Friends,
Happy New Year! As we welcome the start of this new year, my term as President of the Harvard Black Alumni Society has come to a close. While I have been a member of the National Board since 2006, it has been my great privilege to serve this community as President over the past three years and I am so proud of the incredible work the HBAS has undertaken during these unprecedented times.
Notwithstanding the challenges wrought by the pandemic, HBAS has continued to sponsor Harvard undergraduates who pursue opportunities in the public interest through a Summer Community Service Fellowship each year.
In lieu of in-person gatherings, in early 2020, HBAS initiated a virtual speaker series, which featured discussions among prominent figures in advocacy, policy, and education on such topics as: (i) race, policing, and criminal justice; (ii) voter disenfranchisement; and (iii) intersectionality and allyship accross the sexual orientation and gender identity spectrum.
At the close of 2020, we virtually joined in fellowship to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of David L. Evans over the course of his 50 years of work in Harvard admissions. Thank you to everyone who submitted testimonials and photos, which we were able to gift to Mr. Evans.
In 2021, we kicked off the year with fascinating virtual sessions on corporate Board membership and why HBAS members should care about Harvard's boards.
In the Fall, HBAS together with the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance, the Harvard Latino Alumni Alliance, the Native American Alumni of Harvard University, and the Harvard Alumni Association, jointly planned and hosted the Unity Webinars series, ten cross-disciplinary conversations among Harvard faculty, alumni, and friends to discuss complex issues at the intersection of identity, inclusion and impact, which culminated in a three day Unity conference led by - and in celebration of - Harvard alumni of color.
Finally, we ended the year with holiday parties in Atlanta, Washington, DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, and North Carolina.
As we embark on the next chapter for HBAS, I am incredibly excited to introduce our deeply engaged and energized leadership for 2022! Please join me in congratulating our new team:
President: Monica M. Clark, AB '06
Vice President: Kelly Shapiro, JD '05
Secretary: Kimberly H. Caine, AB '03
Treasurer: Mark Price, AB '98, MBA '04
Alumni Affairs Chair: Pat Parks, EdM '02
Student Affairs Chair: La'Toya Princess Jackson, ALM Dramatic Arts '19
Membership Chair: Dom Packer, AB '17
Communications Chair: Shika Kalevor, MBE '21
I look forward to all that this stellar group of alumni leaders will bring to HBAS and our extraordinary alumni community.
Best wishes for a safe and healthy 2022,
Warmly,
Yvonne Osirim, AB '01, JD '07