New dates confirmed for 'Building One Waterfront' speaker series, kicking off with discussion on equity and community engagement

The rescheduled speaker series, “Building One Waterfront” has new dates confirmed for this fall, featuring discussions led by open space leaders, resilience experts, and advocates for equity from around the country.

“Designing for equity, and effectively engaging diverse communities,” initially scheduled for March 11, will now kick off the event lineup on September 15, after being postponed due to COVID-19 social distancing concerns. This important discussion will feature three renowned thought leaders in equity and social justice:

Dr. S. Atyia Martin, former Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Boston, and CEO & Founder of All Aces, Inc., a professional development consultancy helping to advance diversity, equity and inclusion; April De Simone, Founding Co-Partner of designing the WE, a for-benefit design studio positioned within the fields of social innovation and community-driven social, cultural and economic development; and Mauricio Garcia, Chief Program & Engagement Officer for Friends of the High Line, a nonprofit organization and a public park on the West Side of Manhattan devoted to reimagining public spaces to create connected, healthy neighborhoods and cities.

Hosted by The Trustees Boston Waterfront Initiative, One Waterfront, the series is supported by presenting sponsor, TD Bank, through the TD Ready Commitment.

“We are excited to engage in, and learn from this discussion,” says Nick Black, Managing Director of the Boston Waterfront Initiative. “Ensuring that any new waterfront park is accessible and welcoming to the neighborhood it serves is a critical part of our vision. This cannot be an afterthought. We welcome residents, commuters, students, and any groups interested, to join us for this event, which will offer live Spanish translation services. For those who can’t make it in person, we invite you to join us online, as the proceedings will be streamed.”

The September 15 panel discussion will be followed by: “Funding a resilient, sustainable waterfront for future generations” (October 22), and “Green solutions for a waterfront city” (December 9).

All three panel discussions are designed as opportunities for residents, members of the business community, and city leaders to learn from the experts behind some of our country’s most iconic open spaces who will share case studies and lessons learned from major infrastructure and community projects. Free and open to all, Building One Waterfront looks forward to providing local businesses, city leaders, commuters, and residents with a valuable opportunity to engage and learn from visionary practitioners.

As the caretakers of the largest acreage of shoreline in the state after the federal government, The Trustees is actively working to address coastal resilience through its Boston Waterfront Initiative and with numerous partners including Mayor Walsh and the City of Boston. For more information about this initiative and speaker series, including a schedule of events, visit: onewaterfront.thetrustees.org/speaker-series. Registration links will be added in the coming weeks.

“Waterfront parks are more than just beautiful spaces, they are also a first line of defense to climate change impacts such as increased flooding events and more severe storms,” adds Black. “As outlined in the Resilient Boston Harbor Vision released by Mayor Walsh in 2018, green measures including parks will be a vital step in adapting our shores to these changes, and protecting our waterfront city’s homes and businesses for years to come. We hope this series will inspire others to learn more and join this movement.”