Joe Christo is the Managing Director for the Stone Living Lab and the Chief Resilience Officer for Boston Harbor Now.
An urban planner who specializes in climate adaptation, Joe draws on his background in the areas of disaster preparedness, disaster response, environmental justice, and community planning for his roles at the two organizations, which both work towards making Boston and other cities thriving and resilient places to live and work for everyone.
As the Managing Director of the Stone Living Lab, Joe oversees day-to-day operations, research and monitoring activities, education and engagement activities, implementation, long-term planning, communications, fundraising, and partnerships. At Boston Harbor Now, Joe works with the President and CEO to set and implement the organization’s climate resilience priorities.
Prior to joining the Stone Living Lab and Boston Harbor Now, Joe worked for the City of Boston, where he served as the Senior Resilience and Waterfront Planner in the Planning Department. In that role, he led several climate adaptation infrastructure projects and the Fort Point Open Space Plan, and worked on initiatives such as Climate Ready Boston and the Coastal Flood Resilience Zoning Overlay District. Joe also served as a Program Director in the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, the City’s civic innovation team, where he launched equitable infrastructure and economic mobility programs. From March to July of 2020, Joe served as a member of Mayor Marty Walsh’s COVID disaster response team, with several roles that included serving as the City’s point person on establishing the Boston Hope field hospital.
Previously, Joe spent seven years working for the City of New York, where he led climate and community resilience projects. Those projects included leading a part of the Hurricane Sandy long-term recovery effort in the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations through managing environmental assessment field operations for homeowners and renters throughout the five boroughs; building and launching operations at ten new career centers at public libraries, community organizations, and community colleges; and working with community organizations to create better access to the City’s workforce development and training programs. In October and November of 2012, Joe also served as a member of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Hurricane Sandy disaster response team, with several roles that included working at an evacuation shelter in Queens and supporting logistics at the City’s Emergency Operations Center in Brooklyn. Earlier in his career, Joe served as the Communications Director for the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy in Boston.
Joe has a Master’s degree in Community Planning from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Political Science from Northeastern University.