Navjeet K. Bal
Navjeet Bal is the President and CEO of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency (MassDevelopment), where she leads the Agency in its mission to “stimulate business, drive economic growth and help communities thrive across Massachusetts.” MassDevelopment works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to deliver a wide variety of programs and services, such as loans, tax-exempt bonds, grants, real estate technical assistance, and more.
Navjeet brings a private, public and non-profit sector background to this role, and has always worked at the intersection of these sectors. She spent 21+ years in private practice as a public infrastructure finance lawyer, working at Mintz and Nixon Peabody. Navjeet spent four years in public service as the Commissioner of Revenue in Governor Deval Patrick’s administration from 2007-2011, leading the agency through the onset and duration of the Great Recession.
Prior to joining MassDevelopment, she spent 9+ years as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Social Finance, Inc., a national impact-investing non-profit. Her varied professional background serves her well at MassDevelopment as she understands the needs and priorities of these different sectors.
Throughout her career, Navjeet has served on numerous non-profit and professional boards, including the Boston Bar Association, the Boston Public Market and the Boston Public Library. In her spare time, Navjeet enjoys reading, cooking and watching sports of all kinds, but especially football and soccer. Navjeet graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in Philosophy, and received her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law.
Jim Canales
Jim Canales is president and a trustee of the Barr Foundation, which focuses on elevating the arts, advancing solutions for climate change, and helping all young people thrive in high school and beyond. In 2023, Barr’s grantmaking is projected to be $150 million.
Prior to Barr, Jim spent over two decades at The James Irvine Foundation, including service as president and CEO from 2003 through 2014. Before working in philanthropy, Jim was a high school English teacher, after earning a bachelor’s in English and a master’s in education from Stanford University.
Jim currently serves president of the the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and vice chair of the Kaiser Family Foundation. He is a trustee of the Eastern Bank Foundation. Jim’s prior board involvement includes a ten-year term as a Stanford University trustee. He has also served as chair of the boards of the College Futures Foundation, KQED Public Broadcasting, the Stanford Alumni Association, and Larkin Street Youth Services, and as vice chair of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Cheryl Cronin
With over thirty years of legal and political experience, Cronin has earned an impressive record of managing major issues and challenges to successful conclusions. Cronin’s professional work has involved legal matters and high-profile, complex public matters involving a variety of city, state, and federal agencies and the private sector.
A graduate of Boston College Law School and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, summa cum laude, Cronin began her professional career as the first General Counsel of the Office of Campaign & Political Finance, where she was responsible for bringing to fair conclusion many public and sometimes controversial matters. She served as Legislative Counsel to the Attorney General of the Commonwealth and was responsible for the drafting of comprehensive legislation and playing a key role in advancing legislation through the legislature and the Governor’s office. In private practice for many years since her public service, Cronin has represented individuals, nonprofit organizations, and small and large companies in matters before public agencies at all levels of government. She has also represented public agencies on legal and political matters in a range of substantive areas.
Cronin has also been an active participant in public, professional, and community organizations, with a particular interest in those with goals of bringing others to Boston and the Commonwealth and in preserving and improving the vitality of the city. She has served on the Board of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and the Strategic Development Study Committee, which authored “A Civic Vision for Turnpike Air Rights in Boston.” She served as Chair of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the development of “Boylston Square,” Boston. She was the General Counsel and a Board Member for the Host Committee for the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. She served as a Member of the Board of the Greenway Conservancy. She was a member of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Foundation Board, a member of the Board of the Alliance for Business Leadership, and a member of the Board of the National Center for Time & Learning/Mass 2020. She has served as a finance chair for numerous state and federal political campaigns. In addition to other volunteer activities, she currently serves on the Board of Sail Boston, which worked with Mayor Walsh to bring the Tall Ships to Boston in 2017.
Cronin has been the recipient of awards and recognitions. She was named a Massachusetts Lawyer of the Year for her work related to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. She received the Eleanor Roosevelt Award from the Massachusetts Democratic Party and the Abigail Adams Award from the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus. She has been on Boston Magazine’s lists of "50 Most Powerful Women in Boston." She resides in Boston with her husband and sons.
Ray Liu, Chair
Dr. Ray Liu is the Vice President of Mass General Brigham Global Advisory, serving as the leader of the system wide international advisory services team, with direct responsibility for strategy, operations, and financial performance of Global Advisory. Global Advisory collaborates with governments, international institutions, healthcare systems, and investors to drive transformative, sustainable change that delivers best in class local and community health care. Global Advisory leads enterprise-wide international advisory efforts, focusing on strategy, system coordination, business development, and project delivery on behalf of Mass General Brigham healthcare system and its member hospitals.
Dr. Liu brings over a decade of experience and leadership in clinical and hospital operations through his previous roles at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Liu previously served as the Associate Chair for Business Strategy and Analytics for the Department of Radiology, the Director of the Radiology Consulting Group, and the Service Chief for Operational Redesign. His portfolio includes extensive work in operational efficiency, data analytics, and new business development, building upon his experience as a healthcare consultant for McKinsey & Co. Nationally, Dr. Liu serves on the Board of Directors for the Society of Interventional Radiology, where he is a Fellow, Treasurer, and former Chair of the Health Policy & Economics Division.
Dr. Liu graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School and went on to complete dual residencies in pediatrics and diagnostic radiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University. Dr. Liu returned to Boston to complete his fellowship in interventional radiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, including training at Children's Hospital of Boston.
Dr. Liu has focuses his clinical interests in the fields of interventional oncology and pediatric interventions with a special interest in Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia and the treatment of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. His research interests are focused on economics of interventional radiology, operational efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Dr. Liu lives in Brookline, MA with his wife and three children.
Christian Westra
Christian Westra is a partner at Ropes & Gray LLP. He represents private equity firms and institutional investors in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and other investments. Christian regularly advises private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on add-on acquisitions, dispositions and general corporate governance matters. His practice often entails advising clients on carveout and cross-border transactions.
Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, Christian worked as a management consultant with the Monitor Group and served as a Rosenthal Fellow in the Office for European and NATO Policy at the Pentagon.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Christian led the foundation of the COVID Relief Coalition, a private and public sector partnership to help non-profits and small businesses navigate the economic downturn prompted by COVID-19. In recognition of his leadership, Christian was awarded the Adams Pro Bono Publico Award by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Christian serves on the board of directors of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library and the board of advisors of the Massachusetts Historical Society. In addition, he leads the Ropes & Gray Pan-Mass Challenge team.
Christian lives in Boston with his wife, Sophie, and their three sons, Jack, George, and James. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Boston College Law School and also holds degrees from the University of Cambridge and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.