Kate England (she/her, GIP, ENV SP) is the inaugural Director of Green Infrastructure for the City of Boston.  Kate was appointed by Mayor Michelle Wu in July 2022 to facilitate widespread implementation of green infrastructure and help pursue the resilience goals outlined in Boston’s Green New Deal. 

She has a background in engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and policy and has worked in the public sector in and around Boston for most of her career. Kate holds bachelors degrees from Northeastern University and a master’s from Brown University, where she wrote her thesis on utilizing stormwater utilities to incentivize implementation of green infrastructure.

Prior to joining the City, Kate worked for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) where she served as the Regional Engineer for the Boston Region, then became a Regional Planner and chaired one of DCR’s Climate Action Teams. While at DCR, she advised staff about green infrastructure best practices, authored green infrastructure policies and procedures, and helped lead DCR’s statewide Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. 

Kate also previously worked for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) where she established and oversaw the Commission’s Green Infrastructure Program, which planned, designed, constructed, maintained and monitored green infrastructure to better manage stormwater in Boston. While at BWSC, she also helped author green infrastructure curriculum for 5th and 7th grade Boston Public Schools students. The curriculum was piloted in the 2018-2019 school year and is now taught districtwide.

England is responsible for incorporating green infrastructure into the City of Boston’s project plans, regulations, and operations. She relaunched the interdepartmental Green Infrastructure Working Group that she started while at BWSC to ensure that City departments have a uniform approach to green infrastructure design and  implementation such as: sidewalk reconstruction, street repaving, development review, street tree planting, and park renovations. 

Kate frequently does green infrastructure work with PowerCorpsBOS, an “earn-and-learn” training program that teaches green skills to prepare participants for full-time jobs in various environmental and resilience-based industries. She also oversaw the launch of the pilot of the Green Infrastructure Volunteer Program, which empowers locals to volunteer their time and care for green infrastructure features where they live, work and play. 

England lives in the Stony Brook Reservation in Hyde Park with her partner Steve and their dogs Piper and Zoey. In her spare time, England enjoys caring for over 90 potted plants, gardening, and playing ultimate frisbee and field hockey.