Maha Aslam / Transit + Streets Program Manager

Contact: [email protected]

Maha Aslam is the Program Manager: Streets + Transit for LivableStreets. She has worked in New York City as an Urban Planner, and is familiar with New York City planning and policies; she has conducted related urban policy research, including overcrowding of schools in Sunset Park, the BQX Street Car, Transit-Orient-Development, East Harlem rezoning and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, and Jamaica Bay Resiliency plans. As an urban planner she believes in safe & equitable access to transportation and a community centered approach to the process of planning.

Maha has a Master’s Degree in Design & Urban Ecologies from Parsons School of Design and a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan.

Makayla Comas / Community Engagement Manager

Contact: [email protected]

Makayla is the Community Engagement Manager for Livable Streets. She oversees the Street Ambassador program, and is responsible for building and coordinating outreach campaigns that advance the goals of LivableStreets’ Transit, Emerald Network, Vision Zero, and Great Neighborhoods advocacy initiatives. Makayla approaches her work with an intersectional framework that she learned as an environmental and racial justice organizer in New York City and which she is committed to applying in her current work. Makayla is particularly interested in the ways Race, Place, and Mobility overlap.

Makayla has worked previously on the MBTA’s Community Engagement Team. She is a graduate of SUNY - College of Environmental Science and Forestry, with a Bachelor's in Environmental Studies, as well as Tufts University, where she earned a Master’s in Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy.

Lorraine Fryer / Content + Culture Manager

Contact: [email protected]

Lorraine is the Content + Culture Manager at LivableStreets, keeping the website up-to-date, designing reports, and spending a great deal of time contemplating the nature of organizational culture; she is always looking for projects that will teach her something new. Lorraine has a B.A. in Visual Art, an M.L.A. in Museum Studies, and considering how much time she spends thinking about transportation, public space, and community design, Lorraine may be due to return for another degree soon.

Recently, Lorraine moved with her partner & bat-eared dog into the Boston area's newest cohousing building (of which she is a founding member)! She's enjoying getting to know her new city of Malden, and appreciates the diversity of bubble tea options with a ten-minute walk.

Catherine Gleason / Public Policy Manager

Contact: [email protected]

Catherine is the Public Policy Manager for LivableStreets, championing our policy priorities and street safety work through coalition building and management, and holding municipalities and elected leaders accountable by publishing reports and candidate questionnaires.

Catherine believes in the power that policy has to revolutionize and make meaningful changes in peoples' lives, and puts her energy into shifting systems of power away from an inequitable status quo. She brings experiences from previous roles with The Food Project and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. Catherine holds a B.S. from Northeastern University, where she studied Environmental Science. In her free time, Catherine can be found curled up with one of the many books she’s reading at any given time, or exploring a new artistic hobby.

Michaela Grenier / Emerald Network Project Manager
Contact: [email protected]

Michaela Grenier is the Emerald Network Project Manager for LivableStreets. She works with community members and coalition partners to support the development of miles of greenways in the Boston area. Michaela brings a background in conflict transformation and community organizing to her work. Prior to joining the LivableStreets team, Michaela worked at an international conflict resolution nonprofit where she partnered with diverse communities to design inclusive and participatory processes for improving conflicts and addressing inequities. She is a big believer in the power of greenways to connect communities, improve humans’ health and wellbeing, and increase climate resiliency.

Michaela has a B.A. in International Studies and Women’s Studies from Denison University. In her free time, you can find Michaela gardening, walking, or curled up with a cat (or two) and a good book.

Ammi Hosur / Program Assistant
Contact: [email protected]

Ammi Hosur is the Program Assistant at LivableStreets Alliance. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications & Journalism from Suffolk University, with a concentration in Public Relations. While attending school next to the State House in the heart of Boston, Ammi began to educate herself about social, political, and environmental injustices. After seeing how people are directly affected by ongoing flaws in the system, Ammi’s empathy drove her to make a personal commitment to contributing to a larger cause: creating a safe and affordable environment while providing equitable opportunities for everyone, regardless of their personal background.

Ammi is passionate about music, art, and food. She loves singing and exploring local restaurants and live shows in the Metro Boston area. You will find her with a pair of headphones in her ears a majority of the time. In 2021, she was in the top 0.05% of listeners for Spotify. In 2022, she hopes to make it to the top 0.01%.

Abby Jamiel / Director of the Emerald Network

Contact: [email protected]

Abby is the Director of the Emerald Network. She builds relationships with community members and partners to actualize miles of greenways within Boston. As an Urban Planner, her interest lies in bringing joy and justice to cities. She is particularly interested in the intersection of public space, arts and culture, and climate migration.

Abby has a B.A in Art History from Ithaca College where she rowed on the Varsity Crew Team. She also has a Master's Degree in Urban Planning with a concentration in Urban Design from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. She loves to go to live shows, explore new cities on bike and foot, works as a fitness instructor, and dabbles in creating art.

Amrita Sawhney / Greenways + Policy Analyst

Contact: [email protected]

As the Greenways + Policy Analyst, Amrita works across LivableStreets programs to aggregate data and advocate for policies. In her work, Amrita strives to recognize the interconnectivity of all systems. As a result, she works to build cohesive solutions for issues regarding transit, housing, and the environment. Amrita also strives to embrace the gray areas between these systems.

Amrita has a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Economics from Reed College. Her thesis research helped incentivize the implementation of Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Gresham, Oregon. In her free time, Amrita creates art, lifts weights, and eats lots of ice cream. Send her your Boston creamery recommendations anytime!

Stacy Thompson / Executive Director

Contact: [email protected]

Stacy is the Executive Director of LivableStreets, overseeing all programs including Vision Zero, Better Buses, and the Emerald Network, and ensuring overall programmatic and operational excellence for the organization.

A relentless optimist, Stacy is undaunted by the many challenges facing Metro Boston today, including increasing access to jobs and affordable housing, improving safety and public health outcomes, and building climate resiliency. Stacy believes that improving our streets isn't simply a transportation issue, but one of justice, equity, and opportunity.

Previously, Stacy served as the Director of Events & Sponsorship at Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit organization, where she developed the strategic focus, content, and communications for major events. She also worked for the Office for Peace and Justice at the Archdiocese of Chicago where she collaborated with community partners to organize educational forums and supported a broad array of social justice initiatives. She has a Master of Arts in Social Justice from Loyola University and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Education from Saint Vincent College.

Michael Weintraub / Service-learning Volunteer

Michael is a service-learning volunteer at LivableStreets through his college, Northeastern University. He is a senior studying Civil Engineering with a concentration in transportation. He is particularly passionate about building people-centered urban streetscapes, and looks to do that through his career, coursework, and volunteering.

Michael is helping out wherever he can, but is focusing on keeping the LivableStreets press page up to date, conducting database cleanup, and tracking physical inventory.