Governor Appoints New Members of the Department of Transportation Board of Directors

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BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey announced new appointments to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's Board of Directors.

For the first time, the board will have representation from a member of the disability community, Dr. Lisa Iezzoni.

Governor Healey also appointed to the board Thomas M. McGee, who served as the Mayor of the City of Lynn from 2018-2022; Rick Dimino, current President Emeritus of A Better City after serving as the President and CEO from 1995 to April 2023; and Ilyas Bhatti, Associate Professor holding the Douglas C. Elder Endowed Professorship in the Department of Construction Management at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. 

"Our administration is committed to ensuring that our state's transportation system is safe, reliable and accessible for all, and we're confident that this talented, diverse group of leaders will drive that work on the DOT Board of Directors," said Governor Healey. "We are particularly proud to be appointing a member of the disability community for the first time in the board's history. As a user of the DOT and MBTA systems herself, Dr. Iezzoni will bring a critical perspective to this board that will help us ensure that our transportation system is accessible for people with disabilities."   

Dr. Iezzoni 

Lisa I. Iezzoni is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, based at the Health Policy Research Center and the Mongan Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital. For 25 years, her research has focused on improving the lived experiences, healthcare quality, and health equity of adults with disability, particularly mobility disability. Iezzoni obtained her MD and MSc in health policy and management from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, respectively. Her early career focused on risk adjustment methods and assessing quality of care. Dr. Iezzoni speaks widely, and she has served on numerous committees and advisory boards of professional and governmental organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, the Institute of Medicine, the National Quality Forum, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services. 

Thomas M. McGee

Tom McGee served as Mayor of the City of Lynn from 2018 to 2022. Previously, he served as Massachusetts State Senator from the Third Essex district. He was a member of the Senate Joint Committee on Transportation starting in 2003 and served as Chair of the committee from 2011 to 2018. Before his election to the Senate in 2002, McGee served four terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he represented West Lynn and Nahant. Prior to holding office, McGee practiced law at Quinn and Morris (1990-1994) and served as an Assistant District Attorney for Essex County (1988-1990). McGee is a life-long resident of Lynn where he lives with his wife Maria and two children. He is committed to improving the state's transportation system and strongly supports regional equity. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at the St Mary's School in Lynn. He is also a member of the Pickering Middle School Building Committee in Lynn. In April, Governor Healey appointed McGee to the MBTA Board of Directors.  

Ricard A, Dimino  

Richard currently serves as President Emeritus of A Better City after serving as the President and CEO from 1995 to April 2023. Under his leadership, A Better City achieved major organizational accomplishments and influenced a wide range of city and regional infrastructure projects. Prior to leading A Better City, Dimino served the City of Boston as Commissioner of Transportation from 1985-1993, where he oversaw a staff of 400, represented the City on MBTA advisory boards and committees, and developed all related infrastructure projects and policies. He also served as the Chairperson of the City of Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel Project interagency task force. Dimino then held a position as Vice President and Deputy Manager of Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation's Transportation Business Sector. Dimino received his Master's in Business Administration from Boston University in 1994 and is a 1978 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Northeastern University. In 1991, he completed a Loeb Fellowship in urban policy and transportation planning at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. He then served as a lecturer at Harvard GSD for 17 years and served as a lecturer at Boston University School of management. Dimino had a chance to serve on the Healey-Driscoll administration pre-election transition team. Current and past boards Dimino has served on include the Boston Children's Museum, Boston Society of Architects and Foundation, Freedom Trail Foundation, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. 

Ilyas Bhatti  

Bhatti, P.E., D.WRE, M.ASCE is currently an Associate Professor holding the Douglas C. Elder Endowed Professorship in the Department of Construction Management at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. He has over 40 years of professional experience in the private, public and academic sectors. Prior to joining the academia, Bhatti managed the consulting engineering firm of The Bhatti Group, Inc. (BGI) which he established in March of 1998. BGI was engaged on national and international projects. 

The MassDOT Board of Directors serves as the governing authority for MassDOT. The MassDOT Board is comprised of eleven members who are appointed by the Governor. Each member is required to fulfill specific criteria with expertise in transportation, finance, and/or engineering. The Secretary of Transportation is the Chair of the Board. 

