New chief digital officer appointed for City of Boston

Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the appointment of Jeanethe Falvey as Boston's Chief Digital Officer, in the Department of Innovation and Technology under the leadership of Chief Information Officer Jascha Franklin-Hodge. Falvey will lead the City's Digital Team in building beautiful, welcoming and useful user experiences and helpful tools for the City's constituents.

"We're committed to providing the best tools and services to the people of Boston," said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. "I'm pleased to welcome Jeanethe to the team as we continue to use our digital platforms to improve quality of life for our residents."

Falvey brings more than 10 years of experience in web communications and digital strategy to the City of Boston. Most recently, she served as the Director of Digital Strategy for National Geographic Society. As Director of Digital Strategy, Falvey led a team of producers, developers, product managers and social media managers to create an engaging digital experience for educators, grantees and supporters to access available resources and program experiences on nationalgeographic.org.

"To come home to the City of Boston in this capacity, with this responsibility, is an incredible honor," Falvey said. "Each day will be an opportunity for our team to facilitate a better experience, and to empower residents and visitors with greater access to information and services. I am incredibly excited to see what we can accomplish together."

Some of Falvey's most notable work includes the resurgence of DOCUMERICA and creation of State of the Environment, which are both platforms that use public photos to showcase changes in the country's environment and human health conditions since the 1970s. In addition, Falvey served on the core response teams during the BP Oil Spill and Hurricane Sandy, and led community outreach and engagement in the New England region for several environmental cleanup projects including those in New Bedford, South Weymouth, and the Massachusetts Military Reservation.

Falvey holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Bates College, and a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Studies from Tufts University. Prior to her work at National Geographic, Falvey spent time improving web communications for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and much of her work continues to be relevant today. Falvey resides in the South End. Falvey begins work at the City on Tuesday, October 10th.

About the City of Boston Digital Team

The Digital Team is a small group of designers, engineers, product managers, and content specialists focused on building digital experiences focused on the residents and visitors of Boston. This July, the team celebrated the first anniversary of a new, awarded City website, Boston.gov. The team also works on creatively building web apps (see product roadmap) in the public eye (see how the team open sources everything) and telling stories about the work of departments City-wide. Their goal is to empower the public by providing access to the City's brand and writing guidelines. Learn more about their work.

About the Department of Innovation and Technology

The Department of Innovation and Technology makes sure the networks, computers and systems that support the City are secure and effective. They also manage the City's websites and technologies focused on service delivery.

The department's core work involves five priority areas:

• Core infrastructure
• Enterprise applications
• Digital engagement and services
• Data and analytics
• Broadband and digital equity