Bostonians of the Year 2021 - The Boston Globe

Meet the pioneering scientist, the trailblazing mayor, and other standouts whose drive, ingenuity, and compassion are getting vaccines in arms and giving us a shot at a just future for all.

THE PEOPLE’S SCIENTIST

Kizzmekia Corbett

THE CHANGEMAKER

Michelle Wu

THE NEW GUARD

Etel Haxhiaj, Tania Fernandes Anderson, Thu Nguyen and Ruthzee Louijeune

THE GOOD NEIGHBORS

Michael Curry and Community Health Centers

THE GLOBAL CONNECTORS

Gitika Srivastava and Naresh Ramarajan

THE FIXERS

Diana Rastegayeva and Olivia Adams

THE COVID SLEUTH

Dan Barouch. Plus, the unsung heroes of vaccine production

The AAPI Advocate

Sam Hyun

Kizzmekia Corbett photographed at The Boston Globe.

Immunologist Kizzmekia Corbett’s work represents the best of what science offered us in 2021

Years’ worth of dedicated research, including hers, is paying off in lifesaving shots in arms and conversations with people who have questions. For Corbett, science and community cannot be separated.

Michelle Wu photographed at The Boston Globe.

School pick up, family dinners, bean bags at City Hall. Michelle Wu doesn’t want people to forget her other title: ‘Mama’

With her sweeping election victory, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ushered in a new era of local politics.

From left: Etel Haxhiaj, Tania Fernandes Anderson, Thu Nguyen, and Ruthzee Louijeune were all elected in 2021.

These 4 newly elected officials are reshaping politics in Boston and Worcester

Tania Fernandes Anderson, Etel Haxhiaj, Ruthzee Louijeune, and Thu Nguyen all broke barriers this year.

Michael Curry, at the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers in Boston.

‘We were built for this moment’: How community health centers have come to the rescue during the pandemic

Michael Curry, CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, on how 52 centers reached communities that needed access to care.

Dr. Naresh Ramarajan stands next to Gitika Srivastava.

These tech entrepreneurs raised millions for COVID-ravaged India in a single weekend

One of the biggest takeaways for Naresh Ramarajan and Gitika Srivastava? When you’re asked to do something good, just say yes.

Diana Rastegayeva (left) and Olivia Adams at Rastegayeva’s home.

When vaccination signup sites were broken, they interrupted maternity leave to help

Diana Rastegayeva and Olivia Adams created new online tools and volunteer networks just when they were needed most.

Dr. Dan Barouch in his lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

414 days at work, zero days off: Dan Barouch and the race to develop the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

After the vaccine received emergency use authorization this year, he turned to the Provincetown outbreak and Omicron. Plus, recognizing the unsung heroes of vaccine production.

Sam Hyun is tireless in amplifying long silenced AAPI voices

Hyun believes he has a responsibility not only to expose acts of hate and injustice, but to empower Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to stand up for their communities.

some Past honorees

2020 Bostonians of the Year: The Front Line

They stood up to fight the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice. Meet the people leading us through a harrowing year.

Andrew Lelling, the US attorney for Massachusetts, and Rachael Rollins, the Suffolk County district attorney.

Meet the 2019 Bostonians of the Year: Andrew Lelling and Rachael Rollins

These fiercely dedicated prosecutors don’t agree on much, except this: Justice needs to be for everyone.

Meet the 2018 Bostonians of the Year: Ayanna Pressley and Alex Cora

She’s the first African-American woman to represent Massachusetts in Congress. He’s the first manager of color in Red Sox history. Both are blazing bold paths forward grounded in smart strategy.

From writing op-ed columns to messages on his sneakers, Celtics center Enes Kanter has been a voice of conscience in promoting freedom, no matter the cost.

The Celtics’ Enes Kanter stands tall for human rights

From left: Economists Michael
Kremer, Esther Duflo, and Abhijit Banerjee developed methods
that changed the global fight against poverty.

The Harvard and MIT economists finding new ways to fight global poverty

Ivan Soto; Rosemary Smedile; Martha Velez; Fire Chief Brian Moriarty; Kim Moriarty; and Mayor Dan Rivera in front of Lawrence City Hall.

The ordinary people who rushed to help when catastrophe struck the Merrimack Valley

Aly Raisman isn’t done fighting for sexual assault survivors

Samantha Savitz sits on her father Raphael’s lap, next to her mother, Glenda, as they and and more than two dozen
neighbors sign the word “friend.”

To make a deaf child feel welcome, this neighborhood learned sign language

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