Deanna Moran, AICP (MPP/MCRP ’16), has been appointed Chief Coastal Resilience Officer by the Healey-Driscoll Administration to address climate change impacts along Massachusetts’ coastline. Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rebecca Tepper announced Moran’s appointment in May 2024 within the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM). In this role, she will lead the state’s new ResilientCoasts initiative, which aims to guide state and local coastal resiliency policy and action.
Moran joins CZM from the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), where she served as Vice President for Healthy and Resilient Communities. At CLF, she worked on leveraging law, planning, policy, research, and finance to tackle New England’s urgent climate challenges. Previously, she was CLF’s Director of Environmental Planning responsible for climate resilience advocacy across New England and the Boston Harbor Public Access Initiative. Prior to her tenure at CLF, Moran worked with a community development financial institution aiding local governments in neighborhood revitalization strategies including reclaiming vacant properties. She has also consulted on planning and policy-based projects for organizations such as the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and the New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance.
Moran holds a law degree from Suffolk University Law School, a Master’s of City and Regional Planning and a Master’s of Public Policy from Rutgers University, and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Design from the University at Buffalo. She commenced her duties on June 3.
The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) serves as the lead policy and planning agency on coastal and ocean issues within the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The agency balances human activity impacts with coastal and marine resource protection through planning, technical assistance, grant programs, public information initiatives, storm management efforts, sea level rise mitigation strategies, ocean habitat protection endeavors, sustainable economic development promotion, water quality preservation projects, and habitat restoration partnerships.
