The M.A.S.S. Professional Development Committee has announced the featured speakers for the 2025 Paul J. Andrews Summer Executive Institute. District leaders and other conference attendees will hear from a distinguished lineup of speakers from a variety of fields, who will share their perspectives on leadership, public service, social justice, and some of the critical issues in public education today.
BD Wong: Keynote Address, Morning Session on Tuesday, July 15
BD Wong is an American actor who won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in M. Butterfly, becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and Theatre World Award for the same role. He is also known for roles on Mr. Robot, Law and Order SVU, All-American Girl, and Oz, and is making a name for himself as a theater director.
Mr. Wong speaks about his experiences as a member of the Asian-American and LGBTQ+ communities, including calls for respectful and nuanced representation on stage and screen. His advocacy work has included involvement in the Stop Asian Hate movement and The Trevor Project’s “It Gets Better” campaign. Mr. Wong also speaks about the influence of mentors in his own personal and professional success, including the high school drama teacher who inspired and encouraged him to pursue an acting career. He serves on the Board of Rosie’s Theater Kids, an arts education organization that supports underserved students in New York City’s public schools.
Dr. Tim Shriver: Keynote Address, Morning Session on Wednesday, July 16
Dr. Tim Shriver is Chairman of Special Olympics International and co-founder of UNITE. As co-creator of The Dignity Index, Dr. Shriver has asserted that the divisions in our country are not caused by disagreements but by what individuals do and say when they disagree with one another. The Dignity Index, an eight-point scale that ranges from contempt to dignity, provides a tool for applying the principles of dignity to our relationships, schools, communities, workplaces, and country.
Dr. Shriver began his career as an educator. He co-founded and currently chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). Dr. Shriver also has produced six films, is the author of the New York Times bestseller Fully Alive – Discovering What Matters Most, and is co-editor of The Call to Unite: Voices of Hope and Awakening.
Leona Tate and Dr. Patrick Tutwiler: Morning Session on Thursday, July 17
Leona Tate was one of the first African-American students to attend a formerly white-only school in Louisiana. On November 14, 1960, six years after the Brown vs. Board of Education desegregation decision, federal marshals escorted her and two other six-year-old girls through a crowd of protestors to attend the McDonogh #19 Public School in New Orleans – making history and playing a crucial role early in the Civil Rights Movement.
Ms. Tate created the Leona Tate Foundation for Change in 2009 to continue educating people, particularly young people, about the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle for racial equality. The foundation’s lead project is the transition of the historic McDonogh #19 School into the Tate Etienne and Prevost Center. The building closed in 2004, was damaged one year later in Hurricane Katrina, and sat vacant until 2020, when Ms. Tate led the charge to reopen it as an educational space and monument to the vital history it represents.
In the Thursday morning general session, Ms. Tate will engage in conversation with Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. As Massachusetts Secretary of Education, Dr. Tutwiler directs the Executive Office of Education, which oversees early education, K-12, and higher education. He serves as the top advisor on education for Governor Maura Healey and helps shape the education agenda for the Commonwealth.
Dr. Tutwiler is a former member of M.A.S.S., having previously served as Superintendent of Lynn Public Schools. Under his leadership, the district increased graduation rates, increased the racial diversity of the staff, and created the Commonwealth’s second largest early college program. Dr. Tutwiler was also a senior program officer at the Boston-based Barr Foundation, a grantmaking organization focused on arts, climate, and education.
The conversation will also include students from Project 351, a youth-led movement for change powered by a unified team of 8th grade Ambassadors representing Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns. Since 2011, nearly 5,600 Ambassadors have positively impacted more than 1.4 million neighbors through Project 351 service. M.A.S.S. is a longtime partner with Project 351 and was honored to be recognized by the program earlier this year as a Service Hero.
The theme of the 2025 M.A.S.S. Paul J. Andrews Summer Executive Institute is “The Future Begins Now: Reimagining Education in Massachusetts.”
For more information about or to register for the Institute, visit the event page. PLEASE NOTE: This is not a public event. Registration is open to educators from public school districts.