Former Arlington Town Manager, current Metropolitan Area Planning Council President brings over a decade of policy expertise with a focus on climate mitigation and resilience to his new role
BOSTON, MA (June 16, 2022) – The Boston Green Ribbon Commission (GRC) today announced Adam Chapdelaine as its first Deputy Director, entrusted with advancing the organization’s climate strategy and implementation work with an emphasis on climate resilience and climate policy priorities for the City and Commonwealth.
With over a decade of policy chops under his belt, Adam brings a wealth of experience and success championing policy measures in cities and municipalities across Massachusetts. He spent the past 10 years of his career as Town Manager for the Town of Arlington and served as the Deputy Town Manager for two years before that. Prior to his work in Arlington, he served as City Administrator for the City of Fall River and held multiple staff roles in the office of former State Senator Joan Menard.
During his tenure in Arlington, Adam assumed leadership roles with local and regional advocacy groups. In 2021 he served as the President of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and he also led Arlington to join the Metro Mayors Coalition several years ago. Since then, he has been an active participant in the coalition’s work on climate, housing, and youth violence prevention. Adam currently serves in a volunteer capacity as President of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a trusted and effective group with which the GRC has worked closely on regional climate policy over the years.
Adam’s experience working with local and regional advocacy groups expertly marries his policy background with the needs of the GRC as equitable climate action becomes increasingly high-stakes.
“Adam’s depth of policy knowledge from his work in cities and municipalities, paired with his experience and connections in the advocacy world, made him a natural fit for this new role in the GRC,” said Amy Longsworth Executive Director of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission. “As Boston nears its interim climate target deadlines, we know our work must accelerate. The addition of Adam to our team will both expand our capacity to support climate strategy and implementation work and augment our policy chops in the critical years ahead.”
Though his past work falls largely in the policy sphere, Adam is not new to climate action. During his tenure with the Town of Arlington, Adam worked tirelessly to make the Town a leader on climate mitigation and resilience. The creation and adoption of Arlington’s Net Zero Action Plan in 2021 culminates years of work on climate and sustainability issues, including solar PV installations, energy-efficient investments, municipal fleet electrification, and resilience planning and project implementation. A cardinal mitigation project currently underway thanks to his leadership is the new 400,000 sq. ft. Arlington High School – designed to be fully electric and net-zero ready, the project supports students’ health and well-being and creates new learning opportunities.
“I am thrilled at the opportunity to put to work my years of knowledge of policy and my passion for equitable climate action to address the climate crisis in Boston, a city close to my heart,” said Chapdelaine. “The influence of the GRC is unmatched in the climate sector, and I look forward to working with this vast network to tackle what I believe to be one of the greatest issues of our time.”
Adam will step into his role at the GRC in early September, following a summer off spent with his family.
Adam earned a B.A. in Political Science from UMass Dartmouth and an MBA from Suffolk University. Adam has also earned an Executive Education certificate in Sustainability Leadership from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Adam lives with his wife, Rita, in Dedham with their two children.
About the Boston Green Ribbon Commission
The mission of the Green Ribbon Commission is to accelerate the implementation of the City’s Climate Action Plan by convening, organizing, and enabling leaders from Boston’s key sectors. The City of Boston is committed to achieving net zero carbon energy sources by 2050, even as the city grows. The GRC provides a forum for representatives of the private sector and the City to discuss, plan and act on the opportunities, challenges, ideas, and requirements of preparing Boston to meet the imperatives of climate change. To learn more, visit www.greenribboncommission.org or follow us on Twitter.
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