Speakers 2018

As former Assistant District Attorney in the Juvenile Division of Suffolk County, Adam Foss has become one of Boston’s leading voices for compassion in criminal justice. Recognizing that prosecutors have a unique opportunity to intervene in offender’s lives, Foss co-founded the Roxbury CHOICE Program, a collaborative effort between defendants, the court, the probation department, and the D.A. to recast probation as a transformative experience rather than a punitive process.

Dr. Atyia Martin is a Certified Emergency Manager with a diverse set of experiences in public health, emergency management, intelligence, and homeland security. Mayor Martin J. Walsh appointed her as the Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Boston as part of the 100 Resilient Cities initiative pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation. In this role, she is responsible for leading the development and implementation of Boston’s Resilience Strategy. Boston will focus on advancing racial equity as the foundation of the Resilience Strategy process to increase our shared ability to thrive after emergencies.

Ahmad Isa is a Syrian medical student and a war survivor who served in a field hospital and saved hundreds of lives. His medical education was interrupted by the civil war 2 weeks before finishing the six-year medical program. He fled to the United States looking for hope and a new start to achieve his dream to become a doctor.

Chris Siteman holds an MFA from Emerson College, a JD from Suffolk University Law School, and teaches in the English Departments at Suffolk University and Bridgewater State University. His chapbook of poetry, PART X of ME, is forthcoming from Pen & Anvil Press (Boston, MA). And he has poems forthcoming, or that have most recently appeared, in Drafthorse, New England Review of Books, Ellipsis Literature & Art, Boxcar Poetry Review and Stoneboat. His work has previously appeared in such journals as Poetry Ireland Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Salamander, The Carolina Quarterly and Consequence Magazine.