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BOSTON - Monday, August 8, 2022 - Mayor
Michelle Wu today appointed Oliver Sellers-Garcia as the City
of Boston’s first ever Green New Deal Director. Sellers-Garcia brings years
of experience working in urban planning, climate change mitigation,
resiliency, and sustainability. In this role, Sellers-Garcia will be
charged with Mayor Wu’s goals to make Boston a Green New Deal city through
planning for an equitable, sustainable future. As a Cabinet-Level Senior
Advisor, Sellers-Garcia will work in partnership with the Mayor, the Chief
of Environment, Energy, and Open Space (EEOS), the Chief of Operations,
Chief of Streets, Chief of Planning, School Superintendent, and other
senior City officials.
“In this moment of tremendous urgency and
opportunity, Boston must lead on a city Green New Deal. From the health and
safety of our residents, to jobs and economic opportunity, to the vibrancy
and livability of our neighborhoods, climate action is the foundation for
our brightest future. It took us a while to find a leader with the bold
vision, detailed knowledge, and focus on community to take up this charge,
but Oliver brings even more than we’d hoped for, and I’m so inspired at the
possibilities ahead,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “I’m excited for
Oliver’s leadership building on our climate work and coordinating on
housing, health, transit, city planning, infrastructure, and economic
justice ”
In this role, Sellers-Garcia will have the
opportunity to shape an all-of-government approach to climate and
equity-led governance and help make Boston a groundbreaking model of city
leadership. He will be responsible for shaping and driving implementation
of the Green New Deal agenda, working closely with City Cabinet leaders and
departments on issues including planning, housing, transit, jobs, energy
use, and electrification.
The Boston Green New Deal is a vision for
tackling the climate crisis with strategies that address economic, social,
and racial inequities. Eliminating climate change pollution and building
resilience to a changing climate will require a transformation of public
infrastructure and systems. Implementation of the Boston Green New Deal is
an investment in initiatives that spark this transformation and deliver
tangible improvements to the people of Boston.
“I am honored to serve the City of Boston in
the role of Green New Deal Director and support Mayor Wu’s vision to make
Boston the Green New Deal city. Partnering with Boston communities,
advocates, and my colleagues in the City, we will demonstrate that acting
on climate also means making daily life more comfortable, safe, and
enjoyable,” said Oliver Sellers-Garcia. “I am thrilled to be
joining an administration that centers justice and equity in our response
to the climate crisis.”
“Right now, we have the opportunity and
obligation to address the unfolding climate crisis while guaranteeing
equitable access to jobs, transportation, clean energy, and open space
through a city-level Green New Deal,” said Chief of Environment,
Energy and Open Space Reverend Mariama White-Hammond. "I am
thrilled to work with Oliver who has a strong local track-record in this
work to create a healthy and sustainable planet for us all."
“Transportation is the second largest source
of greenhouse gas emissions in Boston. To be a Green New Deal city, we must
curb our reliance on fossil fuels and create a transportation system that
is safe, reliable, and low-carbon,” said Chief of Streets Jascha
Franklin-Hodge. “I’m excited to work with Oliver on this transformation
work, and to build alignment across the City’s work on transportation,
green infrastructure, housing, and open space.”
"We want our children to run toward
their schools and into their classrooms with excitement and passion,"
said incoming Superintendent Mary Skipper. "To make this
possible, we need our students' learning spaces to be safe, healthy,
energy-efficient, and uplifting. Mayor Michelle Wu's investment in a Green
New Deal for Boston Public Schools will make this a reality. With Oliver at
the helm leading this work, we will address our infrastructure challenges
and build a green future for the district that meets the needs of all our
students."
“I am eager to work with Oliver on the many
opportunities to embed our climate and economic justice goals into the work
of the Operations Cabinet. With Oliver’s expertise, we have a tremendous
opportunity to embed climate resilience into our permitting process, as
well as the City’s own property management and capital construction
projects,” said Chief of Operations Dion Irish. “The Green New
Deal for Boston Public Schools is an exciting start, and we look forward to
building on that work with the new senior advisor.”
"In Boston, we know that buildings
account for nearly 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and represent
the greatest opportunity for emissions reductions, in addition to the
emission contributions from construction," said Chief of
Planning Arthur Jemison. "As an agency, we are beginning to work
towards zero net carbon emissions in our own real estate portfolio, and I
look forward to working with Oliver to limit the negative impacts of
building throughout Boston.”
Oliver Sellers-Garcia most recently served
as the Director of Resiliency and Equity at the MBTA, where he leads a new
program that integrates resilient design, sustainability, and social equity
into infrastructure development. Since assuming this position in 2021, Sellers-Garcia
has worked across the agency to develop measurement systems and new
practices for design and community engagement.
From 2014 to 2021, Oliver served as the
Director of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability and Environment in
Somerville, Massachusetts. In this role, Sellers-Garcia acted as the City’s
chief sustainability officer for municipal operations and the head of the
citywide environment department. Under his leadership, in 2018, Somerville
released its first climate action plan, among the first municipal climate
action plans to integrate resilience, greenhouse gas reductions, and
equity. His accomplishments include municipal and residential
efficiency, energy and composting programs with Somerville Public Schools,
net-zero carbon new development standards, heat and flooding resilience
programs, and close collaboration with neighboring municipalities on
climate equity policy.
Prior to joining the City of Somerville, he
worked for eight years at the environmental consulting firm CDM Smith,
helping municipalities and public agencies around the country and the world
integrate sustainability and climate change into physical and
organizational planning.
The son of Guatemalan and American parents,
Oliver grew up in a bicultural environment in the Boston area and is a
native bilingual Spanish speaker. He lives with his partner in
Roxbury. Oliver holds a Bachelor's degree in Urban Studies from
Columbia University and a Master's in City Planning from MIT.
Sellers-Garcia’s appointment builds on the
Wu administration’s commitment to supporting a healthy, local ecosystem,
and a thriving green economy. Mayor Wu’s first budget included
groundbreaking investments in climate action to create a Green New Deal
city. These investments include $2.5 million for a new Climate Ready
Streets program within Climate Ready Boston to deliver on heat resilience,
stormwater management, and air quality on key transportation corridors, $20
million for a nation-leading pilot for energy retrofits in triple deckers
and other multi-family homes while maintaining affordability, $2.5 million
of ARPA funds to grow and preserve our urban tree canopy, including an
innovative pilot program on private land, $2.5 million in electrifying
school bus infrastructure, a $6 million ARPA investment to scale Youth
Green Jobs, and $137 million in capital funding, plus operating
investments, to create and protect parks, the tree canopy, and open spaces
in the City.
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