June 14-16, 2023
InterContinental Boston–Boston, MA
Featured Keynotes
Eduventures Summit 2023
Higher education’s burning issues are all-too familiar: shrinking enrollment, a looming “demographic cliff”, allegations of privilege and inequity, concerns about affordability and doubts about value. Throw in sky-high inflation, a tight labor market and the aftermath of a global pandemic—not to mention culture wars and politicization—and the sector appears more beleaguered than ever.
Reality is more complicated. Innovation is everywhere: flagship universities are expanding and diversifying their classes, states are passing new funding compacts, schools are consolidating and reorganizing, and low price fully online universities continue to thrive. So-called “direct admissions”, where a college offers a student admission without an application, seeks to cut through misperceptions of price and fit. Degree and certificate combinations, integrating academics and real-world skills, are increasingly common. Instituting rigorous feedback loops and intervention protocols, some schools have pulled off game-changing gains on student retention and academic performance.
The problem is that too often systems—at institutional, state and national levels—overwhelm green shoots of change. Habits, divisions, inertia and day-to-day priorities make it hard for new ideas to take root and become institutionalized. But that embeddedness is essential if we are to leave higher education stronger for the next generation. Colleges and universities are among our nation’s most enduring institutions, built on a legacy of adaptation, renewal and inclusion.
Join us for Eduventures Summit 2023, live in Boston, to learn from mold-breakers inside and outside higher education, who are challenging the status quo.
2023 Keynote Speakers


José Andrés
Chef, Restaurateur, Humanitarian
Named one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People” in both 2012 and 2018 and recipient of the 2015 National Humanities Medal, José Andrés is an internationally-recognized culinary innovator, author, educator, humanitarian, and chef/owner of José Andrés Group.
A pioneer of Spanish tapas in the United States, he is also known for his groundbreaking avant-garde cuisine and his award-winning group of nearly three dozen restaurants located throughout the country and beyond. José Andrés Group’s concepts include the two Michelin-starred minibar by José Andrés in Washington, DC, the acclaimed NYC food hall Mercado Little Spain, and multiple locations of the Bazaar by José Andrés. José has received the James Beard Foundation’s “Outstanding Chef” and “Humanitarian of the Year” awards.
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Andrés is a committed advocate of food and hunger issues and is known for championing the role of chefs in the national debate on food policy. In 2010, Andrés formed World Central Kitchen, a non-profit specializing in delivering food relief in the wake of natural and humanitarian disasters. Since serving nearly 4 million meals to the people of Puerto Rico following the devastation of Hurricane Maria, World Central Kitchen has responded to dozens of disasters worldwide and distributing tens of millions of meals in the process. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization has partnered with restaurants, small farms, and community leaders around the country to combat food insecurity. A naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Spain, Andrés has been a tireless advocate for immigration reform and on July 4, 2014 was named by President Barack Obama as that year’s “Outstanding American by Choice.”


Paul LeBlanc
President, Southern New Hampshire University
Dr. Paul J. LeBlanc is President of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). Under the 18 years of Paul’s direction, SNHU has grown from 2,800 students to over 175,000 learners and is the largest non-profit university in the country.
The university was #12 on Fast Company magazine’s “World’s Fifty Most Innovative Companies” list and was the only university included. Forbes Magazine has listed him as one of its 15 “Classroom Revolutionaries” and one of the “most influential people in higher education.” Washington Monthly named him one of America’s ten most innovative university presidents. In 2018, Paul won the prestigious TIAA Institute Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence in Higher Education, joining some of the most respected university and college presidents in American higher education.
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Paul is the author of Students First: Access, Equity, and Opportunity in Higher Education was published by Harvard Education Press in 2021, and Broken: How Our Social Systems are Failing Us and How We Can Fix Them published in 2022.
Paul immigrated to the United States as a child, was the first person in his extended family to attend college and is a graduate of Framingham State University (BA), Boston College (MA), and the University of Massachusetts (PhD). From 1993 to 1996 he directed a technology start up for Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company, was President of Marlboro College (VT) from 1996 to 2003 and became President of SNHU in 2003. His wife Patricia is an attorney and they have two daughters, Emma and Hannah.


