ClassACT HR73 upcoming events

Meet & Greet with BBLP Fellow Wasim Gohar (October 15, 2026)

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 21:30:00 GMT

Meet & Greet with '26-'27 BBLP Fellow Wasim Gohar

The ClassACT HR73 Board and the Benazir Bhutto Leadership Program Steering Committee invite you to join us for an in-person gathering to introduce this year’s Benazir Bhutto Leadership Program Fellow, Wasim Gohar of Pakistan. This event will take place on Thursday, October 15 at 5:30 pm ET at the St. Botolph Club in Boston.

The evening will begin with social time, wine, soft drinks and delicious food, followed by a conversation between Wasim and ClassACT HR73 Board Member Leigh Hafrey. You’ll have the opportunity to learn more about Wasim, hear his perspective on Pakistan, and explore his hopes for the future. Additional information about Wasim appears below.

This is a wonderful opportunity to meet our fellow and to spend time together.

Please join us.

Wasim Gohar is a Pakistani public policy practitioner with extensive experience in Parliamentary oversight.

In over a decade-long career with Pakistan’s Parliament, Wasim rendered policy research support to senior political leadership including the Speaker of the National Assembly, Leader of the Opposition and Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research. The highlight of his career was strengthening and coordinating parliamentary efforts to revitalize growth in Pakistan’s agro-economy with a particular focus on the protection of the small farmers against market imperfections and lifting binding constraints to Pakistan’s agro-economic growth. During his service to the National Assembly of Pakistan, he steered research input into key national reforms covering elections, food security and parliamentary scrutiny of public expenditure.

In his last assignment before coming to the Harvard Kennedy School, Wasim held a dual portfolio of supporting the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and the Members of the Opposition in holding the Government to account. The research-based work with Pakistan’s senior political leadership sparked his interest in state capability and economic prosperity. He is driven to understand why some nations build capable, accountable institutions that enable long-term prosperity and public trust while others continue to face volatility, inequality, and democratic fragility.

Wasim is currently pursuing a Mid-Career Masters in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as an Edward S. Mason Fellow. He holds a Masters degree in Public Policy (MPP) from the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford where he remained a Commonwealth Shared Scholar. He also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Institute of Management Sciences (IMSciences), Peshawar. He has written extensively for “The News” and “Express Tribune.”

Learn at Lunch: Pathbreaking Art from the Periphery (October 22, 2026)

Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT

PATHBREAKING ART FROM THE PERIPHERY:

A Conversation with Contemporary Mayan Artists

Join us for a "Learn at Lunch" event as we are introduced to the art and artists of Espacio MUY, a gallery and workshop of Mayan & Zoque artists based in San Cristóbal de las Casas (Chiapas, México). Working across various media and grappling with themes as diverse as immigration and globalization, these artists are becoming recognized as pathbreakers in a new wave of indigenous art. Hosted by John Burstein '74 and Thor Anderson '73, artists Margarita (Säsâknichim) Martínez, and Gerardo K'ulej will engage in a conversation about the creative process-- as artists, as members of their communities, leaders of the MUY project and striking out into the contemporary art world.

Information on Espacio MUY and on the presenters at the Learn at Lunch: www.galeriamuy.org .

Säsäknichim (Margarita) Martínez Pérez

Säsäknichim (Margarita) Martínez Pérez, a linguist, translator, and audiovisual artist, practices photography, video, textile intervention, and embroidery, and maintains a significant academic career. Säsäknichim holds a PhD in Anthropological Linguistics and is a professor and researcher in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas.

Since 2005, she has conducted ethnographic and linguistic documentation research among the Tsotsil Maya of the Highlands of Chiapas, and co-directs Stsebetik Bolom, a photography and activism collective involved with young Tsotsil Maya women from Chiapas.

For the past 15 years, Säsäknichim has used photography and video for the ethnographic and linguistic documentation of the Tsotsil language. His photographs document Mayan children participating in daily life and ritual activities, or playing at emulating their parents' work. Through his photographic documentation, we see a child sitting and sucking on a candy after dancing as a max, or two siblings blowing on corn to clean it.

As an embroiderer and textile artist, Säsäknichim is a facilitator and member of the Arte Yabtel Bats'i Antsetik collective. Working with master textile artists, Säsäknichim documents the processes of Mayan embroidery and weaving through photography and video.

