For Immediate Release

Contact:
Meaghan Hohl
Meaghan@sevenletter.com | (617) 448-6973

BOSTON, MA (April 21, 2022) Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) today announced that former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and First Lady Diane Patrick together with former Massachusetts Senator Mo Cowan and his wife Stacy Cowan will serve as honorary Co-Chairs for MLRI’s annual Catalyst for Change event on April 28, 2022.

Proceeds from the 2022 Catalyst for Change event will benefit MLRI’s Racial Justice & Equity Project which undertakes advocacy, in collaboration with community partners, to address and dismantle systemic racial disparities and racialized policies and practices that disadvantage the Commonwealth’s communities of color. MLRI hopes to raise $150,000 to support the ongoing efforts this project.

The event this year will honor Brent Henry, a leading healthcare attorney from Mintz Levin. He will be honored for his work promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, advocating for more funding for legal aid programs, and supporting health and housing equity.

“Since its inception, MLRI has been an incredible catalyst for change for so many individuals and families living in poverty. They have ensured that the most vulnerable among us has a voice,” said Deval Patrick. “Diane and I are proud to serve as honorary co-chairs of this year’s event and to celebrate our friend, Brent Henry. Brent has been a longtime advocate for social justice and equality, paving a path for the kind of change that supports and enriches the lives of so many. He is deserving of this recognition for the indelible impact he has left on the legal community in Massachusetts.”

“We are proud to support MLRI in its mission and to raise up issues like racial justice and equity,” said Former First Lady Diane Patrick. “MLRI’s advocacy and the work of people like Brent Henry make the Commonwealth a better place to live.”

In 2013, Governor Patrick appointed Mr. Cowan to the U.S Senate, making him the second African American senator from Massachusetts in the chamber’s history. Stacy Cowan is the Founder/CEO of SLC Advisory Services and has been practicing law for over 20 years.

“MLRI is working every day to improve lives, advocate for those who need a voice, and protect the rights of some of the most vulnerable among us and they need help to do this work,” said Senator Mo Cowan. “Stacy and I are proud to support them as they work to address the systemic racial disparities that harm the Commonwealth’s communities of color.

“We are honored to have Governor and Mrs. Patrick as well Senator Cowan and Mrs. Cowan join us as co-chairs of our annual event this year,” said Georgia Katsoulomitis, Executive Director of MLRI. “They have dedicated so much of their time and careers to issues that are close to the work of MLRI – not only racial justice and equity but access to health care and support for vulnerable people and communities.”

“On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, I am thrilled that Governor and Diane Patrick and Senator and Stacy Cowan are serving as honorary co-chairs as we celebrate Brent Henry’s many years of fighting for a more equitable society,” said Jamie Hoag, President of the MLRI Board of Trustees. “I want to thank the MLRI staff and leadership team for continuing to champion the important work of racial equity and justice.”

Through legal, policy, and legislative advocacy, MLRI helped thousands of families and individuals living in poverty throughout 2020 and 2021. Through its Racial Equity & Justice Project, in 2021, MLRI launched a statewide Digital Equity Project and formed a Digital Equity Work group to examine the racial digital divide and devise advocacy strategies to ensure broadband internet and technology is available and accessible to all households in the Commonwealth.