Trabian Shorters
Founder & CEO of BMe Community, Social Entrepreneur, and Author
Trabian Shorters is one of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs and the catalyst of a national movement to first define black people by their aspirations and contributions, then to secure their fundamental freedoms to Live, Own, Vote and Excel.
He is a retired tech entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and former vice president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation where he was responsible for $300M in active grants and endowments in 26 US cities.
His nonprofit social impact network, BMe Community, is award-winning for innovation, impact, and storytelling and boasts more than 400 black leaders plus institutional allies committed to building “equity without stigma.”
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Asset-Framing equips its practitioners to have far greater social impact, raise more money, engage broader populations, and make fundamentally stronger cases for equity and systems-change.


Joy Moore
Executive Director of the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success at Boston College
In July of 2020, Joy was appointed the inaugural Executive Director of the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success at Boston College. Prior to this position she served as vice president for Student Affairs at Boston College.
A secondary school and higher education administrator, she has served at a variety of independent schools and universities over a 35-year career. Prior to returning to Boston College in 2011, Joy served four years as the interim and deputy head of school at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has also served as the head of school at the Archer School in Los Angeles, California, and as the associate head/director of Upper School at Dana Hall in Wellesley, Massachusetts. As a university administrator, she has held a variety of leadership positions at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of San Francisco, and Boston College. Her experience extends into the field of alumni engagement and fundraising.
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Jon Clifton
Chief Executive Officer, Gallup
Jon Clifton is CEO of Gallup, the global analytics and advice firm. Mr. Clifton’s mission is to help organizations create thriving workplaces; put one billion people in touch with their strengths; and help 8 billion citizens be heard on their most pressing issues through the Gallup World Poll, a 100-year initiative spanning over 150 countries.
Clifton has been with Gallup since 2008. He previously served as Global Managing Partner of the company’s worldwide consulting group — advising global leaders on how their organizations and countries can thrive using behavioral economics and analytics-based insights.
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Clifton’s 2022 book, Blind Spot: The Global Rise of Unhappiness and How Leaders Missed It, is a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Clifton serves on the boards of directors for Gallup and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. He has also served on the boards of Meridian International, Streetwise Partners and the International Business Advisory Board at the University of Nebraska.
Clifton received a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor in international law from the University of Nebraska. He is a nonresident senior fellow at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion and was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Midland University.


Dr. Meg Jay
Author of The Defining Decade and Supernormal, and Clinical Psychologist at the University of Virginia
There are 75 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 35, and Meg Jay makes the case for taking their work lives, love lives, and emotional lives seriously. The author of ‘The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter and How to Make the Most of Them Now’ and ‘Supernormal: The Secret World of the Family Hero,’ she has elevated what it means to be a twenty-something and what it means to have grown up with hard times.
Jay has had the pleasure of speaking to audiences including TED, Goldman Sachs, University of Chicago, Merrill Lynch, Cosmopolitan, Aspen Institute, The New Yorker, Yale University, MTV, Young Presidents Organization, How To Academy, U.S. Government Office of Personnel Management, Family Action Network, and Sundance.
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Louis Soares
Chief Learning & Innovation Officer at the American Council on Education
Louis Soares serves as the Chief Learning & Innovation Officer at ACE. Soares incubates and scales ACE’s executive leadership networks, as well as catalyzes compelling research and innovation initiatives across the Council. Working with colleagues, Soares integrates the work of ACE’s leadership, research and innovation teams to optimize membership value for colleges and universities by developing programs and services to advance the success of senior leaders, diversify the executive talent pipeline, and facilitate partnerships to enhance institutional performance. While at ACE, he published landmark papers, including The Post-traditional Learners Manifesto Revisited: Aligning Postsecondary Education with Real Life for Adult Student Success and Evolving Higher Education Business Models: Leading with Data to Deliver Results.


Sonia Malik
Global Program Director – IBM SkillsBuild, Corporate Social Responsibility
Sonia Malik, Global Program Director, IBM, Corporate Social Responsibility leads the SkillsBuild Program. IBM SkillsBuild is a free education program focused on underrepresented communities in technology, that helps adult learners, and high school and university students and faculty, develop valuable new skills and access career opportunities. The program includes an online platform that is complemented by customized practical learning experiences delivered in collaboration with a global network of partners and is in support of IBM’s global skills pledge to Skill 30 million by 2030. IBM’s investments in education and skills are part of the company’s efforts to mobilize technology and employee talent to address some of society’s biggest challenges worldwide. For this role, Sonia applies her decades of leadership and programmatic expertise in the areas of enterprise learning, workforce & talent development, training delivery, partner relationship management and global program design, development, and execution. She is responsible for the strategic development of various program elements as well as the processes to support successful execution of the program in over 150 countries across the globe.


