The Future with the Leadership Brainery Founders

As the United States begins its next 250 years, these are the stories that will shape the future. Join Leadership Brainery founders Jonathan Allen and Derrick Young Jr. for The Future: Shaped From the Past 250, an immersive live experience exploring the hidden history of Roxbury ties to the Underground Railroad and Emancipation Proclamation through the remarkable discoveries surrounding their historic home, Rose Cottage. Featuring a TED-style presentation, award-winning journalist Jeneé Osterheldt, acclaimed historian Leland Clarke, and a special violin and cello performance, the evening blends storytelling, journalism, history, and music into a powerful exploration of memory, emancipation, and hope. Together, we'll examine how the stories we uncover and preserve today can help shape America's next chapter. 

Free with Pre-Registration. Get tickets here!

Special Guests:

Jeneé Osterheldt is the Deputy Managing Editor for Culture, Talent, and Development and an award-winning culture columnist at The Boston Globe, where she explores identity, history, and social justice through the lens of culture and the arts. Her journalism centers Black lives, amplifies underrepresented voices, and invites audiences to see their communities—and one another—with greater depth, empathy, and humanity. She is the creator and host of A Beautiful Resistance, an acclaimed multimedia storytelling platform that celebrates Black joy while exploring the intersection of culture, identity, and justice. Through A Beautiful Resistance LIVE at the Museum of Science, Osterheldt brings journalists, artists, historians, and changemakers together for powerful conversations that challenge perspectives, inspire connection, and deepen our understanding of the world around us. An Emmy Award-winning journalist and recipient of the Online Journalism Award for Commentary, Osterheldt's work spans writing, film, live events, and public dialogue. A Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, she believes the stories we choose to tell—and whose voices we choose to elevate—shape how communities remember their past, understand their present, and imagine a more just future.

Leland Clarke is a Professor of the Practice in Musicology & Ethnomusicology at Boston University, an accomplished pianist, composer, educator, pastor, and one of Boston's foremost community historians. A lifelong Roxbury resident turned historian, Clarke has spent more than 25 years uncovering and preserving the neighborhood's rich cultural legacy through an extraordinary collection of nearly 1,800 photographs, artifacts, documents, and pieces of ephemera that illuminate the people, places, and events that helped shape America. His recent two-volume book, Something Worth Saving: Forgotten People, Places, and Events That Helped Shape America, invites readers to see Roxbury through a new lens—revealing stories of innovation, activism, faith, music, and community that have too often been overlooked. Sparked by the discovery of a family scrapbook after his father's passing, Clarke's decades-long research has transformed into a powerful public history project dedicated to ensuring these stories are preserved for future generations. His work explores the intersections of music, history, faith, education, and social justice. Through his teaching, writing, performances, and preservation efforts, Leland Clarke continues to inspire audiences to rediscover the hidden histories within their own communities—and to recognize that understanding where we come from is essential to imagining where we can go next.

Money isn’t just numbers — it’s a science. It’s emotional, personal, and deeply tied to our wellbeing and decision-making. 

This Black History Month, The Future with Leadership Brainery Founders explores financial wellbeing through the work of Stanley Rameau, a Black tech-founder building new approaches to how people understand their relationship with money — and the underlying experiences that shape financial behavior. Through his platform, Renavest, users are connected with financial therapists to unpack financial trauma, misinformation, stress, and burnout, while building the confidence and systems necessary for financial wellbeing. The conversation includes a brief live demo of the Renavest platform, highlighting one-on-one financial therapy as a tool for real, sustained change.

Join us for a special Hispanic Heritage Day edition of The Future with Leadership Brainery Founders at the Museum of Science. This live conversation will feature Angel Reyes and Isis Ortiz-Belton, two dynamic leaders reshaping how wealth, legacy, and leadership are defined. Together, they’ll explore how innovation in finance, education, and business can expand access and opportunity. Celebrate culture, resilience, and vision as we imagine the future of wealth and leadership for Hispanic and Latinx communities and beyond. 

Special Guests:

Isis Ortiz-Belton, MBA, MS
Vice President, Commercial Banking, Eastern Bank

Isis Ortiz-Belton is a seasoned financial services and banking professional with more than 16 years of experience in credit risk, corporate finance, and underwriting. She currently serves as Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Eastern Bank, where she manages a diverse portfolio of commercial banking relationships, including middle market and security alarm companies. Prior to joining Eastern, Isis held credit roles at Citizens Bank, Santander Bank, and John Hancock Financial Services.

Angel Reyes, MBA
Private Client Financial Advisor, Citizens Bank 

As a first-generation Cuban American, Angel has experienced firsthand how perseverance and vision can transform lives. His journey began in the nonprofit sector, driven by a passion to uplift underserved communities. Along the way, he earned a degree in Psychology, an MBA, and competed as a four-year collegiate athlete—experiences that instilled resilience, discipline, and the importance of leading with heart.

Get ready for a powerful Pride Month edition of The Future with Leadership Brainery Founders at the Museum of Science, Boston. This special conversation will unpack the findings from the newly released 2025 report, LGBTQ+ People in Massachusetts, a groundbreaking collaboration between The Boston Foundation and Fenway Health.

Despite Massachusetts' reputation as a national leader in LGBTQ+ rights, data continues to reveal stark disparities in health outcomes, economic stability, housing, and safety—especially for transgender people, LGBTQ+ youth, and communities of color. This discussion will explore how we can translate data into action, transform systems, and create a more equitable Commonwealth — for the future and beyond.

Special Guests:

M. Scott Knox, MPA
Executive Director, The Equality Fund at The Boston Foundation
Scott brings decades of experience in philanthropy, nonprofit leadership, and community advocacy. As Executive Director of The Equality Fund, he oversees efforts to invest in grassroots and systems-level solutions that advance equity for LGBTQ+ people across Massachusetts. His work is rooted in elevating intersectional approaches to funding and social change.

Dr. Will Giordano-Perez, MD, MBA
Chief Medical Officer, Fenway Health
A leading voice in LGBTQ+ healthcare innovation, Dr. Giordano-Perez serves as Chief Medical Officer at Fenway Health—one of the nation's most respected providers of affirming care for LGBTQIA+ communities. His work focuses on reducing disparities in access and outcomes through inclusive care models, culturally responsive systems, and community-led health interventions.

Education is evolving rapidly — so what does the future hold? Join the Leadership Brainery Founders and special guests for a high-energy, interactive conversation exploring how innovation and inclusion are reshaping the education landscape.

We’ll dive into:

• The impact of AI and technology on learning and access
• The state of education, from cradle to career
• Policy changes shaping the future of higher ed and what we can do to drive access

This episode isn’t just about where education is going — it’s about how we can shape it. Whether you're a student, educator, policymaker, business leader or advocate, this discussion will leave you inspired, informed, and ready to take action.

Dr. Lynn Perry Wooten is a transformational leader and expert in organizational development, serving as the ninth president of Simmons University. With a focus on crisis leadership, diversity, and positive organizational behavior, she has spent her career driving innovation in higher education. Previously the dean at Cornell’s Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. She has also held leadership roles at the University of Michigan and the University of Florida. A prolific author, her work includes Arrive and Thrive and The Prepared Leader, shaping how leaders navigate change. She actively contributes to civic and business communities, serving on multiple boards. Dr. Wooten holds degrees from North Carolina A&T, Duke, and the University of Michigan and is committed to building a future of inclusive and effective leadership.