Gerardo K'ulej

Gerardo K’ulej (Gerardo Alfredo Culej Vazquez), generative, multidisciplinary artist and a student of science. He explores his contemporary Tsotsil identity, among the multi-tensions with the Lum-glogal (global world): and defines his art as abstract bio-Mayan, “My art is not derived only by science or Mayan symbolism, but more good for my sensitivity as a Mayan artist.

His creative process developes in three states: solid (the creation of inert objects, sculptures positioned in space), liquid (kinetic works in a space-time level) and hyper-liquid (generative art).

For him, “the appropriation of technological resources is the path for intercultural transformation, a way of articulating the futuristic Mayan-Tsotsil vision and the possibility of dismantling mechanisms or objects foreign to it, such as communication devices both visual and auditory”.

Art transgresses borders and transcends cultures.

In 2016, he had his first exhibition, “Yik’al Xojobal” (Abstract Art). In 2017 he held his first residency at Galería MUY, concluding in an exhibition titled “Science and spirituality in Mayan visual art”. Since then he has participated in different artistic group projects, making visible the quality of contemporary Mayan/Zoque art and its social relationship.

John Burstein HR74

As director emeritus of Espacio MUY and a promoter of local art projects, Burstein co-directs the cultural space and its public relations, and coordinates MUY's curatorial activities. Burstein first arrived in Chiapas in 1973 and has since founded several civil society organizations in Chiapas with an emphasis on development, public policy, and art

Thor Anderson HR73

Thor Anderson (HR ’73, graduated ’75) worked as a carpenter, landscaper, and film technician before returning for a PHD in Social Anthropology (UC Berkeley, '96). A specialist in ritual, the use of public spaces, and visual anthropology, Anderson did fieldwork in Chiapas (Mexico), Basque Country (Spain), and San Francisco (California). While teaching anthropology as a lecturer at various Bay Area universities, he assisted his partner, Consuelo Faust, with her dance company. He is currently splitting his time between volunteering, film projects, working with their dance company, and the duties (and joys) of being a new grandfather.

Learn at Lunch: A Post Election Group Gathering (November 11, 2026)

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 17:00:00 GMT

The ClassACT HR73 Environment and Climate Change Working Group will be hosting a midterm post-election Learn at Lunch discussion on November 11 at noon ET. This meeting will be a chance to assess outcomes of the midterms to determine next steps. Pending the election results, what executive actions of the present Administration on environmental issues might be countered or softened, if necessary? What legislative actions of the past 20 months might be countered or reversed? What is the outlook on other possible environmental actions going forward? Such post-election questions seem essential. Please join us for this important discussion.

Labor, Unions and Democracy Forum (November 16, 2026)

Tue, 17 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT

What is the important role that unions have played and can play in defending democracy and defending immigrants in these perilous times? Polls show that union favorability ratings are at an all time high, and yet they only represent 10% of the workforce. How can unions grow dramatically and play a larger role in American life and politics? This panel will cover the history and contemporary issues surrounding union membership and power in the United States.

It will be moderated by Steven Pitts '74, Emeritus Associate Chair, UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, is comprised of Peter Olney '73, retired Organizing Director of the ILWU, Jessica Tang '04, President, American Federation of Teachers MA, AFT VP; and Patric M. Verrone '81, Former President, Writers Guild of America, West.

Website Development and Maintenance Webinar (December 02, 2026)

Thu, 03 Dec 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In order to help our Bridge Partners to further their objectives, we are offering assistance in a variety of skills related to the success of non-profits via the Bridge Toolbox Series. These webinars are recorded and archived on our website for public use.

Join us on December 2nd as Gina Myerson, a marketing and communications professional with more than 30 years experience working for nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and Martha Stone-Martin, VP of Marketing and Administration for Charles River CFO (CRCFO) with over 30 years of experience of her own developing web presences for small firms, lead a session on successful website development and maintenance.

Gina Myerson is a marketing and communications professional with more than 30 years experience working for nonprofit and for-profit organizations. As the Director of Marketing at Northwestern University’s engineering school, she developed strategies, initiatives and products to promote the school through print, electronic and web-based communication. Since retirement she has offered pro bono consultation to nonprofit organizations.

Martha Stone-Martin is VP of Marketing and Administration for Charles River CFO (CRCFO). CRCFO provides outsourced CFO, accounting and HR services to nonprofits, biotech and technology firms. She has over 30 years of experiencing developing web presences for small firms.