Chris Cook brings extensive experience to The Greenway, having most recently served as the Chief of Environment, Energy & Open Space for the City of Boston. He has spent his career working to strategically position open spaces to foster community, adapt to climate change, and promote public health and wellness through design excellence and management. In his time as Boston’s Parks Commissioner, Cook comprehensively worked on initiatives to make Boston’s open spaces more equitable and accessible. As the former Director of the previous Mayor’s Office of Arts, Tourism, & Special Events, Cook also played a key role in advancing cultural tourism and fostering the growth of Boston’s cultural community.

Melissa Higgins is President and CEO of Boston Children’s Museum, where she previously served as Vice President of Programs and Exhibits. Since joining the Museum in 2018, she has led the development of play-based learning experiences, STEAM and arts programming, exhibit redesigns, and partnerships that expand access to educational opportunities for children and families. Previously, Higgins worked in education at WGBH and served as Director of Curriculum Development for the Engineering is Elementary program at Boston’s Museum of Science. She holds a B.A. in Architectural Studies from Connecticut College and an M.A. in Museum Studies from Harvard University Extension School.

David Gamble is Founding Principal of Gamble Associates and a Lecturer in Urban Design at MIT. A former design critic at Harvard GSD and past chair of the AIA Regional and Urban Design Committee, he has also taught at Syracuse and Northeastern and held professional positions in the U.S., Germany, and Switzerland. He holds architecture degrees from Kent State University and Harvard GSD and is the recipient of the AIA National Young Architects Award and the Gabriel Prize. His research examines how urban design and planning can catalyze redevelopment through innovative implementation strategies. He co-authored Rebuilding the American City (Routledge, 2016) with Patty Heyda, exploring five paradigms of urban redevelopment. His latest book, Reinventing the American Town (Routledge, 2024), examines how smaller communities are addressing social, economic, environmental, and physical challenges. He also edited Idea City (University of Massachusetts Press, 2023), a collection of essays focused on improving the Greater Boston region.

Dr. Karilyn Crockett is a professor of urban history, public policy and planning in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Her research examines urban land use, structural inequality and the forces that shape American cities. She is the author of People before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners, and a New Movement for City Making, which chronicles the grassroots movement that halted highway expansion in Boston and helped reshape the city’s planning and development. Crockett has held several leadership positions with the City of Boston, including serving as the city’s first Chief of Equity. She previously co-founded MYTOWN, an award-winning youth education and tourism organization focused on Boston’s neighborhood history. She holds a PhD from Yale University and a Master of Science in Geography from the London School of Economics.

Ruthzee Louijeune is a third-term Boston City Councilor At-Large and former City Council President. Born and raised in Mattapan and Hyde Park to Haitian immigrant parents, she has built her career around housing, civil rights, equity, and expanding opportunity for Boston residents. Before joining the Council, Louijeune worked as an attorney representing families facing eviction and foreclosure, defending voting rights, and advancing affordable homeownership. On the Council, she has championed housing affordability, public education, immigrant and civil rights, public safety, and greater civic participation. Louijeune is the first Haitian American elected to Boston municipal government and the first Haitian American to serve as Boston City Council President. She is a graduate of Boston Public Schools, Columbia University, Harvard Law School, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Meg Mainzer-Cohen has served as President and Executive Director of the Back Bay Association since 2000, leading the organization’s efforts to strengthen the economic vitality and quality of Boston’s Back Bay. Working alongside a board of business leaders, she serves as a key liaison between the neighborhood’s businesses and property owners and city and state officials, advocating on issues ranging from economic development and permitting to hospitality and the public realm. Since 2023, Meg has led the Back Bay Association’s effort to establish a Business Improvement District (BID) for the neighborhood. The proposed BID would provide dedicated resources for business advocacy, daily cleaning and maintenance, connections to services for people experiencing homelessness, and seasonal beautification. The effort has secured support from a significant coalition of Back Bay property owners and continues to advance toward the formal petition process. Earlier in her career, Meg served as CEO of the Somerville Community Corporation and as Events and Public Relations Director for the Downtown Crossing Association. She has also served on and chaired the Boston Finance Commission. Her career spans community development, business advocacy, economic development, and public-private collaboration across Greater Boston.

