2026 Annual Celebration

Eliza Dushku Palandjian is a Massachusetts native, mental health counselor, advocate, and philanthropist dedicated to expanding access to compassionate and effective mental health care. After a successful career in film and television, she returned home to Massachusetts to pursue a new path focused on service, healing, and community impact. Eliza earned her B.A. in Holistic Psychology and M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lesley University. In 2026, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the university in recognition of her commitment to service, community leadership, and contributions to the field of mental health. She works as a Mental Health Counselor at Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital program serving Veterans, Service Members, Military Families, and Families of the Fallen.  Alongside her husband, Peter Palandjian, Eliza has supported groundbreaking mental health and substance use disorder initiatives, including research efforts and the Dushku-Palandjian Bridge Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She has also been an active supporter of numerous community organizations throughout Massachusetts, including United South End Settlements, where she helped expand access to youth programming through Camp Hale. Through her clinical work, philanthropy, and advocacy, Eliza continues to champion a future where mental health care is more accessible, effective, and available to all who need it. 

Pamela Everhart is SVP and Head of Regional Public Affairs and Impact at Fidelity Investments, where she has worked for over 30 years. She oversees the firm’s state and local government relations team and is responsible for community relations and social impact initiatives in the U.S., India, and Ireland. Pam has advocated for Fidelity’s key policies and positions with federal lawmakers, held leadership roles in the firm’s legal and compliance departments, and led its D&I strategy. Beyond Fidelity, Pam is a respected community leader who sits on numerous not-for-profit boards. She is a long-time member of the New England Council’s Board of Directors and currently serves on the Executive Committee, where she helps guide the Council’s work to promote economic growth in the region. Pam is one of the 19 Massachusetts Black and Brown executives who launched the New Commonwealth Fund to help drive transformative social changes to address systemic racism and racial inequity. She was appointed by Governor Maura Healey to the Massport board and also serves as a trustee for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, among others.

U.S. Senator Angus King is currently serving his third term representing Maine in the U.S. Senate, and is Maine’s first Independent U.S. Senator. Senator King previously served two terms as Maine’s 72nd Governor, during which time he focused on economic development and job creation, as well as reforms in education, mental health services, and environmental protection. On Capitol Hill, he serves on the Senate’s Armed Services; Energy and Natural Resources; and Veterans’ Affairs Committees, as well as the Select Committee on Intelligence. He has been a champion on a wide array of critical issues, including cybersecurity, climate change, affordable housing, and access to healthcare. A true independent, the Senator believes in putting civility and respect ahead of political ideology, and is known for his ability to work with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find common ground and advance policies that will benefit not just the state of Maine, but the entire nation.

Ken Burns has been making documentary films for fifty years.  Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Ken has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks:  America’s Best Idea; Prohibition; The Roosevelts:  An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The U.S. and the Holocaust; The American Buffalo; Leonardo da Vinci; and, most recently, The American Revolution. Future film projects include Emancipation to Exodus, and LBJ & the Great Society, among others. Ken’s films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations.  In September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Ken was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award.  In November of 2022, Ken was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. 

Ken Burns was honored as a New Englander of the Year in 2006. 

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen is currently serving her third term representing New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate, and will not be running for reelection after an incredible career in public service spanning nearly four decades.  Her career in public service began in the New Hampshire State Senate, where she served three terms, before being elected Governor in 1996.  In 2008, she made history becoming the first woman to have been elected both a Governor and a United States Senator.   She has served on several key Senate Committees, including Appropriations, Armed Services, Small Business, and Foreign Relations, where she currently serves as Ranking Member.  During her time on Capitol Hill, she has been known for her common-sense leadership, dedication to improving the lives of the middle class, and perhaps most significantly, her ability to work across the aisle to develop bipartisan solutions to some of the most critical issues facing our region and our nation.   

Senator Shaheen was honored as a New Englander of the Year in 2011.