Segun Idowu, the former Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion for the City of Boston, will speak in Cabot Park Village’s Black History Lecture Series on Friday, August 21 at 3PM in the Community Room of Cabot Park Village (280 Newtonville Avenue, Newtonville).
Cabot Park Village’s Black History Lecture Series is free, open to the public, and organized by Lionel Porter.
Background on Segun Idowu:
Segun is an accomplished visionary, builder, speaker, and leader. A lifelong resident of Boston, he is a proud product of the Boston Public Schools. Following his graduation from Boston Latin Academy, he matriculated to Morehouse College where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in History with Cum Laude, PhiBeta Kappa, and Golden Key Society honors.
In 2014, Segun and his colleague Shekia Scott organized the Boston Police Camera Action Team (BPCAT), a community advocacy group whose successful efforts made Boston the first city to utilize body-worn camera policy that was largely written by the community rather than local police unions, as was the case in most other municipalities.
In November 2018, Segun began his tenure as the first President and CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Inc. (BECMA), the statewide advocacy organization for Black businesses. In this role, he helped transform the organization, including growing membership by 300 percent and helping to reshape the procurement process for Massachusetts, which led to contracts worth millions of dollars being awarded to minority-owned firms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, BECMA and its partners ensured that 50% of the roughly $700 million in pandemic aid provided by the Commonwealth was awarded to minority-owned firms.
From 2022 to 2026, Segun served as the Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion for Mayor Michelle Wu. In this position, he executed a vision of Boston as a resilient, economically equitable, and vibrant city that created opportunities for residents to build generational wealth. Under his leadership, the City of Boston made significant progress in the area of economic inclusion. Notable achievements include providing $35 million in grants to 1,500 small businesses, with more than 70% identifying as a minority-owned firm; establishing the most robust Legacy Business Program in the nation; creating the SPACE grant program, an ARPA-funded initiative to fill vacant storefronts in major commercial hubs that was heralded as a national model; launching the city’s first Office of Nightlife Economy; and doubling the amount of City contracts awarded to diverse firms. Additionally, it was during his tenure that the city welcomed large firms like EMD Serono, Hasbro, LEGO, EV Passport, Schneider Electric, QBlox, and other major companies as new tenants, bringing jobs and new investment to the region.
Among the numerous awards received over the last decade, Segun has been recognized by Boston Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the City of Boston” since 2020, The Boston Business Journal has listed him as a “Power 50 Movement Maker.” In 2020, the Boston Globe recognized him on the front page of their Sunday edition as a “Man of the Moment” and as a “Bostonian of the Year.”