Charlayne Murrell-Smith is the Vice President of External Relations and Corporate Development at the Boston Children's Museum. She stewards the museum's civic, community, and corporate stakeholder relationships to advance its mission, programs, public profile, and financial health. She also plays a pivotal role in the Boston Children's Museum's many outreach initiatives benefiting children and families in Boston and beyond. Charlayne is the recipient of the Pinnacle Award for achievement in nonprofit management from the Women's Network of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Her many recognitions include being named one of the EXTRAordinary Women of Boston by the Mayor's Office of Women's Advancement; one of the 100 Most Influential People of Color by Get Konnected and the National Center for Race Amity at Wheelock College; a Leading Woman by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts; and a Harbor Hero by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. A resident of Roxbury, Charlayne holds a BA from Wellesley College and a MEd from Northeastern University. Her current affiliations include the Boards of Directors of the Boston Children’s Chorus, Friends of Fort Point Channel, Friends of Martin’s Park, Inc., Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Third Sector New England, Seaport TMA, Wellesley College Alumnae Association, and YMCA of Greater Boston. She is also on the advisory boards of Boston Harbor Now and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network and Hospitality and Tourism Leadership Council.

Michael J. Nichols joined the DBA as President in October 2022 and directs the organization’s work to significantly improve the experience of all who live, work, visit, own a business, go to school, or shop in Downtown Boston. Michael leads a visible, high-impact, 12-year-old organization that provides supplemental services within the 34-block DBA to support a clean, safe, and welcoming neighborhood. The DBA works to promote and foster an energetic, thriving, and inclusive business climate in the area and serves as the voice and advocate for Boston’s central business district. Under Michael’s leadership, the group has developed a multi-faceted economic development agenda to lead an equitable and impactful revitalization effort as downtown faces a new post-pandemic reality. Michael joined the DBA after five years as Executive Director of the Esplanade Association, a non-profit friends group for Boston’s Charles River Esplanade. At the Esplanade, Michael was responsible for setting a new strategic direction for the organization that included legislative authorization of the $20 million Charlesbank Landing redevelopment project, the launch of the group’s climate action and public art initiatives, and the completion of numerous other capital improvement projects and program upgrades. Michael has a long record of serving his community, having served on the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, the Mayor’s ONEin3/SPARK Boston Council, an Adjunct Professor at two Boston-area colleges, and as President of the Audubon Circle Neighborhood Association in Boston. Michael presently serves as a mayoral appointee to the Boston Zoning Commission. He is an admitted attorney in Massachusetts with a BA and JD from the University of Connecticut.

Maria Noguera is an urban planner and designer with the Downtown Boston Alliance, where she works to support the continued evolution of Downtown Boston as a vibrant, people-centered urban district. Her work is grounded in the intersection of urban planning, design, and architecture, with a particular interest in applying transformative and equitable design strategies in partnership with communities.

Tom Ryan serves as Executive Director of the Greenway Business Improvement District (BID) and Senior Advisor on Policy, Government & Community Affairs at A Better City. As Executive Director, Tom oversees the BID’s approximately $2 million budget and works in partnership with the Greenway Conservancy, property owners, and city and state officials to support capital improvements, public programming, safety initiatives, and activation along Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway. Tom joined A Better City in 2015, where his work includes policy development, legislative advocacy, transportation finance, and relationships with public officials and other stakeholders. He previously spent eleven years in Massachusetts state government, holding positions within the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, the Executive Office for Administration and Finance, and the House Committee on Ways & Means. Tom holds a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Bowdoin College.

Yanni Tsipis is Senior Vice President – Fenway / Seaport Development at WS Development in Boston and oversees the company’s Boston Seaport project, a 33-acre, 20-block, 7.6 million square foot mixed-use development currently under construction in Boston’s Seaport District, as well as a 2 million square foot mixed-use development surrounding Fenway Park in Boston’s historic Fenway neighborhood. Prior to his tenure at WS, Yanni spent nearly 15 years at Colliers International after completing undergraduate and graduate studies at MIT in civil engineering and planning. At Colliers, Yanni focused his work on managing large-scale urban development and historic rehabilitation projects. His project experience at Colliers included multiple commercial, multifamily residential, hotel, and other project types, and spanned over $2 billion of development projects, all in the City of Boston. Yanni lives in Westwood and has written four books about the history of the city’s transportation infrastructure. He serves on numerous non-profit boards and is a past member of the Boston Landmarks Commission. Yanni has been involved with the CRE in various capacities since 2001.

Christine Vaillancourt is an acclaimed Boston-based artist and President of the Board of Directors of the Fort Point Arts Community (FPAC), where she helps lead one of Boston’s most established artist communities and advocates for the continued role of arts and culture in Fort Point. Vaillancourt has exhibited throughout the United States and Canada, with work held in numerous corporate and private collections. Her public art includes installations at the MBTA Green Line Extension’s Ball Square Station in Somerville, and her career has included solo exhibitions at the Newport Art Museum and Boston City Hall’s Mayor’s Gallery. In 2022, she curated an exhibition featuring artists commissioned for all seven new Green Line Extension stations at FPAC’s gallery in Fort Point.