Gloria Cordes Larson is Chairperson of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA), the organization that oversees both the Hynes Convention Center, the new Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and the MassMutual Center.

Currently, Ms. Larson is the president of Bentley University located in Waltham Massachusetts.

Ms. Larson served as Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Affairs under Governor William Weld from 1993 to 1996 and as Secretary of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation from 1991 to 1993.

Prior to state service, she gained extensive experience in business and regulatory issues at the federal level as a senior official with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Before becoming president of Bentley College, Ms. Larson was the Co-Chairman of the Government Practices Group at the Boston law firm of Foley Hoag LLP.

Ms. Larson continues to be widely influential in state economic policy, and holds seats on the Boards of the MassJobs Council, the Governor's Council on Growth and Technology, the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation, Associated Industries of Massachusetts, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Dean F. Stratouly was appointed to the MCCA Board by Governor Cellucci in 1998 and reappointed by Governor Romney.

He currently serves as Chairman of its Development Committee and oversaw the development of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and the MassMutual Center.

Mr. Stratouly is the Co-Founder and President of Congress Group, with primary responsibility for investment strategy, institutional relationships and long-term planning.

Mr. Stratouly was elected President of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board for its 2003 fiscal year. He also serves on a number of other corporate and non-profit boards.

Lisa C. Signori is the Director of the Office of Administration and Finance for the City of Boston. In this position, she is responsible for overseeing an operating budget which totals $2.4 billion and a five year capital plan totaling $1.5 billion.   These budgets impact services and programming for more than 17 thousand employees and 595,000 residents.

Before taking on this role, Ms. Signori served as Chief Financial Officer and Collector-Treasurer, where she was part of the Mayor's Cabinet and oversaw all of the City's financial matters. Prior to being appointed CFO, Ms. Signori had been the City's Budget Director since 1999 and, during her tenure, initiated several program evaluations that led to improvements in a variety of government operations and services.

Ms. Signori earned a bachelor's degree in economics at Boston College and a master's degree in public management from the University of Maryland. She then worked in Washington, D.C. as a budget examiner at the White House Office of Management and Budget before joining the City of Boston in 1994.

Peter J. Bassett occupies a seat originally created to represent the interests of the Visitor Industry in Massachusetts. As a real estate professional with long experience in hotel and retail development and operations, Mr. Bassett has been serving on the Board's Development Committee. He has been tapped to serve on a number of public sector boards associated with planning and development as well as those of private sector and charity organizations. Mr. Bassett is President of Bristol Property Management, Inc., a commercial property investment and development firm.

Barbara T. Capuano is a Certified Public Accountant, currently employed at Raphael & Raphael LLP, a Boston accounting firm.

Ms. Capuano is a member of the Somerville Chamber of Commerce, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Boston Harbor Island Alliance and the Children’s Hospital Community Health Board.

She earned her MBA from Babson College in 1976, after receiving her B.S. in Math and Education from Boston State College in 1974. She became a CPA in 1978.

Ms. Capuano is married to Congressman Michael Capuano (D-MA). They have two sons, Michael and Joseph.

William “Mo” Cowan is a litigator at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C., serving as Chair of the Anti-Money Laundering Compliance and Counseling practice group. He represents corporations and individuals in such matters as securities fraud and corporate governance.

Mr. Cowan’s trial experience encompasses civil and criminal litigation in federal and state courts. He was named one of “40 Under 40” business leaders by Boston Business Journal in 2003 and one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Leaders” in 2000 by the Boston Jaycees. Boston Magazine and Law and Politics Magazine place him in the top 5% of Massachusetts attorneys.

Mr. Cowan has been president of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association,  and the Northeastern University School of Law Alumni Association, and is a current member of the Northeastern University Corporation. He has worked for several non-profit organizations, including the Boston Bar Association, the Volunteer Lawyers Project, and the New England Minority Purchasing Council, Inc.

Mr. Cowan is admitted to practice in the Supreme Judicial Court for Massachusetts, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Duke University and Northeastern University School of Law.

Carol Fulp is the Vice President of Community Relations at John Hancock Financial Services. Fulp oversees John Hancock's corporate giving program ensuring that Boston youth who are most in need are served. With one of the largest corporate volunteer programs in Boston, John Hancock became the first Massachusetts based company to be awarded the national Award for Excellence in Corporate Community Outreach by the Points of Light Foundation. Prior to joining John Hancock, Fulp served as Community Services/Human Resources Director for WCVB-TV, ABC-TV's Boston affiliate. Prior to WCVB-TV, she was Manager of Employee Relations at the Gillette Company.

Fulp has received a number of awards for her community outreach efforts including the African American Achievement Award from Boston Mayor Menino, the Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Boston Municipal Research Bureau Shattuck Award, the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers Award and the New England Women's Leadership Award from the Colonel Daniel Marr Boys and Girls Club.

Fulp was appointed by Mayor Menino as a co-chair of Boston 2004, the organization formed to bring the Democratic National Convention to Boston. She is also a co-chair of the Massachusetts Governor's Conference for Women. She is the founder of a non-profit organization, Great Encounters For Girls which provides scholarships for girls to attend summer camp.

