Film Subjects

 

  • Julie Chen is UMass Lowell’s Vice Chancellor for Research & Economic Development and a professor of mechanical engineering. As the Chief Research Officer, Chen directs UMass Lowell’s nearly $95 million research enterprise, which also includes industry partnerships, technology transfer, startups & innovation, core research facilities, and economic development programs.

    She has facilitated numerous innovative collaboration models that bring together industry, government, and academia, including:

    The Fabric Discovery Center, UMass Lowell’s Core Research Facilities, The Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy, and various institutes and centers.

    Chen joined the UMass Lowell faculty in 1997 after six years as an assistant professor at Boston University. She spent 2002-2004 in Washington, D.C., serving as the program director for the Materials Processing and Manufacturing as well as the Nanomanufacturing Programs at the National Science Foundation. She was appointed vice provost for research in 2009 and was promoted to vice chancellor in 2016 with an added external and outreach focus.

    As a member of the Executive Cabinet, Chen has helped lead the implementation of the 2020 Strategic Plan, resulting in an expansion and modernization of physical infrastructure, the recruitment of outstanding faculty and students, increases in retention and graduation rates, advances in diversity, equity and inclusion, and historic growth of revenues from research, online programs, and the endowment.

    She was the 2010 Technical Program Chair for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition and served in several leadership roles on the Congress Steering Committee, Nominating Committee, and in her technical division.

    Chen has served on many editorial boards, advisory committees, and review panels for journals and federal agencies, including NSF, the National Institutes of Health, the National Academies, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense. Based on her expertise in materials, nanomanufacturing, and advanced manufacturing, she has testified before Congress and represented the United States in several international workshops.

    Chen serves on the board for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and the MassTech Collaborative, as well as on the Massachusetts Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative and the Massachusetts Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force.

    A strong advocate for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, Chen serves as the co-lead for the university’s Council on Social Justice and Inclusion. Additionally she was one of the co-principle investigators on a $3.5 million NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grant to help support and elevate women faculty in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines at UMass Lowell.

    Chen received her Ph.D., Master of Science, and Bachelor of Science degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in mechanical engineering where she was a student-athlete and academic all- American. In 2019 she was awarded an honorary degree from Queens University Belfast and is a recipient of the U.S. Army Public Service Commendation Medal – its fourth-highest civilian honor – in recognition of her leadership in developing the innovation ecosystem.

    Chen and her spouse, Susu Wong, reside in Wilmington.

  • Dr. Zeidel's research focuses on mechanisms of water and small molecule flow across biological membranes and on mechanisms of epithelial injury. The first measurements of intracellular pH in renal cells, the discovery that atrial natriuretic peptide and related peptides (such as brain natriuretic peptide) function by blocking renal sodium reabsorption in collecting duct cells, the reconstitution and biophysical definition of the function of aquaporin water channels and the molecular definition of how membranes can be impermeable to gases and water are a few of the major research findings in his laboratories. Dr. Zeidel's research has been recognized by the American Physiological Society, the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. His research has received continuous funding by the NIH for over 20 years.

  • Darlene Rodowicz was appointed President of Berkshire Health Systems in 2021, after serving as Chief Financial Officer for the previous 15 years. She had served as Associate Vice President of Finance for Berkshire Health Systems from 1995 to 2005. She joined Berkshire Health Systems in 1984 as a staff accountant and has since served in a variety of positions, including Billing Supervisor of Berkshire Faculty Services and BHS Comptroller before being named to her current role.

    A graduate of Western New England College with a Master's degree in Business Administration, Rodowicz also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is a member and Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, a national organization comprised of healthcare financial leaders.

