MEET THE SPEAKERS
A Virtual Interactive Summit
 
The State Of Race: A Reality Check.  Diverse Communities Speak Out.
And A Salute To
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
​In The United States
Friday, February 6, 2026
​FREE & OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC WORLDWIDE
​4pm BST (1600)  •  11am EST  • 10am CST •  9am MST • 8am PST
Black History IS American History


KEYNOTE SPEAKER 
MICHAEL CURRY, ESQ.
​United States

Michael Curry, Esq., is President & CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, which represents 50 health centers, serving over one million patients out of 285 practice sites across the Commonwealth. The Mass League provides clinical, advocacy, workforce, data, legal, and compliance support for its members. Under Michael’s leadership, the organization has doubled in size over the last four years, with over 100 staff, secured the largest contract in the association’s history at over $300 million to administer the state’s provider loan repayment program (MA Repay), and launched the nation’s first Institute for Health Equity Research, Evaluation & Policy, Inc. (IHE), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization designed to promote and engage in community-driven research, evaluation, and public policy to achieve health equity.
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Attorney Curry also serves on the National Board of the NAACP.

During the early battle with the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael was appointed by the Massachusetts Senate to the legislatively created Health Equity Task Force, which he co-chaired, to address the health disparities COVID-19 revealed and magnified. He was also appointed by then-Governor Charlie Baker to the COVID-19 Vaccine Working Group and served on the Department of Public Health’s Health Equity Advisory Group, the City of Boston’s Health Inequity Task Force, and the City of Brockton’s Social Justice Task Force. He gained a reputation for always being the equity voice in the room. The experiences led him to co-launch the Health Equity Compact (HEC), a collection of over 85 C-suite leaders of color aimed at driving health equity reform in Massachusetts. In just three years, the HEC filed the first in the nation omnibus health equity reform bill, hosted the state’s first of its kind annual Health Equity Summit, worked with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation (BCBSMAF) to publish a Cost of Inequity report (making the business case to eliminate health disparities), and partnered with MassINC. to capture and publish a poll on the topic.

Michael brings over 35 years of experience and results in civil rights advocacy, health reform, and health equity. He is the Past President of The Boston Branch of the NAACP (2011-2016), with over 25 years of dedicated service to the NAACP in the city, state, and area conference, and national levels. He was elected to the NAACP Board of Directors in 2014, 2017, 2020, and 2023 (4 terms) by members from across the country. Despite all the tremendous recognition for his work, Attorney Curry often says, “Where I’m from keeps where I am in perspective.” He was born into poverty, raised by a single mother in public housing, and is a graduate of the Boston Public Schools. He is also a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, New England Law Boston (NELB), and the inaugural class of the Executive Leadership Council’s (ELC) Pipeline to Leadership Program. He is a member of the Massachusetts BAR.

Dr. Michael Curry holds an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from Curry College (2022), an Honorary Doctorate in Healthcare Administration from Labouré College (2022), an Honorary Doctorate from William James College (2023), and recently received his 4th, an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (2025). Dr. Curry is also an Adjunct Professor at both New England Law Boston, teaching “Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession,” and Suffolk University’s Moakley Center and Sawyer School of Management, teaching a health care management and policy course, and is a frequently requested keynote speaker and panelist on a wide range of civil rights and health policy issues.

In 2021, he created a 400-slide presentation entitled “Quantum Leap” to address the history of anti-Black racism in America from 1619 to today. Over the course of one to three hours, Michael quantum leaps through history, connecting the dots between this history and the gaps, inequities, and disparities of today. He has presented this highly sought-after walk-through history to over 70 local and national organizations.

Michael is father to: Marcus Curry (30), a graduate of St. John’s University and Account Manager at Boathouse (full-service integrated marketing and communications agency); Michael Curry Jr. (22), a senior at Norfolk State University, majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and Malcolm Curry (17), a rising Senior at Thayer Academy. Michael is engaged to fiancée Julie Cabral with wedding plans for September 2026.

