Michael Curry, Esq, Keynote speaker

Michael Curry, Esq. is President & CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, which represents 50 health centers, serving over one million patients out of 285 practice sites across the Commonwealth. The Mass League provides clinical, advocacy, workforce, data, legal and compliance support for its members. Under Michael’s leadership, the organization has doubled in size over the last four years with over 100 staff, secured the largest contract in the association’s history at over $300 million to administer the state’s provider loan repayment program (MA Repay), and launched the nation’s first Institute for Health Equity Research, Evaluation & Policy, Inc. (IHE), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization designed to promote and engage in community-driven research, evaluation, and public policy to achieve health equity. 

During the early battle with the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael was appointed by the Massachusetts Senate to the legislatively created Health Equity Task Force, which he co-chaired, aimed at addressing the health disparities that were realized and magnified by COVID-19. He was also appointed by then Governor Charlie Baker to the COVID-19 Vaccine Working Group and served on the Department of Public Health’s Health Equity Advisory Group, the City of Boston’s Health Inequity Task Force, and the City of Brockton’s Social Justice Task Force. He gained a reputation for always being the equity voice in the room. The experiences led him to co-launch the Health Equity Compact (HEC), a collection of over 85 c-suite leaders of color aimed at driving health equity reform in Massachusetts. In just three years, the HEC filed the first in the nation omnibus health equity reform bill, hosted the state’s first of its kind annual Health Equity Summit, worked with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation (BCBSMAF) to publish a Cost of Inequity report (making the business case to eliminate health disparities), and partnered with MassINC. to capture and publish a poll on the topic.

He has received numerous local and national leadership awards, including: • Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s list of Distinguished Bostonians (2025) • Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts’ Melvin H. King Community Leadership Award (2024) • Boston Municipal Research Bureau’s City Champion Award at the annual Shattuck Awards Dinner (2024) • Disability Policy Consortium’s annual John Winske Memorial Award (2024) • National Association of Community Health Center’s Norton Wilson State/Regional Leadership Award (2024) • Pillar of the Community Award by The Roxbury Unity Parade and Awards Committee (2024) • Cambridge Health Alliance’s 2024 Art of Healing Award (2024) • Received the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action’s Community Leadership Award on behalf of the Health Equity Compact (2024) • Catalyst for Change Award from Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (2023) • Roxbury Community College’s Community Service Award during Commencement (2023) • Friend & Leader Award by the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (2023) • Honored by Caring Health Center in Springfield, MA for Contributions to Healthcare (2023) • Presented with the Social Capital Inc.’s (SCI) Idealist Award (2023) • Trailblazer Award from the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (2022) • National NAACP’s Montague Cobb Award (2022) • Community Leadership Award from the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (2022) • Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Non-profit Network (2022) • Macalester College’s Catharine Lealtad Service to Society Award (June 2017) • Betsey K. Cooke Advocacy MVP Award, National Association for Community Health Centers (2013)

Despite all the tremendous recognition for his work, Attorney Curry often says, “Where I’m from keeps where I am in perspective.” He was born into poverty, raised by a single mother in public housing and is a graduate of the Boston Public Schools. He is also a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, New England Law Boston (NELB) and the inaugural class of the Executive Leadership Council’s (ELC) Pipeline to Leadership Program. He is a member of the Massachusetts BAR. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from William James College (2023), an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from Curry College (2022), an Honorary Doctorate in Healthcare Administration from Labouré College (2022), and will soon receive his fourth Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (May 2025). Dr. Curry is also an Adjunct Professor at both New England Law Boston teaching “Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession” and Suffolk University’s Moakley Center and Sawyer School of Management teaching a health care management and policy course and is frequently requested keynote speaker and panelist on a wide range of civil rights and health policy issues. In 2021, he created a 400-slide presentation entitled “Quantum Leap” to addresses the history of anti-Black racism in America from 1619 to today. Over the course of one to two hours, Michael quantum leaps through history, connecting the dots between this history and the gaps, inequities and disparities of today. He has presented this highly sought-after walk-through history to over 70 local and national organizations.