Dr. Kemi Jona
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Digital Innovation and Enterprise Learning at Northeastern University
Dr. Kemi Jona is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Digital Innovation and Enterprise Learning at Northeastern University. His portfolio includes the design of digital experiential learning platforms and the formation of strategic enterprise partnerships for talent development to enable seamless, lifelong learning pathways for all learners. Dr. Jona has worked at the forefront of the learning sciences and learning technologies fields for over 20 years. He is thought leader in applying insights from cognitive and learning sciences to the design of technology-mediated learning environments and in developing innovative partnerships for new talent and credentialing strategies.


Nita Farahany
Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy and Founding Director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society
Nita A. Farahany is the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy and Founding Director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society. She is a widely published scholar on the ethics of emerging technologies, and author of the book The Battle for Your Brain: Defending Your Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology.
Farahany is a frequent commentator for national media and radio and keynote speaker at events including TED, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the World Economic Forum, and judicial conferences worldwide. From 2010-2017, she served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
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She is an appointed member of the National Advisory Council for the National Institute for Neurological Disease and Stroke, an elected member of the American Law Institute and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, past President of the International Neuroethics Society, an ELSI (ethical, legal, and social implications) advisor to the NIH Brain Initiative and to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an appointed member of both the Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders and the Standing Committee on Biotechnology Capabilities and National Security Needs for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and a member of the Global Future Council on Frontier Risks and Expert Network for the World Economic Forum. She served as Reporter for the Study Committee and later Drafting Committee on updating the Uniform Determination of Death Committee for the Uniform Law Commission.
In 2022, she was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to the NC Delegation for the Uniform Law Commission, and currently serves in that capacity. Farahany is a co-editor-in-chief and co-founder of the Journal of Law and the Biosciences and on the Board of Advisors for Scientific American. She also serves on scientific and ethics advisory boards for corporations.
Farahany received her AB in Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology from Dartmouth College, an ALM in biology from Harvard University, and a JD and MA from Duke University, as well as a Ph.D. in philosophy.


Jimmy Wayne
Singer, Songwriter, Advocate of Foster Kids
Jimmy Wayne is a former foster kid turned award-winning country music artist whose songs and story highlight his mission to raise awareness for children in foster care. Jimmy’s hits include “Stay Gone,” “Paper Angels,” “I Love You This Much” and “Do You Believe Me Now,” which earned BMI’s prestigious Million-Air Award for receiving one million radio spins in America.
In 2009, Jimmy toured with Brad Paisley and recorded “Sara Smile” with rock ‘n roll Hall of Fame duo Daryl Hall and John Oates.
In 2010, Jimmy walked halfway across America (from Nashville to Phoenix) to raise awareness for kids aging out of the foster-care system. In 2012, Jimmy helped get legislative bills passed extending the age of foster care to 21 in California, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Ohio.
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In 2014 he released Walk to Beautiful: The Power of Love and a Homeless Kid Who Found the Way, a three-time New York Times bestselling memoir which recently crossed the 300,000 print sales milestone.
Jimmy’s third book — Ruby the Foster Dog — released November 1, 2017 (Broadstreet Publishing).
In 2016 he received the prestigious Points of Light award from President George W. Bush (41), and in 2017 he received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from William Woods University and in 2018 he received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Cal State University San Marcos.
In 2019 he was honored by the National Council For Adoption with the Warren and Mary Alice Babineaux Award in recognition of his continued commitment to creating positive change in the lives of children in foster care who need permanent families.
Jimmy has performed on the Grand Ole Opry 224 times. He lives in Nashville and continues to work tirelessly on behalf of at-risk foster youth by performing, writing books, and keynote speaking.
To find out more about Jimmy and his awareness campaign for foster children, Project Meet Me Halfway, please visit: www.projectmmh.org


Jamie Lewis Keith
Distinguished Senior Law and Policy Fellow, EducationCounsel
Ms. Keith’s 36-year legal career as a policy and legal leader in higher education and academic research includes a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, free expression, quality, research policy, compliance systems, and governance. Her practice includes a significant focus on these issues within the context of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medical fields. Previously, she was Vice President, General Counsel and University Secretary for the President and Board of Trustees at University of Florida and Senior Counsel (first primary inside counsel) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was also responsible for enterprise risk management and oversaw environmental sustainability and safety functions. Earlier, she was in private practice and executive public service in Massachusetts.
Ms. Keith graduated from Cornell University, College of Arts & Sciences, with distinction in all subjects, and Boston University School of Law, magna cum laude, and was an outside article editor on the Boston University Law Review. She served as Law Clerk to the late Honorable Bailey Aldrich on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and is admitted to the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and Florida Bars.


