Ahead of Prince William’s visit in the first week of December for the Earthshot Prize, the JFK Library Foundation has announced the local host committee made up of representatives from local environmental groups, prominent elected officials, academic institutions, and community leaders in business, philanthropy, and climate innovation.

The panel will be led by honorary co-chairs Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, and President Kennedy’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, along with co-chairs Sandy and Paul Edgerley.  

Aside from the JFK Library Foundation, some of the other committee members are Dorchester-based folks, including Bob Chen and Joe Christo, each of whom has an affiliation with UMass Boston.

Chen is the interim dean of the UMass Boston School for the Environment, and Christo is the managing director for the Stone Living Lab.

The Earthshot Prize, inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s iconic 1962 “Moonshot” speech calling upon Americans to embrace and commit to the visionary goal of reaching the moon within a decade, is an ambitious global environmental prize that aims to discover and scale innovative solutions to help repair the planet within a decade.

The prize is meant to honor initiatives that help to meet five key goals: Protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans; build a waste-free world; and fix our climate.

The five winning solutions, selected from 15 finalists, will be announced at the ceremony, and will receive one million pounds each to increase their impact, with Prince William the headliner of the event. The ceremony will be held at the MGM venue at Fenway Park.