Deanna Moran, AICP (MPP/MCRP ’16) was named the 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 Deanna Moran’s appointment as Chief Coastal Resilience Officer within the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) in May 2024. In this position, she will lead the state’s new ResilientCoasts initiative, a holistic and proactive strategy to guide state and local coastal resiliency policy and action.
Moran joins CZM from Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), where she currently serves as Vice President for Healthy and Resilient Communities, working to leverage law, planning, policy, research, and finance to address New England’s urgent climate challenges. Previously, she was CLF’s Director of Environmental Planning and was responsible for climate resilience advocacy across New England and the Boston Harbor Public Access Initiative. Before CLF, Moran worked for a community development financial institution assisting local governments in devising and implementing neighborhood revitalization strategies, including the reclamation of vacant and abandoned properties. She has consulted on a number of planning and policy-based projects for organizations including the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and the New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance. Moran earned 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 started on June 3.
The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) is the lead policy and planning agency on coastal and ocean issues within the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Through planning, technical and grant assistance, and public information programs, CZM seeks to balance the impacts of human activity with the protection of coastal and marine resources. The agency’s work includes helping coastal communities address the challenges of storms, sea level rise, and other effects of climate change; working with state, regional, and federal partners to balance current and new uses of ocean waters while protecting ocean habitats and promoting sustainable economic development; and partnering with communities and other organizations to protect and restore coastal water quality and habitats.