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National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President and former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker delivered the keynote address at the Isenberg School of Management’s 2024 Leaders of Impact celebration, held Oct. 24 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Baker discussed the multi-faceted nature of leadership in the different arenas of governing a state and administering collegiate athletics.

“Having met with thousands of people who play college sports over the past couple of years, I am absolutely convinced it teaches all the right lessons,” Baker, who also played collegiate basketball at Harvard University, told the audience. “I’ve been fortunate to play—in life, in business, in service, and in sports—on a lot of really great teams.”

After Baker’s speech, he sat with Isenberg Dean Anne Massey for a question-and-answer session, delving more into how he has dealt with the challenges facing the NCAA at this pivotal moment in college athletics, as the industry tries to find the balance between academics, athletics and financial incentives.

Prior to the event, Baker spoke with members of the Isenberg Dean’s Academy, a cohort of first-year students chosen based on outstanding academic achievement in high school as well as potential for success at Isenberg. The Dean’s Academy students have spent their first two months at UMass Amherst participating in weekly seminars with Isenberg faculty and meeting with prominent alumni, corporate executives, and industry leaders.

Now in its third year, the annual Leaders of Impact event celebrates leaders who make a difference and influence their organizations, industries and communities in innovative and tangible ways. At this year’s event, which was attended by more than 200 alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of Isenberg, Massey presented the 2024 Leaders of Impact Award to Sarah Bergs, founder and CEO of the Nourish Foundation.

Bergs established the South Africa-based nonprofit in 2011 to empower and uplift communities that live alongside protected wildlife areas using the Nourish Eco-Village model, a replicable community development platform that enables education, enterprise and empowerment for community members.

Isenberg students have had enriching experiences working with Nourish during the Service Learning in South Africa study abroad trip, and the school has supported the foundation by donating laptops for a computer lab in one of the organization’s eco-villages.

“Nourish has hosted our students during their study abroad program, and they came back raving about the great work that’s happening there,” Massey said.

More information about the event, including a photo gallery, can be found on the Isenberg website.