Latest news with #Hack.Diversity
Business Journals
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Five things: Bank merger mania, skyscraper sale, and intergalactic symphonies
THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE IS FOR SUBSCRIBERS Good morning, Boston. It was a crazy day for banking news. Here are the five things you need to know in local business news to start your Friday and a symphony to the stars — literally. Good morning, Boston. It was a crazy day for banking news yesterday. Here are the five things you need to know in local business news to start your Friday. 1. Eastern, HarborOne banks to merge William Hall reports that Eastern Bank's parent company plans to acquire HarborOne Bank and its parent corporation in a deal worth $490 million, the lenders said late yesterday. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events 2. Berkshire-Brookline bank merger on track Hall also reports that the parent companies for Berkshire Bank and Brookline Bank both reported earnings increases — and say their merger is moving forward as planned. 3. 99 High St. sells at a major discount Greg Ryan reports that Boston real estate firm Synergy has acquired the downtown office tower at 99 High St. for $227 million. It's one of the largest office buildings to trade in the city since the pandemic, and it sold at a substantial discount. Start each day with the 5 Things You Need to Know. Sign up for the Morning Edition. 4. RIP, After almost 10 years of working to diversify the Boston tech startup workforce, plans to shut down this summer, Eli Chavez reports. 5. Coffee bean prices soar, Keurig Dr Pepper looks ahead Keurig Dr Pepper of Burlington said it expects to see the effects this year of skyrocketing coffee bean prices, Grant Welker reports. What else you need to know By the numbers Pizza pivot For many New Englanders, a Bertucci's bread roll is a bite of nostalgia, writes Isabel Hart. This week, the Northborough-based chain is banking on that, with the opening of a new fast-casual concept, Bertucci's Pronto, in downtown Boston. The Petri Dish Boston Scientific's CFO is retiring, a Cambridge biotech underwent a 1-for-20 reverse stock split and a Flagship startup expanded its partnership with Genentech — all in the latest biotech news roundup from Hannah Green. On the radio This morning at 6:45 and 8:45 on GBH Radio's "Morning Edition" you can hear Jess Aloe report the "Boston Business Journal Minute" — a quick highlight of the week's top stories. Not near the radio? Listen here. Listen this Sunday to the New England Business Report, where I will be discussing the five things you need to know about the news of the week with Kim Carrigan and Joe Shortsleeve. Tune in at 8 a.m. on WRKO-AM 680 or listen here. Today in history On this day in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in orbit from the space shuttle Discovery. (Scroll below for images and highlights from the past 35 years.) What's good on WERS-FM The Weight, by The Band What I'm reading Erasure, by Percival Everett What I'm watching Andor, on Disney Plus Symphony to the stars — literally Movie fans have a lot to look forward to at the Boston Pops this spring — and sci-fi fans, in particular, have several options to check out. With Star Wars Day right around the corner ('May the 4th be with you'), the timing is perfect to consider signing up for one of several concerts featuring music and scores from sci-fi favorites like Star Wars and Star Trek. First, on Thursday, May 15, Keith Lockhart will conduct 'Star Wars: The Story in Music.' Then, on May 23 and 23, astronaut Suni Williams will feature in the 'Boston Pops Music of the Cosmos' concert at Symphony Hall, along with the program's narrator, actor George Takei, best known for his portrayal of Mr. Sulu in Star Trek. (It's Takei's Pops debut as a narrator for this concert, developed in partnership with the Museum of Science, Boston and its Center for Space Sciences.) Lastly, this summer at Tanglewood, the 'Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert' is scheduled, to be performed live to the film and conducted by Damon Gupton, on Aug. 1. Not a sci-fi fan, but love a good film score? Cynthia Erivo, most recently of 'Wicked' fame, is opening the Boston Pops season on Thursday, May 8, and the following night, on May 9, Lockhart conducts 'JAWS in Concert.' And while we're on the topic of Hollywood, the kickoff at Tanglewood on June 20 will feature 'Top Gun: Maverick in Concert' in the Koussevitzky Music Shed, featuring music by Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga and Hans Zimmer, with the score produced by Lorne Balfe. The Boston Pops will perform the score 'live to picture', conducted by Constantine Kitsopoulous. It's a great time to be a Hollywood music fan in Boston, isn't it? PARTING SHOT In celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope's 35 years in Earth orbit — and in keeping with today's galactic theme — here is a collection of images taken by Hubble: Subscribe to the Morning Edition or Afternoon Edition for the business news you need to know, all free. Here are the toughest golf courses for men in Massachusetts Course rating Rank Prior Rank Property 1 1 128 Wilbraham Rd., Hampden, Massachusetts 2 2 191 Clyde St., Brookline, Massachusetts 3 3 400 Arnold Palmer Blvd., Norton, Massachusetts View this list
Business Journals