Dr. Kara Van Dam
Vice Provost for Graduate and Lifetime Learning at Grand Valley State University
Dr. Kara Van Dam has served as the Vice Provost for Graduate and Lifetime Learning at Grand Valley State University since 2021. In this role, she champions learners across the state, particularly those who have been historically underserved by our higher education system. She partners with industry to drive economic growth through talent development. She is committed to ensuring students’ lived experience is honored, and academic pathways and co-curricular scaffolds at both the undergraduate and graduate level support their personal and professional aspirations.
Previously, Kara held numerous leadership roles at the University of Maryland Global Campus, including Dean and Vice President of the School of Arts and Sciences, Overseas Academic Affairs, Undergraduate School, and the Learner & Faculty Experience. Prior to coming to UMGC, she held a variety of leadership positions at Kaplan University, including Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, Dean of Faculty, and Dean of the School of General Education. In all her roles, she has led large-scale initiatives aimed at improving the institution’s ability to help students develop as competent and confident people and professionals, while also providing a rewarding work environment for faculty and staff.
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Kara holds both a master’s degree and a doctorate in linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a Master of Business Administration from Kaplan University. She regularly presents on issues of online pedagogy, adult learner theory, competency-based education and assessment. Kara previously served as chair of the WCET Steering Committee.


Kay Peterson
Founder, Institute for Experiential Learning
Kay Peterson is the founder of the Institute for Experiential Learning, an organization that
promotes Kolb Experiential Learning to develop whole, integrated people who reach their full
potential in life. Kay’s goal is to put Kolb Experiential Learning on the agenda of every
educational institution, team and organizational change and development effort, and anyone
looking to enact personal change. The Institute is the exclusive international distributor of the
Kolb Experiential Learning Profile, the Kolb Team Learning Profile, and the Kolb Educator Role
Profile. Under Kay’s leadership, the Institute has initiated a broad array of programs and
materials that help professionals promote Experiential Learning and learning flexibility in
individuals, teams, and organizations, including certification programs that guide learners and
educators to apply the Kolb research-based tools to various contexts.
Kay earned a BS from Vanderbilt University, MN from Emory University, and MS-POD and MBA
from Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management. She co-authored
with David A. Kolb the books How You Learn Is How You Live: Using Nine Ways of Learning to
Transform Your Life (Berrett-Koehler), the companion Personal Development Guide, and the
Kolb Team Learning Profile. For more information, please visit
www.experientiallearninginstitute.org.
Agenda
Wednesday, June 14 | |
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6:00pm - 8:00pm | Registration |
6:00pm - 8:00pm | Opening Reception |
Thursday, June 15 | |
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7:30am - 5:00pm | Registration |
7:30am - 8:30am | Breakfast |
9:00am - 9:10am | Welcome and Opening Remarks Dennis Syracuse, Division President, Encoura Eduventures |
9:10am - 9:15am | Agenda Review Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer, Encoura |
9:15am - 10:00am | Opening Keynote Presentation Asset-Framing® for Equity Trabian Shorters, CEO/Founder of BMe Community, President, TrabianShorters.com |
10:00am - 10:45am | Featured Speaker The Defining Decade Dr. Meg Jay, Author of The Defining Decade and Supernormal, and Clinical Psychologist at the University of Virginia |
10:45am - 11:00am | Break |
11:00am - 11:45am | Featured Speaker What You Need to Know about Enrolling Undergraduates Now Kim Reid, Eduventures Principal Analyst, Encoura |
11:45am - 12:30pm | Featured Speaker Will the Supreme Court Drive a New Era in Higher Education Equity and Diversity? It’s Not Just About Admissions or Selective Institutions . . . . Jamie Lewis Keith, the Distinguished Senior Law and Policy Fellow at EducationCounsel with Kim Reid, Eduventures Principal Analyst, Encoura |
12:30pm - 1:45pm | Lunch and Research Breakouts |
12:30pm - 1:45pm | Research Breakouts - Select 1 Five Pillars of a Parent Communication Strategy Kim Reid, Eduventures Principal Research Analyst Three Ways to Balance Virtual and In-Person Recruitment Johanna Trovato, Eduventures Senior Research Analyst and June Claughton, Eduventures Senior Quantitative Research Analyst Five Programs We’re Watching Clint Raine, Eduventures Senior Research Analyst Flipping the Funnel: Shifting Enrollment Marketing to Find and Recruit Students Before the Junior Year Clint Chapman and Jason Stevens Adult Prospect Research: Challenges and Opportunities Chris Gardiner, Eduventures Senior Research Analyst and Jacqueline Miller, Eduventures Senior Client Research Analyst |
1:45pm - 2:45pm | Keynote Session - Best in Class Series A Fireside Chat with José Andrés José Andrés, Chef, Restaurateur, Humanitarian Todd Boullion, Chief Marketing Officer, Encoura |
2:45pm - 3:30pm | Panel Discussion: Learning, Earning, and Experience: The Past and Future of Post-secondary Education Moderated by Louis Soares, Chief Learning & Innovation Officer, American Council on Education Dr. Kemi Jona, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Digital Innovation and Enterprise Learning, Northeastern University Dr. Kara Van Dam, Vice Provost for Graduate and Lifetime Learning, Grand Valley State University Kay Peterson, Founder, Institute for Experiential Learning Sonia Malik, Global Program Director - IBM SkillsBuild, Corporate Social Responsibility |
3:30pm - 4:30pm | Featured Presentation Fireside Chat: An interview with Paul LeBlanc Paul LeBlanc, President, SNHU With Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer, Encoura |
4:30pm - 5:15pm | Closing Keynote Presentation and Performance The Power of One Jimmy Wayne, Singer, Songwriter, Advocate of Foster Kids |
5:15pm - 5:30pm | Innovation Award Winners Presentation Cara Quackenbush, Eduventures Executive Vice President of Research, Encoura |
5:30pm - 7:30pm | Innovation Award Reception |
Friday, June 16 | |
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7:30am – 8:15am | Breakfast Session Turbulence in the Online Program Management (OPM) market- insiders and institutional leaders look forward Chris Gardiner, Eduventures Senior Research Analyst, Encoura Cindy Wheatley, Ph.D., Online Higher Education Strategist |
7:30am – 8:30am | Breakfast |
8:30am - 8:35am | Welcome Janet Godwin, CEO, ACT |
8:35am – 9:15am | Opening Keynote Presentation The Global Rise of Unhappiness and the Path to Greater Happiness Jon Clifton, CEO, Gallup |
9:15am – 10:00am | Research Presentation A Model for Student Success Joy Moore, Executive Director of the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success at Boston College |
10:00am – 10:45am | Featured Presentation The Future of Online Higher Education: 7 Big Questions Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer, Encoura |
10:45am – 11:30am | Keynote Presentation ChatGPT and Higher Education Nita Farahany, Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy, Founding Director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society |
11:30am | Closing Remarks |
Sponsorship
Become a Summit Sponsor
Eduventures Summit will explore the newest ideas in student enrollment management, online and continuing education, program student success drivers, and the impact of technology innovation in all of these areas.
Limited Attendance
Senior Leaders from
Colleges and Universities
2022 Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors


