Mayor Walsh Names Boston's First Chief Resilience Officer

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh named Dr. Atyia Martin as the City’s first Chief Resilience Officer on Monday.

The new position was created to lead city-wide resilience building efforts to help Boston prepare for, withstand and bounce back from catastrophic events like floods, infrastructure failure and acts of terrorism, and also slow-moving disasters like persistent racial and economic inequality, lack of affordable housing and unemployment.

“Atyia brings an impressive amount of experience, leadership and passion to this position,” said Mayor Walsh. “She has dedicated her entire professional life to public service, and we are honored to have her on board as our Chief Resilience Officer.”

Boston’s resilience initiative includes a unique focus on social and economic resilience in a city affected by historic and persistent divisions of race and class, along with a clear eye toward potential shocks the city may be exposed to.

“I am honored and humbled to have been selected as the Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Boston and to be able to continue my career in public service in my hometown,” said Martin. “I am especially excited about Mayor Walsh’s bold and innovative move to focus on social resilience and incorporate root causes of inequity that impact the daily lives of our communities and post-disaster outcomes.”

The appointment of a CRO is part of Boston’s resilience building partnership with 100 Resilient Cities - Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC). 100RC is part of a $164 million commitment by The Rockefeller Foundation to build urban resilience in 100 cities around the world.

Martin has been the Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness at the Boston Health Commission since 2011.