Rebecca Herst

Rebecca Herst brings extensive experience and expertise to the GRC as Associate Director and Director of Climate Resilience. In her role she is leading the development of a Coastal Resilience Financial Blueprint which will support the implementation of essential coastal flood protection projects. She also supports the strategic alignment across the GRC’s six working groups, leveraging the GRC’s unique convening role among its network of private sector and public sector leaders at the City and Commonwealth, as the pressure grows to meet 2030 climate goals.

Prior to joining the GRC, Rebecca served as the Director of the Sustainable Solutions Lab (SSL) at UMass Boston (UMB) for more than eight years. Under her leadership, SSL became  a respected source of expertise on both climate and social equity and fostered relationships across fields in order to catalyze change. While there Rebecca established the Northeast Climate Justice Research Collaborative, a network of researchers around the region focused on climate justice, and co-developed the Climate Adaptation Forum, a quarterly event bringing together a wide swath of the Greater Boston climate resilience field.

Rebecca previously worked on climate resilience issues at Boston Harbor Now, Harvard University’s Office for Sustainability, and the Urban Land Institute. Her work has been covered in a wide variety of national and international news outlets including The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and the BBC. She has also co-authored op-eds in The Boston Globe and Commonwealth Beacon and shares her expertise at events nationally.

She has an MBA from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from Carleton College.