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Hack.Diversity to cease operations after final cohort
After almost 10 years of working to diversify the Boston tech startup workforce, the nonprofit plans to shut down this summer. Story Highlights The tech diversity nonprofit will shut down Aug. 30. Declining partnerships and internships led to financial challenges for Over 600 fellows graduated, with 80% securing high-paying tech jobs. After almost 10 years of working to diversify the Boston tech startup workforce, plans to shut down this summer. The nonprofit dedicated to boosting diversity in tech startups said its current cohort would continue as planned, but that it would not be enrolling any additional cohorts afterward and will cease operations on Aug. 30. The closure of marks the loss of another pivotal resource for the Boston tech ecosystem, coming a week after Innovation Studios, the nonprofit co-working space provider with studios in Boston and Roxbury, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. The Roxbury location of Innovation Studios specifically catered to programs for entrepreneurs and founders of color. Now, with the loss of diverse startup founders will have fewer opportunities and resources available, making it harder to break into a crowded tech ecosystem. The closure is coming during a time when diversity initiatives across the United States, including those in Boston, are facing scrutiny and criticism from the federal government. According to co-founder and board member Jeff Bussgang, the nonprofit began preparing for the potential attack on diversity last year, changing the language around DEI and emphasizing overall excellence instead. Sign up for The Beat, BostInno's free daily innovation newsletter. See past examples here. Fellowships provided by were primarily funded through partnerships with companies, as well as grants and contributions. As AI tools continue to advance, Bussgang says there's a decreasing need for entry-level coding positions. Coding AI tools have improved so significantly in helping engineers write and adjust code, to the point where 95% of the code in one quarter of Y Combinator startups was written by AI, according to Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan. Bussgang and the board at decided that there was no clear path forward for into 2026. 'The best junior engineers are going to be those that figure out how to leverage the tools to self-teach, which potentially exacerbates the access problem and the diversity problem in the industry,' Bussgang said. 'Because people who are going to have those tools might be the ones that have the resources and the influences around them because they're raised in the ecosystem.' The nonprofit dropped from 30 partner companies to 18 within the last couple of years, as more companies dropped internship positions altogether, Michelle De La Isla, the current CEO of told The Business Journal. According to De La Isla, fewer partnerships result in fewer internships, and fewer internships have a direct impact on funding. "That was what really impacted us. Our philanthropic partners are incredible, but HACC doesn't work without internships, host companies or jobs for the fellows," De La Isla said. expand Michelle De La Isla, new CEO of Gary Higgins / Boston Business Journal The nonprofit faced financial challenges last year after it announced that it would cut eight jobs as part of a restructuring due to budgetary restraints. According to its 2024 impact report, the nonprofit operated at a loss of $440,000 in 2024, compared to a net income of $200,000 the previous year, as reported by Pro Publica. has undergone a series of changes since it spun out of the New England Venture Capital Association. Jody Rose, who served as NEVCA's president and co-founder of stepped down from her role within a year, and Michell De La Isla, the former Mayor of Topeka, Kansas, stepped into the role as CEO in 2023. The nonprofit was originally founded in 2016 with the mission to connect talented STEM students of color with strong companies in Greater Boston in the hope of dismantling the barriers between the local innovation economy and the Black and Latino communities. also conducts racial equity, diversity and inclusion training at partner companies. In pursuit of helping Black and Latino communities, conducted a fellowship program to help underrepresented tech workers secure internships at companies seeking to diversify their workforce. During its 10 years in operation, the nonprofit graduated over 600 fellows who have been placed at more than 30 companies. Despite the closure of Bussgang said the New England Venture Capital Association will maintain the alumni network and Slack channels for alumni to continue to network and share resources. According to De La Isla, over 80% of alumni who were not returning to school after the fellowship ended up getting hired at the end of their fellowship. The average salary for the program's alumni averaged between $115,000 and $150,000. "At this point in time, the organization of may be ceasing operations after this cohort, but the spirit of Hack lives in every single one of the fellows that we've been able to serve," De La Isla said "To keep Hack alive and to pay for all the goodness that they received, it is their opportunity to now open doors for others. And if they carry that on, Hack will live on, because Hack lives through them."