The board membership now includes:  

  • Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca – Chair  

  • Joe Beggan - Municipal Government Experience in one of the "14 cities and towns" (as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 161A) Seat 

  • Ilyas Bhatti – Experience in Civil Engineering Seat 

  • Rick Dimino – Public/Private Finance Seat    

  • Dr. Lisa Iezzoni – MBTA Rider Seat  

  • Timothy King – AFL-CIO Seat 

  • Mayor Tom Koch - Municipal Government Experience in one of the "51 Cities" (as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 161A) Seat 

  • Dean Mazzarella - Municipal Government Experience in one of the "other served" communities (as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 161A) Seat  

  • Thomas M. McGee - Experience in Public/Private Finance or Transportation Planning & Policy Seat 

  • Vanessa Otero – Experience in Transportation Planning & Policy Seat  

Due to a recent vacancy, the Healey-Driscoll Administration expects to soon also fill the Municipal Government Experience in a city or town not part of the MBTA district (as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 161A) seat. 

 
 
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Classical Beat: Enjoy Great Music at Tanglewood, Sevenars Festivals

By Stephen DanknerSpecial to iBerkshires

As Tanglewood enters its fourth week, stellar performances will take center stage in Ozawa Hall and in the Koussevitsky Shed.

Why go? To experience world-class instrumental soloists, such as the stellar piano virtuoso Yuja Wang. Also not to be missed are the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, as well as visiting guest ensembles and BSO and TMC soloists as they perform chamber and orchestral masterworks by iconic composers Purcell, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Wagner, Prokofiev, Richard Strauss, Vaughan Williams and Ives.

In addition to Tanglewood, there are also outstanding performances to be enjoyed at the Sevenars Music Festival in South Worthington. Both venues present great music performed in acoustically resonant venues by marvelous performers.

Read below for the details for concerts from Wednesday, July 17-Tuesday, July 22.

Tanglewood

• Wednesday, July 17, 8 p.m. in Ozawa Hall • Recital Series: The phenomenal world-class piano virtuoso Yuja Wang presents a piano recital in Ozawa Hall.

• Thursday July 18, 8 p.m. in Ozawa Hall • Recital SeriesLes Arts Florissants, William Christie, Director and Mourad Merzouki, Choreographer presents a performance of Henry Purcell's ‘semi-opera'/Restoration Drama "The Fairy Queen."

• Friday, July 19, 8 p.m. in the Shed: Maestro Dima Slobodeniouk leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a program of Leonard Bernstein (the deeply moving, jazz-tinged Symphony No. 2 ("Age of Anxiety") and Brahms' glorious Symphony No. 3.

• Saturday, July 20, 8 p.m. in the Shed: BSO Maestro Andris Nelsons leads the Orchestra in a concert version of Richard Wagner's thrilling concluding music drama from his "Ring" cycle-tetralogy, "Götterdämmerung." The stellar vocal soloists include sopranos Christine Goerke and Amanda Majeske, tenor Michael Weinius, baritone James Rutherford, bass Morris Robinson and Rhine maidens Diana Newman, Renée Tatum and Annie Rosen.

• Sunday, July 21, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: Maestro Nelsons leads the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra (TMCO) in a program of Ives (the amazingly evocative "Three Places in New England"), Beethoven (the powerful Piano Concerto No. 3 with soloist Emanuel Ax) and Richard Strauss ("Also sprach Zarathustra" — you'll recognize its iconic "sunrise" opening).

• Tuesday, July 22, 7:00 p.m. in the Shed • Popular Artist Series: Beck, with the Boston Pops, Edwin Outwater, conductor.

For tickets to all Tanglewood events, call 888-266-1200, or go to tanglewood.org.

Sevenars Music Festival

Founded in 1968, Sevenars Concerts, Inc., presents its 56th anniversary season of six summer concerts, held at the Academy in South Worthington, located at 15 Ireland St., just off Route 112.

• Sunday, July 21, at 4 p.m.: Sevenars is delighted to present violist Ron Gorevic, returning to Sevenars after his stunning Bach recital in 2023. This year, Gorevic will offer a groundbreaking program including music of Kenji Bunch, Sal Macchia, Larry Wallach, and Tasia Wu, the latter three composing especially for him. In addition, he'll offer Bach's magnificent Chaconne in D minor and Max Reger's 3rd Suite.

Hailed by The New York Times, Gorevic continues a long and distinguished career as a performer on both violin and viola. Along with solo recitals, he has toured the United States, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Australia, performing most of the quartet repertoire. In London, he gave the British premieres of pieces by Donald Erb and Ned Rorem. He has recorded for Centaur Records as soloist and member of the Prometheus Piano Quartet, and for Koch Records as a member of the Chester String Quartet.

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