Speaker DeLeo Appoints Five Members to Brownfields Advisory Group

July 09, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: 
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com

Speaker Robert A. DeLeo has appointed five members to the Brownfields Advisory Group, a board that oversees and recommends actions with respect to the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund. The newly appointed members – Jessica Andors, Michael Crawford, Tom Daniel, Joseph Kriesberg, and David E. Leone – each bring specialized experience to the Group and will serve for two-year terms.  They participated in the Group’s July 8 meeting.

• Jessica Andors is the Executive Director for Lawrence CommunityWorks. She will serve as the Group’s community development corporation representative.

• Michael Crawford is the Executive Vice President and COO of Commerce Bank & Trust in Worcester. Speaker DeLeo reappointed him to the Group as the lending community representative.

• Tom Daniel is the Economic Development Director for the City of Gloucester. He will serve as the Group’s municipal representative.

• Joseph Kriesberg is the Executive Director for Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, and will also serve as the Group’s CDC representative.

• ​David E. Leone works for GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. and will serve as the Group’s hazardous waste cleanup professional.

“The Brownfields Redevelopment initiative bolsters economic development, helps keep residents healthy and makes our communities better places to live and raise a family,” House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said. “The diverse experience and proven commitment of the House’s appointees to the Advisory Board will help improve this important and effective program.”

“Speaker DeLeo has assembled an accomplished group of individuals with a wide range of experience that will help MassDevelopment make good use of the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund’s scarce resources,” said Marty Jones, MassDevelopment President and CEO. “MassDevelopment looks forward to working with the Brownfields Advisory Group as we work to transform these challenging sites into economic drivers across the Commonwealth.”

In 1998, the Massachusetts Legislature created the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund to encourage the reuse of vacant, abandoned, idle, or underused industrial or commercial properties in Massachusetts where expansion, redevelopment, or improvement is hampered by environmental contamination. MassDevelopment administers this fund to assess and clean up these sites. The Brownfields Advisory Group is comprised of 13 members who serve for two-year terms. The Speaker of the House and the Senate President each appoint five members, and the Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Attorney General each appoint one member.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2014, MassDevelopment financed or managed 314 projects generating investment of more than $2.9 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create more than 6,300 jobs and build or rehabilitate more than 1,600 residential units.