February 2, 1996
Contact: Anne Donovan
(617) 727-9530, x 411

Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (CZM) announces the appointment of Elizabeth Grob, who currently serves as the Deputy Director of The Boston Harbor Association, as the Regional Coordinator for CZM's new Boston Harbor Regional Office. "I am excited at the opportunity to hire someone with Elizabeth's proven skill in urban coastal planning and management," emphasized Peg Brady, Director of CZM. "Elizabeth is really making a difference in the Boston Harbor area and she will be a tremendous addition to the CZM team."

Ms. Grob is uniquely qualified as CZM's first Regional Coordinator for the Boston Harbor area because of the breadth and depth of her professional experience within the urban environmental community network. She has served as the Deputy Director of the Boston Harbor Association for the past two years and manages a $30 million restoration project for Boston Harbor beaches. In this role, she represents community interests and coordinates the development of the "Back to the Beaches" master plan with the state's Metropolitan District Commission, City of Boston, elected officials, and other state entities such as the Governor's Beach Commission, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), and the Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority (MBTA). The "Back to the Beaches" campaign has been extremely successful: greenery has been planted, benches have been repaired, and trash pickup has been increased. A wide range of other improvements have been made, from bathhouse renovation to walkway development and even bigger projects are planned for the future.

Before taking a position with The Boston Harbor Association, Ms. Grob was a Policy Analyst at the State House for the Committee of Natural Resources, where she prepared detailed analyses on environmental legislation and planning. She focused on wetlands policy, watershed protection, the Boston Harbor Project, and the Open Space Bond Bill. She was also the Staff Director in the Office of Representative David Magnani of the Ways and Means Committee and received a Masters of Public Affairs from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

When asked about her new position, Ms. Grob explained: "I look forward to joining the CZM program and am excited to begin working with coastal communities in and around Boston Harbor."

This summer, CZM reorganized its coastal program to provide a Regional Coordinator for the Boston Harbor area, which had previously been served by different CZM staff members from the Boston Office, depending on the issue at hand. The main goal of this move is to ensure that a dedicated staff person will coordinate efforts in this complex and important region, which covers: Boston, Braintree, Chelsea, Cohasset, Everett, Hingham, Hull, Milton, Quincy, Weymouth, and Winthrop. The new Boston Harbor Regional Coordinator will be located at the CZM Boston Office, 100 Cambridge Street, 20th Floor, Boston, MA 02202.

The telephone number is (617) 727-9530 and the fax is (617) 727-2754.