  • Dr. Keroack provides strategic, financial, and operational oversight for all services at Baystate Health and its subsidiary health plan, Health New England. Under his leadership, Baystate Health has expanded the reach and variety of its clinical services, incorporating two new community hospitals and growing its outpatient practices across the region. The system has been a national leader in adopting population-based approaches to organizing and financing health care, emphasizing prevention, wellness, care integration, and cost containment under a global budget for the majority of its patients. During this time, Baystate Health also enhanced its role as the sole academic medical center of western Massachusetts, growing the scope, sophistication and reach of its tertiary services, elevating its research programs, and opening UMMS-Baystate, a regional medical campus focused on the training of primary care physicians. The system has continued its long tradition of receiving national and regional awards for outstanding performance in safety, quality, and innovation during his tenure. Dr. Keroack also provides strategic oversight for philanthropic and community benefits activities in support of the health system.

    Dr. Keroack is a graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Medical School and received his MPH from Boston University. He trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He serves on several local boards focused on improving the quality of life in his native Springfield and across western Massachusetts, as well as several state and national boards. He is married to Dr. Ann Errichetti, and they have two grown daughters now living in Massachusetts and Vermont.

  • As Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, Mike Kennealy is responsible for advancing the Baker-Polito Administration’s agenda to create economic opportunity for residents, collaborative leadership in communities, an environment that supports job creation and business growth, and new housing for residents through targeted investments.

    In early 2015, Kennealy joined the Administration as Assistant Secretary for Business Growth. As Assistant Secretary, Kennealy played an integral role in advancing the administration’s strategy for job creation and business development across the entire Commonwealth and provided leadership in key sectors, including serving as co-chair of the board of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. 

    Kennealy and his family live in Lexington, Massachusetts, where they have been highly involved in town government, education and youth sports.  He previously served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at St. John’s Prep in Danvers and currently serves on the Board of Visitors for The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College.

    Kennealy received a B.A in Government from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

  • Brian Johnson is an author, media entrepreneur, journalist and publisher, having conceived and executed content that has been viewed by millions of readers around the world. He currently serves as President, Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC). A role he has held since September 2018.

    Under his watch, the trade association has grown revenues dramatically, expanded total membership, launched a virtual accelerator for medtech startups, and played a critical role in the local and federal medtech ecosystem, including helping to repeal the 2.3% medical device excise tax. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, MassMEDIC co-created the Massachusetts Supply Hub, which helped collect thousands of pieces of PPE for frontline workers. The Commonwealth officially adopted the program in the spring of 2020.

    Brian resides in Brookline, Massachusetts with his wife and two young children.

  • Richard E. Neal was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and was raised and educated in the City of Springfield. He is a graduate of American International College, where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. He received his Masters Degree in Public Administration from the Barney School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Hartford.

    Congressman Neal was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1988 and served his first two terms on the House Banking Committee before joining the Ways and Means Committee in 1993. In January 2019, Congressman Neal was elected by his colleagues to assume the esteemed position of Chairman, marking the first time since 1875 that a representative from Massachusetts had done so.

    Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Congressman Neal and the Ways and Means Committee worked tirelessly to bring relief to the American people.

    The first relief bill, the CARES Act, included several provisions Ways and Means Committee Democrats secured including: federal unemployment compensation, economic assistance payments, and telehealth flexibility. This bill singlehandedly saved the American economy.

    In the American Rescue Plan Act, the Ways and Means Committee was responsible for nearly $1 billion of the $1.9 trillion package. Under Chairman Neal’s leadership, the bill put more money directly into people’s pockets, helping them better afford child care and health coverage. It also shored up the hard-earned retirement security for millions of Americans nationwide.

    Chairman Neal is the dean of both the Massachusetts Delegation and the New England Congressional Delegation. He is an At-Large Whip for the House Democrats and is the Democratic Leader of the Friends of Ireland Caucus.

    He is a long-time guest lecturer at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and a National Trustee of John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. Congressman Neal has received many awards and honorary degrees in his career including an Honorary Degree of Humane Letters from Mount Holyoke College where he is a former trustee, and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from Ulster University in Northern Ireland.