DISTINGUISHED PANEL SPEAKERS

SONIA ALVAREZ
United States

Sonia Alvarez helps individuals and organizations develop and implement strategies to survive, adapt, and thrive through chronic stressors and acute shock events. She has 30 years of experience leading organizational strategy, culture, change management, and resilience. Through her company Life Shift, she helps people navigate through transitions and trauma. She holds a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems.  She is a proud Minnesotan of Puerto Rican descent.  
People can also get more information about the work I do through www.whatcouldyoube.com .

PROF. WM "LEZ" HENRY
United Kingdom

Please note that some words in this biographical profile are spelled in accordance with British language practices.
William Lez Henry (PhD) was born in the London borough of Lewisham and is of Jamaican parentage. He is the British Reggae Deejay Lezlee Lyrix, a writer, poet, and community activist, renowned as a first-rate public speaker. He is a former Professor of Criminology and Sociology at the University of West London (UWL) and was the creator of UWL’s MA in Global Black Studies, Decolonisation and Social Justice. The degree was unique in its approach, as it focused on the wider contributions of the African diaspora, thereby familiarising students with the liberatory ideas of key colonial and post-colonial thinkers and making known the interconnections between ‘Western’ hegemonic histories and the invention of 'whiteness'.

Prof Henry lectures in criminology, sociology, social anthropology, black history, whiteness studies, race, education, ethnicity, class, gender, youth justice, and cultural studies.  He has authored several journal articles, books, and chapters in books and has written and published extensively on many of the concerns of the African / Black Diaspora in the UK and beyond. Moreover, he delivers educational programmes in community and grass-roots settings, as well as in universities, schools, and colleges, specialising in working with those who, like himself, turned their backs on formal educational systems.

Prof Henry features in numerous documentaries and current affairs television and radio programmes and has spoken nationally and internationally on behalf of private and public organisations/institutions, and several local councils across the UK. He is also an acclaimed staff trainer, motivational speaker and facilitator for corporations and institutions such as: LinkedIn; Amazon Prime; Sainsburys; NHS; Crown Prosecution Service, Tate Modern; Tate Britain; Gagosian Gallery; Whitworth Gallery; University of Oxford; University of Cambridge; SOAS; Queens University, Belfast, NI; University of Gothenburg, Sweden; University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica; University of Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa; University of Education, Winneba Ghana; Yale University, USA, Howard University, USA, to but name a few.

Prof Henry is a keen martial artist and is a Shodan Black Belt in Kyokushinkai Karate, and is a 4th Degree black Belt, Senior Instructor in Hug Kuen, 5 Animals, and Shaolin Kung. 

TODD WILLIAMS
United States

Todd Williams is Co-Founder and President of TB Williams Consulting, a global advisory firm that partners with organizations to build inclusive cultures, strengthen leadership capacity, and embed equitable
practices into everyday business strategy. Since founding the firm in 2019, Todd has worked with leaders across industries to translate values into action and create environments where people and performance
thrive together.

Todd brings more than 30 years of leadership experience from multinational organizations, including The
Coca-Cola Company, Procter & Gamble, and Target Corporation. At Target, he led complex, multi-business
portfolios, shaped multicultural market strategies, and served as Director of Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, influencing enterprise-wide approaches to inclusion, talent, and growth.

In higher education, Todd has served as Executive Director of the Center for Sales Leadership and
Education at the University of Minnesota, preparing students for meaningful careers in sales, marketing, and
leadership. He has taught various leadership, sales, and marketing courses, while also co-creating the Race,
Power and Justice in Business curriculum at the Carlson School of Management, bridging business
excellence with social impact and ethical leadership.

Across corporate, academic, and community settings, Todd is known for his ability to connect people, ideas,
and purpose. His work reflects a lifelong commitment to advancing equity, mentoring emerging leaders, and
strengthening communities through inclusive and sustainable growth.

A Minneapolis native and proud University of Minnesota alumnus, Todd has also studied at the University of
St. Thomas and participated in the MLT Leadership Cohort. He continues to engage leaders around the
world in conversations that challenge assumptions, expand perspective, and inspire collective progress.

Friday, February 6, 2026
​FREE & OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC WORLDWIDE
​4pm BST (1600)  •  11am EST  • 10am CST •  9am MST • 8am PST