VISIONS OF THE NEXT

3 - 7 PM, 23rd June 2026

3 - 7 PM, 23rd June 2026

GBH headquarters

GBH headquarters

GBH headquarters

GBH headquarters

GBH headquarters

GBH headquarters

GBH headquarters

GBH headquarters

GBH headquarters

GBH headquarters

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About

Why Here?
Why Now?

Massachusetts spent its first 250 years inventing the country. Independence started here. So did public education, the telephone, the polio vaccine, the World Wide Web's first American node, and a long line of the institutions and ideas the rest of the country grew up using. Where Liberty Sparks Innovation is a one-day gathering at GBH about what this state helps invent in the next 250. The people, technologies, and institutions that carry the experiment forward to America at 500.

The day is part of Our America 250, a statewide initiative honoring the Revolution's quarter-millennium by treating it as a starting line rather than a finish. The program convenes scientists, founders, civic leaders, artists, educators, and organizers — including voices the first 250 years left out — for the kind of cross-generational conversation Massachusetts has always been good at hosting.

These talks will look to the future, and serve as living digital time capsules to be reviewed and acted on for the next 250 years.

Massachusetts spent its first 250 years inventing the country. Independence started here. So did public education, the telephone, the polio vaccine, the World Wide Web's first American node, and a long line of the institutions and ideas the rest of the country grew up using. Where Liberty Sparks Innovation is a one-day gathering at GBH about what this state helps invent in the next 250. The people, technologies, and institutions that carry the experiment forward to America at 500.

The day is part of Our America 250, a statewide initiative honoring the Revolution's quarter-millennium by treating it as a starting line rather than a finish. The program convenes scientists, founders, civic leaders, artists, educators, and organizers — including voices the first 250 years left out — for the kind of cross-generational conversation Massachusetts has always been good at hosting.

These talks will look to the future, and serve as living digital time capsules to be reviewed and acted on for the next 250 years.

The Schedule

30 Talks & Interviews
from 3 to 7 PM

Click the button to view the speakers and screenshot their social cards.

Press the button to view the speakers and screenshot their social cards.

