Mayor Walsh Announces Staffing Changes in the City of Boston ​

​ Mayor Walsh Announces Staffing Changes in the City of Boston ​

    

BOSTON--Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced several appointments and transitions within his Administration. The personnel shifts are aligned with Walsh Administration priorities to promote Boston’s economic development on the local, national, and global level, to improve and streamline the zoning and permitting process, and to increase transparency and diversity at all levels of the Administration.

 

“We recognize the contributions of these individuals to public service in the City of Boston from the implementation of successful initiatives to process effectiveness,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “These changes will help continue to drive Boston to the next stages of innovation and growth on all fronts.”

 

Zoning and Permitting Reform

 

To streamline the zoning and permitting process in the City of Boston, Mayor Walsh today confirmed that Bryan Glascock will become the Senior Advisor for Regulatory Reform. The position, which will sit in the Boston Redevelopment Authority, was announced in Mayor Walsh’s speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. In this new role, Glascock is charged with making building and business operation in Boston a more transparent and efficient process. To do this work, he will be tasked with making recommendations for regulatory and operational changes, based upon evaluation of existing processes and feedback from stakeholders.  

 

This work will be done in collaboration with the Mayor, the City's Chief of Economic Development, the Deputy Chief Information Officer and other senior members of the Mayor's team focused on licensing and permitting.

 

Glascock currently serves as head of the City’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD), where he introduced electronic plans submission software allowing for online plan review, used analytics to reduce a 900-case backlog to fewer than 50, and headed ISD’s response to the Boston Marathon bombings, including restoration of building systems, restaurant and food service establishment inspections, aftermath clean-up and re-occupation of impacted buildings and businesses, all within 48 hours of FBI release of the Boylston Street crime scene.

 

As part of the effort to further streamline the zoning and permitting process, William Christopher will join the Walsh administration as the Commissioner of Boston’s Inspectional Services Department. In this role, Christopher will lead ISD’s construction permitting, housing, food service, and health inspections. Mayor Walsh has charged Christopher with overseeing the resource management of ISD, including the Department’s efforts to address and correct identified deficiencies and to implement effective, structural, and procedural improvement strategies for long-term, positive change.

 

In 1994, Christopher joined the City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development as Assistant Director of Architecture and Engineering, where he managed the designer selection process and development of all capital funding projects for the City. This included schools, fire stations, police stations, public works, and parks projects. Christopher went on to hold architecture positions in the private sector, until 2004 when he founded Roche--Christopher Architecture, LLC. This firm  oversaw the design, zoning analysis, community process, and permitting on a number of public and privately funded projects.

 

Increasing transparency and efficiency in the development process

 

Heather Campisano has assumed the role of Chief of Staff for the Boston Redevelopment Authority. In this position, Heather will focus on policy development, the project approval process, and strategic and tactical planning efforts. Prior to her appointment as Chief of Staff, Heather served as Deputy Director for Development Review for eight years. As Deputy Director, Heather was responsible for the oversight and management of all real estate development projects in the City of Boston. In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of the Development Review department, Campisano assisted the Director and senior staff in developing internal review strategies for development projects based on each proposal’s regulatory and community context and the BRA’s overall policy objectives. Heather began her tenure at the BRA as an intern in 1999, and was hired full time as a Project Assistant in 2000.

 

Erico Lopez will now serve as the Director of Development Review and Policy for the Boston Redevelopment Authority. In his role, Lopez will lead the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s review and evaluation process of development proposals from commercial and non-profit entities to institutional, residential, and mixed-use projects. Lopez has worked in the Boston Redevelopment Authority since 2006, when he started as an Economic Initiatives Intern. He later became a Project Assistant and Lopez began his career at the Boston Redevelopment Authority as an Economic Initiatives Intern in 2006 and soon became a Project Assistant. In 2012, Lopez served as a Senior Project Manager and quickly advanced to the role of the Senior Policy Advisor, where he implemented policies and programs to manage the formulation of economic development in the City.

 

 

Nick Martin will serve as the Director of Communications for the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Martin has worked in municipal public relations and communications since 2008. Most recently he worked as the Director of Communications for the Boston Public Health Commission, successfully developing messaging and communications strategies in response to several high-profile crises, including recovery efforts following the 2013 Boston Marathon tragedy and the severe 2013 flu season. Prior to joining BPHC, Martin worked as a Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff and Press Assistant under the Menino administration. 

 

 

Increasing economic development and equity locally, nationally, and globally

 

Freda Brasfield has been appointed as Chief of Staff for the Economic Development cabinet. In her role, Brasfield will focus on finances and human resource functions, including payroll services, grant management, and research to record the progress of programming.

 

Brasfield began her career as a construction monitor in the Boston Residents Jobs Policy Office, where she helped shape the goals for residents with special regards to minorities and women on construction sites. Later, Brasfield served as a liaison between Mattapan and North Dorchester residents and the City of Boston government in the Office of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s Neighborhood Services.

 

Lauren Jones will serve as the Policy Director for the Health and Human Services cabinet. Jones will focus on policy development and research for the Chief of Health and Human Services, Felix Arroyo. Prior to this appointment, Jones joined the Walsh Administration in January as a Policy Advisor. She was responsible for preparing various policy proposals relative to youth, education, and veteran services. Prior to joining the Walsh Administration, Jones served as the Director of Communications for the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, where she lead crisis communications and media responses for the implementation of the state of Massachusetts’ online unemployment insurance system. Jones also served in the Office of Lt. Governor Timothy P. Murray as Director of Policy and Communications.

 

Brian McLaughlin will serve as the Associate Director of Operations for the Property and Construction Management Department. McLaughlin will be tasked with overseeing project management and initiatives, implementing plans through cross-functional negotiations with various sites and third party contractors, and facilitating benchmark performance initiatives for the department.

 

Prior to assuming his role with the City of Boston, McLaughlin worked for then State Representative Martin J. Walsh as a Director of Special Events and Projects. His past experiences include working for the Massachusetts Trial Court as an Assistant Court Services Coordinator, the Office of House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran as a Legislative Assistant, and at the Massachusetts School Building Authority as a Government Affairs Liaison.