Fulp is a trustee of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, and a member of the board of overseers for Boston Symphony Orchestra and WGBH-TV. She is on the board of the Commonwealth Institute and also serves on the Women's Leadership Board of the John F. Kennedy School of Government. In 2003, Boston Magazine listed Fulp as one of the 100 most powerful women in Boston and in 1993 she was listed by the magazine as "One of Boston's Ten Most Interesting Women to Watch."

Fulp is a graduate of the University of the State of New York. She resides in Newton, Massachusetts with her husband, C. Bernard Fulp, Chairman of GoBiz Solutions and Founder of Middlesex Bank & Trust Company.

Jay Gonzalez currently serves as the Undersecretary in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Prior to this position, Mr. Gonzalez was a Partner of the law firm of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP, where his practice focused on public finance. He served as counsel to hundreds of cities, towns, school districts and governmental entities throughout New England in connection with the financing and development of major capital projects and other governmental programs. He assisted with a wide array of projects, including the construction of schools and other public buildings, land conservation and various other municipal infrastructure improvements.

Mr. Gonzalez is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Ohio and is a member of the Boston Bar Association. In addition, he currently serves on the board of both the Brookline Greenspace Alliance and the Kids Clothes Club. He graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College, from which he received his B.A. He later received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter is the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change.

She advises major corporations and governments worldwide, and is the author or co-author of 16 books, including her most recent book, Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End.

Professor Kanter has served as Editor of the Harvard Business Review, received 21 honorary doctoral degrees and over a dozen leadership awards, and has been named to lists of the "50 most influential business thinkers in the world" and the "50 most powerful women in the world."

Robert T. Kenney is President of Kenney Development Company which he founded in 1977. Since its inception, the firm has specialized in planning, developing and managing complex urban development and redevelopment projects.

From 1971-76, Mr. Kenney served as Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, one of the nation's largest renewal and planning agencies, where he managed over 500 properties and was instrumental in the transformation of the Boston downtown waterfront.

Among Mr. Kenney's real estate and community activities and designations are the Urban Land Institute, American Society of Real Estate Counselors, the Boston Harbor Associates, and Trustee for the Wang Center for the Performing Arts.

Darryl Settles is the President of D’Ventures Limited, LLC, a business consulting and investment company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Since the beginning of his career, Settles has managed to successfully fuse his passions for music and hospitality by transforming unique concepts into acclaimed events and establishments.

The newest of D’Ventures projects, The Beehive Restaurant & Lounge, of which Settles is the Founder and Co-Owner, is located in the historic Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama building. Complimented by unique artwork and nightly musical entertainment, the Beehive offers guests with a collage of artesian cuisine. Since its opening in May 2007, the Beehive has been recognized as “Boston’s Best Hot-Spot”, “The Place To Be”, and the “Best New Restaurant Design” by the New York Times, Improper Bostonian, and the Boston Globe.

Settles entered the restaurant business in 1990 when he purchased Bob’s Southern Bistro (formerly Bob the Chef’s Restaurant). At the time, Settles was a marketing executive at Digital Equipment Company. As Account Manager, he established successful relationships with key customers and accounts with a minimum revenue of $50M. Regarded as a sales leader, Settles was awarded the DEC100 three times (1987 – 1989) for exceeding his annual goal by 50 – 200%. While concurrently beginning his real estate development business, he learned of the Bob the Chef’s opportunity. He became intrigued with the neighborhood joint and envisioned expanding it to a widely renowned and recognized establishment while maintaining the same down-home hospitality it had been known for since the late 1950’s. As owner, Settles repositioned the restaurant to include live jazz music, full carryout service, catering services, and an expanded menu. Under Settles’ leadership, Bob’s Southern Bistro received consistent recognition, including the National Restaurant Association’s “Best Neighbor” Award (2007) and was a part of Bill Brett’s Book- “All in the Family”  (2006) which highlighted the restaurant as a Boston institution and a mainstay of Boston’s cultural fabric.

Settles’ enthusiasm for livening and expanding Boston’s music scene led him in 2001 to start the BeanTown Jazz Festival, a weekend of local and national music, food, and art that in 2007 attracted nearly 60,000 participants. Settles is proud that the festival has become a show place for the diverse cultures of Boston and is excited to now work with Berklee College of Music to produce future festivals and other jazz related events. In 2003 Settles founded BeanTown Sounds, an artist-booking agency specializing in the finest jazz, soul, blues, and top 40 bands in the Boston area.

Settles strong sense of community has prompted him to contribute much of his time to local boards, institutions, and civic organizations including the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Board (appointed by Governor Deval Patrick); Metropolitan District Commission, Associate Commissioner (appointed by Governor William Weld); ­­­­­­The Dining Alliance Board; Berklee College of Music Advisory Board; The Huntington Theater Board; The Museum of Fine Arts Board; and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association Board.

Recognized as an innovative entrepreneur and an icon in Boston’s hospitality industry, Settles has received a myriad of awards for his leadership and vision including the Tiffany “10” Community Award; the Bostonian We-Are-Boston Community Leadership Award; Stuff@Night’s 100 Players of Boston’s Nightlife; Citizen of the Year - Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; Boston Event Guide’s – “30 Extraordinary Bostonians”; Black & White Boston’s Henry Hampton Award; and Boston’s Magazine’s “Forty Bostonians We Love”.

Settles received his B.S. Degree in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1984. He lives with his wife, Lisa, and their children, Taylor and Preston, in Newton, Massachusetts.