HARVEY V. FINEBERG PROFESSOR OF THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERSHIP
INAUGURAL CHAIR, INITIATIVE ON HEALTH AND HOMELESSNESS

Dr. Howard K. Koh is one of the nation’s foremost public‐health leaders—Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, inaugural Chair of its Initiative on Health and Homelessness, and Co‑Director of the Initiative on Health, Spirituality & Religion. From 2009–2014, as the 14th Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS (nominated by President Obama and Senate‑confirmed), he steered the nation’s public‑health agenda—overseeing Healthy People 2020, the Affordable Care Act’s prevention efforts, the federal response to H1N1, and landmark strategic plans in tobacco control, HIV/AIDS, chronic hepatitis, and health equity. A former Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner and a member of the National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Koh has authored over 325 publications and secured more than $28 million in research funding—all driven by his unwavering commitment to dignity, equity, and compassionate care.

FOUNDER, MIRACLE MESSAGES
AUTHOR, When We Walk By

Kevin F. Adler is an award‐winning social entrepreneur, bestselling author, and founder & CEO of Miracle Messages—a nonprofit that reunites people experiencing homelessness with loved ones, provides phone‐buddy support, and launched the first basic‐income pilot for unhoused individuals in the U.S., backed by Google.org and a $2.1 million USC‐led randomized trial. His groundbreaking work on relational poverty and homelessness has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, CNN, and even on a Times Square billboard, and he has shared his insights in a popular TED Talk and at venues from Google and UC Berkeley to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Kevin’s new book, When We Walk By: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems, and the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America, offers a must‐read roadmap for systemic change, while his earlier study, Natural Disasters as a Catalyst for Social Capital, explores how shared trauma can build—or break—community bonds. A Cambridge‐trained sociologist, former Presidential Leadership Scholar, TED Resident, and MassChallenge winner, Kevin’s life‐work is driven by his late mother’s devotion to underserved learners and his uncle’s decades on the street, forging a vision of a world where every person is seen as invaluable and interconnected.

VIOLINIST & FOUNDER, SHELTER MUSIC BOSTON

Julie Leven is the Founder and Artistic/Executive Director Emeritus of Shelter Music Boston, the pioneering organization she launched in 2010 that has delivered over 800 world‑class chamber concerts in Greater Boston homeless shelters and substance‑misuse recovery centers. A passionate advocate for music as a catalyst for social change, she commissioned the first opera about composer Florence Price, co‑created “Voices From the Land” with Navajo Nation composers, and has partnered with Arts Connect International, the Social Innovation Forum, and Arts & Homelessness International. As a violinist, she performs regularly with the Handel + Haydn Society Orchestra and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and has appeared at major venues and festivals worldwide—including the BBC Proms, Spoleto, Tanglewood, and the Casals Festival—and on Grammy‑nominated recordings. A 2014 Boston Neighborhood Fellow and graduate of Oberlin College & Conservatory (with additional leadership training at BU’s Institute for Nonprofit Management), Julie bridges artistry, advocacy, and leadership to transform communities through the power of music.