History and Mission

The Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) began informally on September 23, 2015 at the Brookline, Massachusetts home of Gov. Michael Dukakis during his Distinguished Leadership Lecture delivered to the first Michael Dukakis Leadership Fellows of 2015-2016.

Some two years later, on September 9, 2017, the Michael Dukakis Institute was officially launched at Loeb House, Harvard University with a Board of Leaders composed of: Chairman Michael Dukakis,  Director Nguyen Anh Tuan, and members Nazli Choucri, Thomas Patterson, David Silbersweig and John Savage.

The MDI mission was also established at that time: “Develop leaders in technology and science while providing an ethical framework for future generations of innovators and influentials, who will create a safe and secure environment based on shared human values, dignity and respect for all Citizens of the World, and to enrich their leadership capability in the interest of global peace and security with an emphasis on generating ideas, developing solutions, and deploying initiatives to solve global issues involving Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence.”

Watch Governor Dukakis’s Opening Remark video here: