MassDevelopment Hires COO, Deputy Director, and Community Development VP

The following is a press release from MassDevelopment submitted to SOURCE media.

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BOSTON – MassDevelopment today, February 22, announced additions to the agency’s executive team.

Theresa Park, current executive director of the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, will join the agency in March as deputy director and senior executive vice president.

Marcos Marrero, former director of planning and economic development in Holyoke, Massachusetts, will join the agency in April as executive vice president of community development.

Park and Marrero join Tania Hartford, who came on as chief operating officer and chief of staff in early January with MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera.

“MassDevelopment is an integral part of the Baker-Polito Administration’s economic development team, with its many financing products and real estate services helping spur economic growth across the Commonwealth,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, who serves as chair of MassDevelopment’s Board of Directors. “With the additions of Theresa Park, Tania Hartford, and Marcos Marrero, I’m pleased to see President and CEO Dan Rivera add a leadership team that reflects Massachusetts’ diverse economy and whose insight and experience will help the agency meet its mission of creating jobs, housing, and opportunity in every community.”   

“This team reflects the organization’s mission of being an elite economic and community development agency focused on stimulating business, driving economic growth, and helping communities thrive across Massachusetts,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera. “Theresa Park, Tania Hartford, and Marcos Marrero each bring a lifetime of professional experience, pedigrees as subject matter experts, and stellar reputations across the Commonwealth. As the state’s finance and economic development authority, MassDevelopment has played and will continue to play a critical role supporting the Commonwealth’s economic recovery in partnership with the Baker-Polito Administration. These leaders will bring a wealth of professional experience and fresh ideas to our capable executive team, and I look forward to seeing all that we will achieve together.”

As deputy director and senior executive vice president, Park will be second in command at MassDevelopment per the bylaws and will focus on program effectiveness and development. Park comes to MassDevelopment with 25 years of regional and municipal planning experience. She most recently served as the executive director of the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, one of 13 regional planning agencies in the state.

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Park’s planning background includes serving as director of the office of planning and development for the City of Lawrence, overseeing the operations of planning, economic development, community development, and inspectional services departments while also advancing improvements in transportation infrastructure, Brownfields redevelopment, housing development, and parks and open space.

Her other experience includes seven years leading economic development at the City of Lowell, Massachusetts, seven years as principal planner at the City of Newton, Massachusetts, and three years in different roles in Cambridge, Massachusetts and she brings extensive experience in the areas of economic development, telecommunications, transportation, and permit streamlining.

Park received her master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. She also attended the International Summer School in Oslo, Norway while in graduate school and spent a semester abroad in Kenya as an undergraduate student. Park will join the agency on March 15, 2021.

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As chief operating officer and chief of staff, Hartford will oversee day-to-day operations at MassDevelopment. Hartford previously worked at MassDevelopment for 10 years as both vice president of community development in the northeast regional office and later as director of real estate services serving municipalities throughout the Commonwealth.

Prior to rejoining MassDevelopment, she worked as a development manager for RCG LLC, a real estate development and investment firm based in Somerville, Massachusetts where she focused on strategic planning and development of current assets and new acquisitions. Earlier in her career, Hartford served as the economic development program director with the City of Salem, Massachusetts, community development senior planner with the City of Newton, Massachusetts, and in various positions within the Michigan House of Representatives.

She holds a master’s in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University and a bachelor’s in International Relations/Environmental Policy from Michigan State University. She is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Hartford rejoined the agency on January 11, 2021.

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As executive vice president of community development, Marrero will oversee MassDevelopment’s new community development division based in Springfield, Massachusetts that will encompass the agency’s Transformative Development Initiative and community development team. Marrero comes to MassDevelopment from the City of Holyoke, Massachusetts, where he served for almost nine years as director of planning and economic development and deployed the largest urban renewal plan in Massachusetts. In the role, he planned, permitted, capitalized, and/or oversaw construction of public and private development projects worth well over $100 million, leading to renewed economic growth in the city.

Previously, Marrero has served on Governor Baker’s Economic Development Planning Committee twice, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Corporation, and the Governor’s Office in Puerto Rico.

Marrero holds a dual master’s in Public Affairs and Urban & Regional Planning from the Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs, and a bachelor’s in Economics and Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras. Marrero will join the agency on April 5, 2021.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2020, MassDevelopment financed or managed 341 projects generating investment of more than $2.69 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 10,871 jobs and build or preserve 1,787 housing units.

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