Posted June 2023 | Please note that all of the biographies and images in this post are property of Boston Magazine

In the realm of hardworking and high-achieving individuals, BU alumni shine brightly. But what truly sets them apart is their unwavering commitment to improving the very city they once called home. Boston Magazine’s esteemed list of “Most Influential Bostonians” proudly recognized fifteen remarkable Terriers this year. And bonus: over half of them were women! To make it easier to spot your fellow classmates, we’ve compiled them all here. Take a look and show your BU pride by resharing this post!

Michael Cox | Commissioner and Chief, Boston Police Department
His return to lead the department he once served is extraordinary, but what matters now is whether Cox can forge some common ground between the reform-minded mayor and a headstrong police force—while quelling fears about rising gun violence. So far, the city seems ready to support him.

Lynn Dale | Owner, Lynn Dale Events
A trustee of Boston Ballet and an adviser at the MFA and the BSO, Dale is like a human nuclear reactor. Meanwhile, her successful event-planning business organizes some of the city’s swankiest soirees (including charity galas), taking them from drab to fab every time.

Lydia Edwards | State Senator
After an impressive run as city councilor, Edwards is now in the state Senate—and has already been elevated to chair of the crucial Joint Committee on Housing. Her golden-touch record of endorsing winning candidates now includes the mayor, attorney general, auditor, and district attorney—demonstrating her influence on voters and the powerful friends who owe her.

Marlo Fogelman | Founder and CEO, Marlo Marketing
Talk about influential: Former Governor Baker and Mayor Wu are among the bigwigs who get a copy of Fogelman’s “Marlo Monthly” newsletter—highlighting exciting news from her clients, including Lawn on D and restaurants such as Kelly’s and Yvonne’s. Not content to rest on her laurels, Fogelman—who celebrated her firm’s 19th anniversary last month—has grown her business from a public relations firm into a full-service integrated marketing and creative agency.

Ben Hires | CEO, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center
Hires is emerging as a much-needed next-gen leader for Boston’s Asian-American residents. With a background in arts organizations and connections gained from being Boston Public Library’s director of strategic partnerships, his unique skill set has proven ideal for guiding Chinatown through COVID, a rise in anti-Asian hate, and the usual struggles of housing and transportation in the neighborhood.

Jackie Jenkins-Scott | Interim President, Roxbury Community College
The former head of Dimock Health and Wheelock College was reportedly the RCC board’s unanimous choice to lead the school—at a time when Governor Healey’s free community college plan promises to supercharge RCC’s already crucial role in the lives of young, primarily Black Bostonians.

Ibram X. Kendi | Founder & Director, BU Center for Antiracist Research
He’s officially a Bostonian now: In October, Kendi donned a Sox jersey and threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park. Kendi also, in the past 12 months, published three more bestsellers—including How to Be a (Young) Antiracist—making him the highest-profile intellectual on race in a city prioritizing the issue in almost everything it does.

Reshma Kewalramani | CEO, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
The India-born, Boston University–educated Kewalramani was named one of 10 people transforming healthcare by Business Insider—and it’s clear why. She’s entered Vertex into a partnership with CRISPR Therapeutics and says her company could launch new products for five different diseases in the next five years. She’s also working on building a better STEM pipeline with Boston Public Schools.

Barbara Lee | Founder and President, Barbara Lee Family Foundation
For years, Lee has funded efforts to elect female governors all over the country—especially in Massachusetts. In 2014, while supporting Martha Coakley in her (ultimately unsuccessful) bid for governor, Lee also helped recruit Maura Healey to run for attorney general. Eight years later, Lee at long last got her wish—and a friend in the corner office. She even cochaired Healey’s gubernatorial inaugural party, raising a record $2.9 million.

Nikko Mendoza | State Director, Senator Elizabeth Warren
Mendoza isn’t just Warren’s eyes and ears—and frequent stand-in—here at home; she’s also a super-connected go-to for everybody in Massachusetts politics and beyond. The former staffer for Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas Menino reminds some of a former political director for Senator John Kerry: Ayanna Pressley.

Bruce Percelay | Founder and Chairman, Mount Vernon Company
As Nantucket Magazine publisher (and interviewer), Percelay is leading the conversation among decision makers on the exclusive island; as a local real estate mogul, he is leading the conversation about development in the Mayor Wu era, representing himself and others by stepping forward as a vocal critic of local housing policies. He also helps shape discourse as board chair of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute.

Ayanna Pressley | U.S. Representative
She’s known most for taking on the big, bold fights, such as her “baby bonds” bill, student debt cancellation, and the attempt to (finally) enshrine the Equal Rights Amendment. But she’s also bringing home the bacon: funding for infrastructure in downtown Chelsea, electric-vehicle charging stations in Cambridge, and free library mobile services in Randolph.

George Regan | Chairman and CEO, Regan Communications Group
When the state’s most powerful PR man gets married, you’ll find a former governor (Charlie Baker), former U.S. senator (Scott Brown), former congressman (Marty Meehan), and a couple of billionaires (Robert Kraft and John Fish)—and that’s just among those with official wedding roles. Regan’s nuptials last summer to Elizabeth Akeley merely reinforced his A-list status among Boston’s A-listers.

Christine Schuster | President and CEO, Emerson Health
As local hospitals keep consolidating, it’s notable that the powerful Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association has chosen Schuster, head of one of the remaining independent community hospitals, as its new chair. The former nurse will head a major effort to get help from Beacon Hill on the industry’s challenges, particularly a nurse staffing shortage.

Jane Steinmetz | Boston Office Managing Principal, Ernst & Young
The first, and still the only, woman to head the Boston office of a Big Four accounting firm, it’s no surprise that Steinmetz recently received a Leading Woman honor from Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts—one of many nonprofits she’s involved with. She’s also the chair of the influential Massachusetts Business Roundtable and serves on boards of the Massachusetts High Technology Council and Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Is there someone we missed? Send us an email: alumni@bu.edu.