the Roger Williams Museum, the Mystic Seaport Museum, the concord Museum, and the Dover Street Market Place.) Weaving enables her to honor her ancestors while uplifting present and future generations. She hopes to continue teaching about, and sharing the beauty of, Northeastern Woodland art. Brittney’s work also encompasses cultural continuity, wellness through art, and illuminating histories that often go untold. She currently serves as the Chaubunagungamaug and Hassanamisco Nipmuc Anti-Mascot Representative and works out of the Institute for New England Native American Studies at UMass Boston and the Stolen Relations project at Brown University. She also advises at the Concord Museum with a focus on local Indigenous cultures and is a collaborator on The Boston Harbor Islands Archaeological Climate Action Plan. Brittney and her fiance have two tabby cats and a common shared interest in martial arts.
Welcoming new board officers
In addition to welcoming our new cohort of board members, we’re happy to announce new board officers:
- Chair Aaron Vega (Holyoke)
- Vice Chair Stephen Immerman (Salem)
- Treasurer Imari Paris Jeffries (Boston)
- Secretary Deborah Hall (Worcester)
We’re grateful to outgoing board members Yves Salomon-Fernández, Lennie Alickman, Paul Bosco, Candace Lee Heald, and Rajini Srikanth for their service and support of the foundation.
Our board is a dedicated and diverse team of individuals who are working to reinvigorate our democracy, champion new voices and make the humanities more accessible to all residents. If you know someone who shares our beliefs, feel free to nominate them.