Dr. Robbie Goldstein Named 2026 SPH Convocation Speaker.
Commissioner Robbie Goldstein. Photo courtesy of Mass.gov
Dr. Robbie Goldstein Named 2026 SPH Convocation Speaker
The commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health will deliver the 2026 convocation address, and Ali Noorani (SPH’00), president of the Barr Foundation, will deliver the alumni address.
Dr. Robbie Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, will deliver the 2026 Boston University School of Public Health Convocation Address on Saturday, May 16. Ali Noorani (SPH’99), president of the Barr Foundation, will deliver the alumni address and Carla Irizarry-Delgado, who is graduating with her MPH, will serve as the student speaker.
“We are so honored to have these amazing community leaders join this special 50th anniversary convocation,” said Dean Hyder. “I am especially pleased as this is my first BUSPH convocation and it emphasizes our commitment to the health of our city and state.”
Goldstein is the state’s top public health official. Appointed commissioner by Governor Maura Healey in April 2023, he is responsible for the health, safety, and wellbeing of the Commonwealth. As head of DPH, he oversees a workforce of more than 3,200 employees spread across eight bureaus and several offices, administering a variety of programs ranging from environmental health to maternal and child health. He also chairs the 14-member Public Health Council that sets state health regulations, manages public health emergencies, and approves health care facility projects. An infectious disease physician by training, Goldstein completed his residency and fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where he later founded and directed the MGH Transgender Health Program. He served as a senior policy advisor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prior to joining DPH.
Noorani has more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership. After studying environmental health and biostatistics as an MPH student at SPH, he got his start directing public health programs in Dorchester. He went on to serve as executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) and then president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum. He is the author of two books, one of which—There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration—was an SPH Reads pick in 2020. Noorani most recently served as program director of the U.S. Democracy Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation before joining the Barr Foundation, one of New England’s largest charitable foundations.
Irizarry-Delgado received a prestigious, full-tuition Dean’s Scholarship to attend SPH. As an MPH student, she studied epidemiology and biostatistics while participating in the Epidemiology Excellence Fellowship. She completed her practicum with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she conducted epidemiologic research on breast cancer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from the University of South Florida and will be pursuing a PhD in epidemiology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in fall 2026.
The SPH Convocation will begin at 9:30 am on May 16 at the BU Track & Tennis Center. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live broadcast (with CART transcription), starting at 9:30 am ET via livestream here. CART (Speech to Text) is also available via personal phone/tablet during the ceremony at the following link: go.bu.edu/ttc.
