A few hundred people came together to celebrate the resilience, resourcefulness, and shared purpose that define our ecosystem in the soaring atrium space at 650 E. Kendall Street on December 3 for our 2025 Annual Meeting Celebration. It was the perfect place to host an evening highlighting all the good people do together in Kendall. We gathered beneath the multistory kinetic sculpture, Diffusion Choir, whose motion and form symbolizes people coming together to create something greater than themselves. Speakers throughout the evening underscored the theme that the world works here despite the challenges we face.
The night opened with an energizing reception where guests connected over some of Kendall’s favorite flavors: Fuji at Kendall, Amba, Area Four, Dig, and drinks provided by Cambridge Spirits.
Attendees mingled to live performances by a quartet from the Kendall Square Orchestra. Kendall’s famed bump factor was everywhere. The room buzzed as clusters of people from academia, real estate, architecture, nonprofits, life science, and tech mixed. Seasoned Kendall leaders chatted with the next generation of trailblazers from Innovators for Purpose. A surprise saxophone duet guided the crowd to their seats to begin the fast-moving program, and the quartet played walk-up music for the various speakers throughout the evening.
KSA Executive Director Beth O’Neill Maloney introduced the theme that the world works here in Kendall Square, welcomed everyone, and thanked the event sponsors. Next up was KSA Board Chair and Broad Institute Chief Communications Officer Lee McGuire who shared his belief that nowhere else in the world can you find a community so focused on solving global challenges, where nearly everyone you meet is working to make the world better. Following him was Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons who celebrated the Kendall community for our contributions to Cambridge and the world. KSA Board Member and MIT Director Sarah Gallop delivered a meaningful moment of appreciation for her fellow KSA co-founder, MITIMCo’s Michael Owu, for his nearly two decades of valuable service on the KSA Board. To recognize his contributions, KSA will stock our Little Libraries with multiple copies of two books he selected: James by Percival Everett and Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, as soon as the refurbishment of the Little Libraries is complete.
Eric Paley, MA Secretary of Economic Development, delivered a deeply personal and energizing keynote address. His optimism resonated throughout the room.
“How lucky are we to have yet another Massachusetts miracle happen right here in Kendall Square… to really be a global center of innovation. There is a lot of global energy around our efforts… we are uniquely positioned to bring a huge amount of global energy around what we do.”
Secretary Paley highlighted key statewide initiatives shaping the innovation economy, including passage of the MA Leads Act funding transformative investments in life sciences, climate innovation, AI, advanced manufacturing, and quantum technologies plus DRIVE and SHIELD. His clarity, humility, and passion underscored a shared belief in what Massachusetts, and Kendall Square, can achieve together.
The event culminated with an engaging and expertly moderated roundtable, led by Aisha Losche of Draper, featuring Eric Paley, Maggie O’Toole of LabCentral, Bill Kane of BioMed Realty, and Varun Ramdevan of Johnson & Johnson. Each brought a critical perspective on what drives Kendall’s edge and how we can turn early science and innovation into real-world impact. The conversation reinforced what makes this ecosystem exceptional: people showing up, sharing openly, and pushing ideas forward.
The 2025 Founders’ Award was presented by past honoree Michal Preminger to Namrata Sengupta of the Broad. Namrata exemplifies the spirit of KSA’s founders in her collaborative, persistent approach to science, policy, community, and in sparking curiosity and making the world better both in her role at Broad and in her many nonprofit roles. Beth O’Neill Maloney shared her thanks to Namrata for:
“Her commitment to bringing people and organizations together to do hard things that benefit humanity, both today and well into the future. She not only listens, but she makes her voice—and therefore our voice—heard.”
In Namrata’s honor, KSA made a $5,000 donation to the nonprofit of her choice, The Innovation Trail of Greater Boston.
Throughout the evening, one message echoed consistently: Kendall Square is more than an address – it’s a catalyst for innovation. Our community thrives because people here are anchored to their commitment to impact. The 2025 Annual Meeting made that spirit tangible.
A huge thank you to our co-chairs, Sarah Gallop and Lee McGuire, and to everyone who joined us for this special evening.
Finally, thank you to our sponsors without whom the Annual Meeting Celebration could not happen.
