Working Groups

PBLN's four Working Groups, focused on Education; Energy & Environment; Health Care & Life Sciences; and Economic Development & Housing, are led by a team of PBLN members who are distinguished professionals in each respective field. The Working Groups advance PBLN’s mission by analyzing public policy issues and best practices, planning conference sessions, or putting on creative educational programs that deepen understanding and bring people together. They also help set the PBLN agenda and focus our members' energy on top priorities.

Healthcare & Life Sciences Working Group

Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services
Dr. JudyAnn Bigby has been a regular participant at meetings
of the PBLN Healthcare/Life Sciences Working Group

Co-Chaired by Jim Roosevelt, President & CEO of Tufts Health Plan, and Joshua Boger, former President & CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Coordinatored by Valerie Fleishman, Executive Director of the New England Healthcare Network (NEHI), and Brian Carey, Partner with the law firm Foley Hoag LLP, this group has addressed the Massachusetts plan to expand healthcare coverage to include all residents, the urgency of sustained federal funding of biomedical research, public strategies for retaining life science industry businesses, and the value of corporate health and wellness programs. Currently they are looking at issues surrounding national and Massachusetts healthcare reform efforts, and at strategies for sustainable development of the life sciences as both social/health innovators and as a source of economic growth.

Healthcare/Life Sciences Policy Statement
As progressive business leaders, we believe Massachusetts should continue to lead the nation as an innovator in health, health care and life sciences.

Education Working Group

PBLN Education Working Group Chair Gloria Larson

led a group of 25 senior business leaders to the Burke High School

 in Boston. She is here (L) with Burke Headmaster Lindsa McIntyre.

Chaired by Gloria Larson, President of Bentley University, this group has addressed topics such as Civic Engagement and Workforce Development. Their current focus is K-12 education reform in Massachusetts.

Education Policy Statement
PBLN supports passage of education reforms that bring access to innovation and excellence for all students from cradle to college. We view these innovations in education as essential contributions to the invention of a sustainable, competitive economy defined by shared and lasting opportunity and prosperity.

Innovation for All Students:
Transforming K-12 Educational Opportunity

At the fall 2009 PBLN Summit, members of PBLN's Education Working Group met for a discussion moderated by Paul Sagan, President & CEO, Akamai Technologies and featuring panelists:
Paul Reville, Massachusetts Secretary of Education
Anne Wass, President, Massachusetts Teachers Association
Christopher Gabrieli, Chairman, Massachusetts2020 Foundation
Paul Grogan, President & CEO, The Boston Foundation
Jonah Edelman, co-Founder &CEO, Stand for Children


Values Statement
There is nothing more important for securing our future than the education of our children. The achievement gap along racial and economic lines in the United States is a reflection of grave social injustice and must be addressed as a top educational priority. The risk of education in the United States falling behind the educational standards of other leading nations presents both a moral and strategic imperative. We believe that the business community has an important role to play in addressing complex social sector issues like education; and we are committed to empowering innovative thinkers and education entrepreneurs to create new possibilities for children. It is in this spirit that PBLN supports passage of education reforms that bring access to innovation and excellence for all students from cradle to college. At the same time we view these innovations in education as essential contributions to the invention of a sustainable, competitive economy defined by shared and lasting opportunity and prosperity.

Policy Statement

1. We support all public schools, including charter schools
2. We support policies that seek to ensure that all public schools, including charter schools, reach out to and include in innovative programs the various populations of students that have historically been under-represented in such programs
3. We support bringing innovative models to the children and teachers most in need of our attention because of the challenges facing the most underperforming schools
4. We support the development of innovative models within local school districts, whether they are put together by teachers, by local district administrators, by the state or by a combination of all of these valued members of the education community
5. Specifically, we support the package of K-12 education innovations and reforms filed by Governor Deval Patrick in Massachusetts, captured in the two pieces of legislation entitled, An Act Establishing Readiness Schools and An Act Relative to Charter Schools
6. We urge policy makers and business leaders to support additional innovation ideas including extended learning time for children at all levels and a comprehensive effort on excellence in education from cradle to college.

The above policy statement reflects the position of PBLN. This position was developed by the PBLN Education Group and adopted by the PBLN Board of Directors. We encourage individual business leaders to “opt-in” by signing on to our policy statements, which PBLN may use publicly to advance awareness of our position. If you would like to opt-in and sign on to any or all of PBLN's policy statements, you may do so by emailing PBLN Director of Operations Aaron Chalek at aaron@pbln.org.

Energy & Environment Working Group

Chair Mitch Tyson, CEO of Advanced Electron Beams, Inc. and Coordinator Roger Freeman, CEO, Solventerra LLC, lead this group. It has addressed the economics of wind energy, the impact of buildings on the environment, and increasing energy access, efficiency and affordability. Their current focus is the role business can play in addressing climate change and the economic and environmental implications of doing nothing.

PBLN Energy/Environment Coordinator Roger Freeman, CEO of

Solventerra LLC, a renewable energy development & consulting firm. 

Previously, Roger was CEO of Citizens Wind, a for-profit wind

division of Citizens Energy. He was also EVP/COO of Citizens Energy.

Energy/Environment & Housing/Economic Development Policy Statement
Progressive business leaders are committed to supporting strategies and policies both within our companies and our society that move us toward a more sustainable future, where we strive to harmonize our activity with our environment in our communities, in our country and throughout the world.

Economic Development & Housing Working Group

PBLN Co-Founder Jim Boyle (CEO, Sustainability Roundtable, Inc.)
at the 2010 Washington Summit with Chris Colbert (Managing
Principal, Holland Mark) looking on from the left

Led by Chair Tom O’Brien, Managing Partner of JPI Northeast, and Coordinator by Sean Sacks, Assistant Vice President of the New Boston Fund, this group has discussed such topics as the “smart growth” plan to address the available and affordable housing crisis, public-private partnerships that have led to innovative development successes, and issues surrounding housing production and the policies required to ensure the health of this key driver of economic growth. Currently they are focused on issues of affordable housing as well as the economic development opportunities – necessities – presented by climate change and the policy response to it.

Member Spotlight

Diane Hessan, President & CEO - Communispace
According to Advertising Age Communispace is one of the fastest growing marketing and technology companies in the country, with a Blue Chip client list that would make a Madison Avenue giant jealous. A pioneer in creating online communities to help marketers deeply engage customers, Diane helped found Communispace in 1999 and hasn't looked back.