All right. Good afternoon, everyone. I know that um our mayor who I just said to her um we're this is the sixth day into the week and I feel so blessed uh and fortunate because I've been with her this is the third time uh this week we
were at church on uh Sunday and the the message there was that we are battle tested uh and we are fighting by faith and it's not uh over so I was honored to fellowship with her it's like three hours three-hour service but we had a good time. And then she was with me
yesterday celebrating the second anniversary uh of my beloved mother and dedicating um the street that I grew up on for my mom. And so I'm so filled uh today with gratitude for you uh Madameir. Uh and then to be here for a
professional uh achievement just means so much to me. I'm grateful for your love, for your friendship uh and for your support. And I want to tell you I was with both of our mentors because I think he's both of our our mentors, our chairman and Mmeridus. We have a Dr. Lee
Pelton uh Jeff Rosa who's been such a great adviser and mentor uh for me as well. I'm going to be bookended by two great men because Jeff has agreed to remain my advisor uh and mentor in this transition. And I have to tell you,
you're ending, we're ending this campaign today, and you're serving as honorary chair. I tell all of you, we started in this very house uh on April 4th uh 2019, kicking off our campaign with our former mayor, Marty Walsh, and
three mayors later, cuz I do uh recognize that we had another mayor uh in there to be ending with you. And I have to tell you, I was with Lee and Lee said, "Let her get through the selection." And then I don't know if Steven's here yet, but Stephen, we're
going to be reaching out to you, Dr. Pelton and I, cuz we have a big bold idea uh for someone that Joshua knows. And we we we have another request for her to be an honorary of of something. So, we're going to get uh penciled in
and then we're going to come uh and meet with you uh once this little election thing um is is uh is uh over. But welcome to each and every one of you. Thank you so much uh for joining us as we culminate our $35 million uh building
our future campaign. I don't want to get in tr into trouble with without without with shout outs, but my mother taught me you give uh recognition and respect where respect is due. I am incredibly grateful uh to all of you, but I have to
tell you um back in March, an anonymous donor who's been a friend uh for over 25 years, has supported me along my career, she created the Danella J. Clark Scholarship Fund. And the first people that I had dinner with was a couple days
before my birthday was two amazing friends that I just love and appreciate so much. Um, Bill Schnore and his beautiful wife Katherine Steberg. And Katherine and Bill were the first um to lead towards matching that fund. And then I'm so grateful to doctors Amy who
couldn't be with us today uh and Joshua for closing out uh the Danella J. Clark Scholarship Fund. So, thank you, Catherine, for being here. Closing it out. It means so much to me. And there will be more remarks upstairs
when we go for lunch so Jod doesn't uh kill me. Um I um want to introduce my godson when I took this job nine graduations ago. you know, Lily, some people have um an executive
coach. Some people have a life coach. I have um she's hiding back there. She's with me every um step of the way. I feel so comforted in everything that I do, especially losing my mom to have my sheer Jackie Jenkins Scott who I stand
on her shoulders. I tell you, Dr. Bogle, when no one would take a chance on me 20 odd years ago to do this work, Jackie did. and that anonymous donor I met through um Jackie um so so happy to have you here with me Jackie um but when I
started at Boston Arts Academy I'd never worked in education of the K to2 space so I was like madame mayor I don't know what I'm doing so I literally one day went to Ann Clark we've had two heads of schools during this campaign three mayors four superintendent
4700 donors according to Jodie but who's counting so I said I don't know what I'm doing. I've never been in a school. And so I had worked with Danny Rivera, senior, and I went to Danny Rivera Jr. and I said, "Hey, can I be student for a day?" I literally put on my chucks, um,
my pigtails. Remember Danny? And I shadowed Danny um, for the whole day. And so I am so proud that he adopted me to be his godmother. We're we're on the globe from yesterday because he was with me yesterday as well. So, I'm very
pleased to introduce to you all um my godson Danny Rivera Jr., proud alum of Boston Arts Academy, class of 2019. He is a rock star, a superstar, uh just an amazing young man and leader, and I look
forward to seeing what he will do next. But right now, so proud of him. He may be the only Boston Arts Academy um student in the history. He is currently studying at Yale. So, Danny, come on and uh kick us off with a song.
I brought my Celtics hat and I'm wishing all of the team players a very well uh new season, next season. Will you
just say thank you? Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Woo, and uh for inviting us into uh this tabernacle. Uh I was going to sing a song by the now
Reverend Al Green. Uh but Al Green, the Reverend Green, went through a situation and he promised God that he would preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. But y'all remember there was a song. Do you remember that song
called Let's Stay Together? Mhm. Well, I told my godmother that I was going to sing that, but because the cameras are on and I know the press works, I can't sing a song that has copywritten um within a certain amount of So, will you please join me as we sing the
national anthem? Oh, say can you see everyone say by the dawn early light what so proudly
we held at the you know The words twilight last gleaming who's brought stripes
and bright stars through the perilous. I wish we had a piano for the mayor. For the ramparts we watched were so gallently
streaming and the rock kids red glare. The bombs bursting in air gave proof
through the night that your flag was right there. I changed the words. Yeah, I did. It didn't go nowhere. Can we all sing the rest together?
Oh, say the flat star spangled ber and wave or the land of the free.
Hold on y'all. Hold on. No. No. No. the home of look at the person next to you and say neighbor
I'm brave the brave go Celtics Thank you so much, Danny. Before I uh bring the mayor up, I also want to recognize city councelor Sharon Durkin, who happens to be the counselor for Boston Arts Academy. Thank you so so
much uh for being here. And I also want to recognize former and current Boston Arts Academy Foundation colleagues that are here uh this afternoon. Just just give a wave. I am um particularly proud.