Gold Sponsors


Silver Sponsors


Innovation Awards
Submissions closed May 15th
Recognize your work and team efforts with an Innovation Award.
About the Program
Judges select winners from written applications and, if needed, follow-up interviews. Entries are scored on value to the institution, innovation, and relevance to the mission of the school.
Innovation Categories
Enrollment
Student Experience
Outcomes
Congratulations to our 2022 Innovation Award Winners




Hotel Accommodations
Encoura has secured a heavily discounted block of rooms for Summit 2023 attendees. Please refer to your registration confirmation email for information on how to become part of our room block. The beautiful and centrally located Intercontinental Boston Waterfront Hotel will host all of our activities.

InterContinental Boston Waterfront Hotel
510 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02210
Phone: 1-617-747-1000 | Fax: 1-617-217-5169
Attendees will receive a discounted rate of $375 per night.
While our hotel block is almost sold out, here are additional hotels in the area, not far from the InterContinental.
Hotel AKA Boston Common
90 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02108
Hilton Boston Downtown/Faneuil Hall
89 Broad St, Boston, MA 02110
Hyatt Regency Boston
One Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02110
Omni Parker House
60 School Street
Boston, MA 02108
While our hotel block is almost sold out, here are additional hotels in the area, not far from the InterContinental.
Hotel AKA Boston Common 90 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02108 |
Hilton Boston Downtown/Faneuil Hall 89 Broad St, Boston, MA 02110 |
Omni Parker House 60 School St, Boston, MA 02108 |
Hyatt Regency Boston One Avenue de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02210 |