16th Annual Bissell Grogan Symposium

Our 16th Annual Bissell Grogan Symposium was successfully reimagined as a Virtual Speaker Series featuring four exciting keynotes spotlighting our school-year theme, Building an Equitable Community. Each talk was followed by interactive workshops with our students. We welcomed our trustees, Board of Visitors, alumni, and parents to join us for these timely and relevant keynote presentations. 
 
JANUARY 19, 2021  
Lawrence Alexander, Director of Equity and Inclusion, Carney, Sandoe & Associates
Everyday Activism: Moving from Talk to Walk
 
In his presentation, Mr. Alexander spoke to Middle & Upper School faculty and students in grades 7-12 about how our communities, and particularly our students, can lead authentic systemic change. He addressed the protests and demonstrations, and focused on how we can sustain the change for which we have marched.
 
View a recording of Lawrence Alexander's presentation here.
 
JANUARY 28, 2021
Raúl the Third, Internationally Recognized Muralist & Visual Artist
Community as Inspiration: How to Create Artwork that Reflects our Diverse Communities

From creating works of art for museums with students from the community to publishing books inspired by his childhood experiences, Raúl the Third has always found inspiration from the people around him. Take a journey as he guides you through his many projects and gives you a behind-the-scenes look at his process as he strives to make artwork that is a representation of our diverse communities.
 
View a recording of Raúl the Third's presentation here.
 
FEBRUARY 17, 2021
Andrea Hailey, CEO, Vote.org
The Future of Democracy 

Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey will speak about civic engagement and democracy; why it has been important to her throughout her life and her personal journey, and why each individual's commitment and journey is critical to sewing together the fragile fabric of democracy. She will discuss the 2020 election results and Vote.org's role, as well as her hopes and vision for the future of democracy. Finally, she will provide the audience with ideas about how they can be better stewards of democracy.

Vote.org is the nation’s largest nonpartisan digital voter engagement organization. Andrea led Vote.org to record-breaking growth during the 2020 General Election and the Georgia runoff elections, helping more than 3.7 million people register to vote and more than 3.3 million request mail-in ballots, and leading a 50-state get-out-the-vote operation which made over half a billion voter contacts across the country. Andrea and Vote.org’s work in 2020 has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and Bloomberg.  

With nearly two decades of experience in voter engagement operations and campaigns, Andrea is a recognized expert on civic engagement, and a staunch defender and promoter of democracy. Prior to joining Vote.org, she served as the founder of Civic Engagement Fund, an incubator for grassroots nonprofit organizations focused on voter empowerment and engagement. She has advised and supported the efforts of presidential and congressional candidates, ballot initiatives, and historic landmarks, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Andrea launched her career on Capitol Hill in the office of Representative Patrick Kennedy. In addition to leading Vote.org, Andrea sits on the boards of NARAL and Bend the Arc, serves on the Leadership Council of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and is a member of the Society of Fellows for the Aspen Institute. 

View a recording of Andrea Hailey's presentation here.

MARCH 1, 2021
Celeste Gehring, Owner of Visionary Building, Author, and Sports Broadcast Production Executive
Shey Peddy, WNBA Player
Lindsay Horbatuck, Brimmer Faculty Member and Former Professional Basketball Player
Equity and Women’s Sports Panel Discussion
 
For our final installment of the Speaker Series, we will host a small panel, featuring WNBA player Shey Peddy, NESN executive Celeste Gehring, and Brimmer Faculty Member and Former Pro Basketball Player Lindsay Horbatuck. They will discuss many topics including: Title IX; women coaching men’s sports; compensation and the gender-based pay gap. The conversation will be moderated by Director of Summer & Auxiliary Programs Cassie Abodeely, who is also a former college and semi-professional athlete.

View a recording of the panel discussion here.

Brimmer and May School

69 Middlesex Road
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
617-566-7462
As an inclusive private school community, Brimmer welcomes students who will increase the diversity of our school. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, or any other characteristic protected from discrimination under state or federal law, in the administration of our educational policies, admissions practices, financial aid decisions, and athletic and other school-administered programs.