I always say that I do nothing of myself and I am u particularly proud to have Laura Albert with with me this afternoon who this campaign started with as our first VP of philanthropy and Fred Cavelli and Lily Dutchan. But Fred, when
Fred came on board, I have to tell you, Madame Mayor, he came in and he said, "Danella, I'm at the end of my career and I'm going to give you three years." And when when his time was over, we couldn't find anyone to take the job. And he said, "Jackie, I will stay one
more year." And then he stayed and trained someone. And I'll tell you all a funny joke. I when we started working together, Fred kept calling me kiddo. And I went to Lee, my and said, "Why does he keep calling me kiddo?" And it came that it was a term of endurment.
And Lee said, "You guys are are Obama and Biden. You're Batman and Robin." and he still rocks with us. Whitney will tell you, our new great CFO, that if there's something, we could always call on Fred. So, it means so much to me um
that you guys are here. With that, I am proud to present all of us here uh know her. She uh is everywhere. We at the Boston Arts Academy and the Boston Arts Academy Foundation. Is Carol Charnow here yet? Oh my god. So, Carol is here
representing Boston Arts Academy. Someone said to me, "Where is Tyrone?" Well, you know, we were trying to close this up and we got to get the mayor when we could get her. And uh he had a all day retreat, but we are so happy to have Carol Charnow here who's the vice chair
of the Boston Arts Academy board of trustees. And a quick thing, Carol Charnau, I don't know if you remember, Carol, when we launched this campaign, Susan Shear, even I came to your office and you gave us your case statement and
you helped us with this campaign. So, it warms my heart that you are here today. Thank you so much for being here. Without further ado, my sister in service, Madame Mayor, Michelle Woo. Thank you. So, good afternoon to everyone. It has
been a great week. So, I'm gonna have to find a way to coordinate my schedule with Danella so we can spend every week together. What a beautiful set of celebrations and community gatherings that we've been able to share um even
over the last six days. And what an incredible campaign that you all have made possible over the last six years. Um, it is I, you know, I feel just the luckiest mayor in the world to be able
to receive the baton after so many decades and generations and and years of this community really living as proof of what's possible through partnership. Time after time across the city, when it's issues that have mattered, when it's times when we've been hurting, when
it's times that we've been celebrating, this city has reached across public, private, philanthropic, across different neighborhoods, across different communities and generations to say, how do we have each other's backs? And if ever there was a moment where we needed
that kind of energy, Boston is the model. and we will continue to be and never back down from who we are, what we stand for, and our core values. Um, this is also so thrilling because I think in some ways we're redefining nationally what is
possible for a public school district and a public school and a public arts school to make the declaration that they were going to raise $35 million
building our future and then to wrap up the entire campaign three days early. not only meeting that incredibly high bar, but exceeding it is a credit to each and every person who's been involved and a credit to our city and what we mean nationally. So, thank you,
Danella, for all your leadership on that. I had um so many moments of wonder and joy through the BAA process, right? Whether it was talking about and dreaming of the
new building, getting to walk around, and I think someone from the the Biden administration had visited us to do the walkthrough in hard hats of the space when it was still raw and being built up, and then seeing the unveiling with those incredible stairs and that open
space, the sound recording studio second to none, a state-of-the-art theater. we are really delivering and showing our Boston kids that they deserve the best of the best and that we expect the best of the best of them as well in giving back to community in being that role
model and example. Uh there's no one else I would have gone for that high note for um so thank you for doing so much more than even just what every dollar is going to do in this moment, right? the
the talent and potential that it will support, the little things in the school that it will make possible, the just sense of relief and ease and convenience of building the opportunities that our students need are not just going to make
life easier and more rewarding and more supportive for this generation of students in this moment. This will have a lasting impact on the history of our city and who comes out of Boston to shape arts, culture, and impact all
around the country. Boston has always been that hot bed of activism, of energy, of leadership. And again, in a moment where we very badly need to see that, this city is going to lead and the the students and graduates of the Boston Arts Academy are going to step into
those roles of leadership because of you all. Thank you so much. I want to thank my friend and and partner on the council, councelor Durkin, for all that she does to advocate. Um, she has crowned her district, what is it, the district of capital of fun, capital of fun in the
city and BAA squarely within that contributing to this entire ecosystem. I want to thank everyone from BAA Foundation who has worked so hard for so long. Um, all of the supporters. I know um I'm told Mark was here for that very first event as well back in the day. Um
all of the staff and faculty and and affiliated community of the Boston Arts Academy. Thank you for what you do day in and day out. And thank you for those very very generous supporters who have made it possible to set an what seemed
impossible to reach goal and then surpass it. Um okay, that's my that's my wrap-up signal. She's she's my timer. So at the very end, Danella came and met with me and said, "We are this close. We have an anonymous generous matching uh
contribution gift." And then we have just one step of the way after that. So to Katherine and to Bill, thank you so much for filling that gap. To I I don't see Rea here. Um Rea and Omar Simmons, thank you to Helina Aikay and Meet
Boston uh for stepping up. And then when it came to the the last big step uh to doctors Amy and Joshua Boger, thank you so much for coming through once again for our city and making it possible to deliver that impact.
So I'd like to invite up Joshua Boger. All right. All right. All right. So, everyone now please join us upstairs for lunch and our program will continue there. Thank you so much, Madame Mayor. We are so so grateful to
you. Does everyone know as you're going upstairs? Does everyone know why Meera is called Mera? She's the miracle baby. It goes everywhere. She's the vice mayor of the city of Boston.
Thank you so much. Um, all right. If everyone would like to join us upstairs for lunch, that would be great.