Boston Mayor Janey Appoints Reverend Mariama White-Hammond as Environment and Open Space Chief

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston Mayor Kim Janey named Reverend Mariama White-Hammond as the city's new Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space at a ceremony Tuesday at the Nightingale Community Garden in Dorchester. The announcement coincided with the departure of outgoing Chief Chris Cook, who will become Executive Director of the Rose Kennedy Greenway in two weeks. Janey outlined a three-part agenda for White-Hammond: equitable heat mitigation and cooling plans targeting communities hardest hit by COVID-19 and urban heat islands, expanded food access through Boston's 56 permanently protected community gardens, and a green jobs pipeline for youth of color in the Boston Public Schools system. White-Hammond, founding pastor of New Roots AME Church in Dorchester and founder of youth arts and justice nonprofit Project Hip Hop, is a member of the Green Justice Coalition and has received the Barr Fellowship and a Boston NAACP Image Award. "Green jobs can be great jobs on which people can raise their families," White-Hammond said, "and far too many of our young people are not on track for that."