    Prior to his time in Congress, Neal was a high school teacher, member of the Springfield City Council, and Mayor of the City of Springfield from 1984 to 1988.

  • Dr. James Lederer joined Berkshire Health Systems in January of 2020, with more than 20 years of experience in leading innovative, patient-focused, high-quality care initiatives in settings spanning acute-care hospitals, health systems and physician practices. He most recently had served as Vice President for Clinical Excellence at Allspire Health Partners in Pennsylvania. Previously he was Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality Officer at St. Alphonsus Health Systems in Idaho, and he has served in senior leadership roles at systems in North Carolina.

    Dr. Lederer received his medical degree from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and completed his residency in Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee. He was fellowship trained in Infectious Diseases at St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital. Dr. Lederer is board certified in Internal Medicine and Adult Infectious Diseases.

  • Ben is a cross-functional leader, creator, and collaborator. He has experience building and leading diverse technical teams, establishing shared vision and goals, meeting the needs of multiple stakeholders, building trust and collaboration across organizations, and establishing partnerships.

    Ben has a strong understanding of engineering and organizational matters and is adept at communicating complex information, knowledge, and ideas across disciplines, cultures, and organizations. His experience includes research, technology, product, organizational capability, and business development as well as manufacturing and operations experience from sketch to scale in both the US and Europe.

    During COVID-19, Ben demonstrated his ability to engage and drive impact at scale across regional and national public/private innovation, healthcare, and manufacturing ecosystems through COVID-response leadership on the MA Manufacturing Emergency Response Team and the MA Testing, Tracing, and Supported Isolation Collaborative. His efforts were recognized with as the recipient of MIT’s 2021 Collier Medal for dedication to community and innovation.

    Above all, Ben has a true passion for having a positive impact on people's lives through a human-connected approach to addressing the most complex and urgent problems of our time.

  • Carolyn A. Kirk was selected by the Executive Committee of the Mass Tech Collaborative (MassTech) as the agency's executive director in February 2019. MassTech is a state economic development agency whose mission is to strengthen the tech & innovation economy across a variety of industries including advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, digital health, and other emerging tech areas such as artificial intelligence, fintech, and robotics.

    Kirk previously served as the Deputy Secretary in the cabinet-level secretariat of Housing and Economic Development in the Administration of Governor Charlie Baker, and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, a role she held since the beginning of the Baker-Polito Administration in January 2015. As second-in-command, Kirk was responsible for overseeing all operational aspects of this approximately 1,000 person, billion-dollar agency including IT, HR, Communications, Finance, and Legal. In addition, she served in various leadership capacities, managed an economic development program portfolio, and tackled difficult assignments for the Administration.

  • Elisabeth Reynolds works at the National Economic Council as Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Economic Development. 

    Elisabeth Reynolds was a principal research scientist and executive director of the MIT Industrial Performance Center as well as a lecturer in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP).  She was the executive director of the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future from 2018 to 2020. Her research examines systems of innovation, regional economic development, and industrial competitiveness. She has focused in particular on the theory and practice of cluster development and regional innovation systems and advises several organizations in this area. Her current research focuses on advanced manufacturing, growing innovative companies to scale, and building innovation capacity in developed and developing countries. 

  • B. Stephen Boyd is the CEO of Boyd Biomedical in Lee, MA and the Chairman and President of the Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield, MA. Stephen joined Boyd Converting Company in 1999 as a Regional Sales Manager and was promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 2003 where he served until 2007 when he stepped into his current role as the CEO. Prior to joining the Company, Stephen was an Associate at Economic Growth Group in New York City and an Assistant Editor with Ski Magazine. A Graduate of Middlebury College in VT, Mr. Boyd is an avid skier, soccer coach and outdoor enthusiast as well as a Board Trustee at Berkshire Country Day School and a Strategic Steering Committee member of the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In his spare time Steve also enjoys mountaineering, golf, tennis and anything he does with his wife and 2 kids.