Forum Network

Mr. Koop is responsible for overseeing the operation of our existing regional portfolio in the Boston area, which includes the Prudential Center and Cambridge Center. Prior to joining us in 1999, Mr. Koop served at Trammell Crow Company from 1982 to 1999 where his career covered high-rise office building leasing and the development of commercial office buildings and shopping centers. From 1993 to 1999, his position was Managing Director and Regional Leader for Trammell Crow Company’s New England region, which included all commercial office and shopping center operations. Mr. Koop is a member of the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Chapter of NAIOP and previously served as chairman of the Back Bay Association. Mr. Koop received a BBA in 1980 and an MBA in 1982 from Texas Christian University.

Shauna Gillies-Smith is the principal of Ground, a landscape architecture practice with a focus on artful and sustainable landscapes in urban settings. Gillies-Smith received a MAUD degree from Harvard’s GSD, a MArch from the University of British Columbia, and a BA (Econ) from Queen’s University. Trained first as an architect and urban designer, her shift to landscape practice was motivated by the desire to reveal the potentials of surprise and pleasure in the urban experience. Gillies-Smith has taught design studios at a number of institutions, has lectured widely and both she, and her firm, have been honored with numerous awards.

“Rob” creates institutional and cultural buildings that are civic works. Believing that even a single building is a piece of urban design and that every surface deserves intimate attention, his work assertively and elegantly combines urbanism and architecture. From reinventing the security bollard to redesigning a subtle icon on the National Mall, Rob continually elevates accepted conventions in his quest to develop intelligent, rich and timeless contributions to our physical environment.

Frederick M. Lawrence became the eighth president of Brandeis University on Jan. 1, 2011. Lawrence is one of the nation’s leading experts on civil rights, free expression and bias crimes. Prior to Brandeis, Lawrence was dean and Robert Kramer Research Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School. Lawrence received a bachelor’s degree from Williams College and a law degree from Yale Law School. Upon completing his term as President of Brandeis this spring, he will become a Senior Research Scholar at Yale Law School.

Lisa M. Wong, M.D. is a musician, pediatrician, and past president of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra. She grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii where she attended Punahou School, an independent school centered on education, the arts and community service. She began the piano at age 4, violin at age 8, guitar at age 10 and viola at age 40. A passionate arts education advocate, Dr. Wong has worked closely with the New England Conservatory of Music’s Preparatory School and traveled with NEC’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra to Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, Panama, and Venezuela as a pediatric chaperone. Dr. Wong continues to be actively involved in El Sistema USA and has had the privilege of observing El Sistema in Venezuela several times over the past ten years.

Steve is Director of the Seabird Restoration Program and Vice president for Bird Conservation of the National Audubon Society. He received his B. S. in Zoology and M.S. in Wildlife Management from Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in Environmental Education from Cornell University. Steve began Project Puffin in 1973 and has remained its Director since the beginning. He is also Manager of National Audubon's Maine Coastal Island Sanctuaries. He was Ornithology Instructor at the Audubon Camp in Maine on Hog Island from 1969 through 1981, was the Director of the Camp from 1982 through 1986, and is currently serving as the Director once again. He is a Laboratory Associate at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, NY, where he teaches a very popular annual birding course called Spring Field Ornithology.

Stepping down after more than a decade, Tom Lentz united the collections of the Fogg Museum, Busch-Reisinger Museum and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum into a newly designed dynamic institution- establishing a 21st century laboratory for the arts and a comprehensive experience for visitors of all ages including artists, scholars, students, faculty, and the public.

Jim McGuire earned his B.A. from Swarthmore and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of \_Peronism Without Peron\_ (Stanford, 1997) and of articles and chapters on Argentine politics and labor unions; Latin American social policies; transitions from authoritarianism; and economic growth, income inequality, and mortality decline. \_Wealth, Health and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America\_ (Cambridge, 2010) was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2010 and won the Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research in 2011. At Wesleyan, Professor McGuire is also a member of the Latin American Studies Program and a recipient of the Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

Mara Prentiss is Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics at Harvard University. The Prentiss group focuses on using physics tools to elucidate important problems in biology. The basic principles governing self-assembly have been a focus of recent work. It has long been known that any complex self-assembling system faces a tradeoff between the speed at which the system explores different configurations and the stability of the final product. The Prentiss group has shown that this paradox can be overcome in various systems, but their research has focused on two systems that play important roles in the interactions between chromosomes in vivo.

Ilyasah Shabazz is an author, producer, and motivational speaker who lectures to capacity audiences across the country. For Growing Up X, a compelling and lyrical coming of age story, she earned an NAACP Image Award nomination, BET best book list pick, United Press International book of the week.

**Mayor Martin J. Walsh** was sworn in as the City’s 54th Mayor on January 6, 2014. In April 1997, Mayor Walsh won election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 13th Suffolk District in Boston. During his 16 years in the House, he authored landmark public construction law reforms that increased flexibility and accountability, helped pass transit-oriented mixed-use “smart growth district” legislation, and was a strong supporter of infrastructure and zoning improvements. During the state fiscal crisis, he was a key broker in compromise legislation giving municipalities more tools to negotiate substantial savings on health insurance benefits while protecting the rights of hardworking people to receive the decent pay and benefits they have earned.

Shirish Korde is celebrated for “integrating and synthesizing music of diverse cultures into breathtaking works of complex expressive layers.” His works have been performed by orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, The New Zealand Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, the National Polish Radio Orchestra; and ensembles such as The Boston Musica Viva, Da Capo Chamber Players, The Ensemble Modern and others. He has received many grants and awards including the National Endowment for the Arts, The Fromm Foundation, and The Siemens Foundation. His works can be heard on Chandos, Neuma, Centaur, and Mode.