3.00 PM Welcome

3.00 PM Welcome

Founder & CEO of Imagination In Action

Senior Fellow at MIT

Founder & CEO of Imagination In Action

Senior Fellow at MIT

3.05 PM Block 1

3.05 PM Block 1

Talk

Partner at Vine Ventures

Former Managing Director at General Catalyst

Talk

Partner at Vine Ventures

Former Managing Director at General Catalyst

Founder & Investor

Founder & Investor

Executive Director

The Innovation Trail

Executive Director

The Innovation Trail

Talk

President

Arrowstreet Inc

Talk

President

Arrowstreet Inc

Interview

Co-Founder & CEO

Jellyfish

Interview

Co-Founder & CEO

Jellyfish

Co-Founder

Workhelix

Co-Founder

Workhelix

Interview

Professor of Anesthesiology

Harvard Medical School

Interview

Professor of Anesthesiology

Harvard Medical School

Interview

Editor on the Opinion desk

The Boston Globe

Interview

Editor on the Opinion desk

The Boston Globe

Interview

CEO

YMCA of Greater Boston

Interview

CEO

YMCA of Greater Boston

Interview

CEO

WellWithAll

Interview

CEO

WellWithAll

Talk

Senior Vice President of Research, Algorithms, and Data

Whoop

Talk

Senior Vice President of Research, Algorithms, and Data

Whoop

Talk

Program Director

MGB NeuroAI Center

Talk

Program Director

MGB NeuroAI Center

Break

4.05 PM

Break

4.05 PM

4.25 PM Block 2

4.25 PM Block 2

President & CEO

Partners in Democracy

President & CEO

Partners in Democracy

Talk

GAI Insights

Co-Founder

Talk

GAI Insights

Co-Founder

Interview

Business reporter

The Boston Globe

Interview

Business reporter

The Boston Globe

Interview

President

Northeastern University

Interview

President

Northeastern University

Partner

Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Partner

Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Talk

Executive Fellow

Harvard Business School

Talk

Executive Fellow

Harvard Business School

Dean

Harvard Divinity School

Dean

Harvard Divinity School

Talk

CTO

CarGurus

Talk

CTO

CarGurus

SVP & Head of IBM Consulting

IBM

SVP & Head of IBM Consulting

IBM

Faculty Associate Dean for Community Engagement

Harvard Medical School

Faculty Associate Dean for Community Engagement

Harvard Medical School

Talk

Director

MIT FutureTech

Talk

Director

MIT FutureTech

Director

Precision Vaccines Program

Director

Precision Vaccines Program

Break

5.30 PM

Break

5.30 PM

5.55 PM Block 3

5.55 PM Block 3

Executive Director

GRC

Executive Director

GRC

Interview

Vice President

Lendbuzz

Interview

Vice President

Lendbuzz

Vice President of Growth

Extuitive

Vice President of Growth

Extuitive

Interview

Trusted Data and AI Executive

Interview

Trusted Data and AI Executive

Interview

Former SVP & Head Scientist of AGI

Amazon

Interview

Former SVP & Head Scientist of AGI

Amazon

Talk

Dean, Graduate School of Design

Harvard University

Talk

Dean, Graduate School of Design

Harvard University

Talk

Co-Founder

The Innovation Trail

Talk

Co-Founder

The Innovation Trail

AI Research Fellow

Harvard Medical School

AI Research Fellow

Harvard Medical School

Chief, Division of Addiction Medicine

Boston Children's Hospital

Chief, Division of Addiction Medicine

Boston Children's Hospital

Talk

Retired President & CEO

Boston Athletic Association, Boston Marathon

Talk

Retired President & CEO

Boston Athletic Association, Boston Marathon

MIT Video Production Technician

MIT Video Production Technician

Talk

Chief Operating Officer and General Partner

Flagship Pioneering

Talk

Chief Operating Officer and General Partner

Flagship Pioneering

6.55 PM Closing

6.55 PM Closing

Founder & CEO of Imagination In Action

Senior Fellow at MIT

Founder & CEO of Imagination In Action

Senior Fellow at MIT

Event Venue

GBH Studios 1 Guest Street, Brighton, Boston

Yawkey Auditorium and Atrium

Yawkey Auditorium and Atrium

Yawkey Auditorium and Atrium

The GBH headquarters is a 310,000-square-foot, LEED-certified facility at 1 Guest Street in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, serving as the hub for TV and radio production since 2007.

Designed by Ennead Architects, the state-of-the-art building features a distinctive glass "bridge" and a 30-foot digital facade. GBH calls itself an idea factory. The architecture makes the case.

The GBH headquarters is a 310,000-square-foot, LEED-certified facility at 1 Guest Street in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, serving as the hub for TV and radio production since 2007.

Designed by Ennead Architects, the state-of-the-art building features a distinctive glass "bridge" and a 30-foot digital facade. GBH calls itself an idea factory. The architecture makes the case.

August

Martha’s Vineyard August 13th

The series continues on the Vineyard, where generations of Black writers, civil rights leaders, and public thinkers have summered, organized, and written. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. drafted speeches at the Overton House in Oak Bluffs. The island has been a working space for American leadership long before the cameras arrived.

This August convening leans into that lineage. Fewer seats, longer conversation, same question, who's drafting what comes next, and where is it being written?

The series continues on the Vineyard, where generations of Black writers, civil rights leaders, and public thinkers have summered, organized, and written. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. drafted speeches at the Overton House in Oak Bluffs. The island has been a working space for American leadership long before the cameras arrived.

This August convening leans into that lineage. Fewer seats, longer conversation, same question, who's drafting what comes next, and where is it being written?

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