Mayor Martin J. Walsh appointed John Barros Chief of Economic Development in February 2014. Before his appointment John served 13 years as Executive Director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) where a lead a successful neighborhood revitalization effort and the largest urban community land trust in the country, which was founded as a community wealth creation strategy including permanent affordable housing. Prior to DSNI, John worked at the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, as an Executive Liability underwriter, providing insurance for initial public offerings for dot-com startups, including Priceline.com. John received his BA from Dartmouth College, where he studied Economics and African/African-American Studies. He is a candidate for a Masters in Public Policy from Tufts University. He received an honorary doctorate in commerce from Suffolk University in 2015. John has been a member of the Boston School Committee, the Aspen Institute’s Roundtable on Community Change, and Co-Chairperson of the Center for Community Builders. John is a member of the 2005 Fellows class in the South African-United States Center for Leadership and Public Values and in 2007 was named a Barr Foundation Fellow in 2007.