Joe Curtatone

In January, 2022, Joe Curtatone became the President of the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC) and a Senior Practice Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. Prior to starting his new roles, he served nine terms (18 years) as Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts (the City's longest serving Mayor) where he earned a reputation for being one of the most innovative mayors in the United States. Prior to being sworn in as Mayor in January 2004, Curtatone served for eight years as an Alderman-at-Large and as an attorney in private practice.

As Mayor, he implemented a wide range of reforms and new programs that earned both him and the City widespread recognition, including being named “the best-run city in Massachusetts” by the Boston Globe, an “All-America City” by the National Civic League twice, and among the “100 Best Communities for Youth” by America’s Promise Alliance. During his time in office Somerville developed a comprehensive net zero climate action plan, experienced housing and job booms by redeveloping former industrial districts, spearheaded the first major expansion of Boston's core rail transit system in a generation and launched the national healthy cities initiative. Somerville consistently tops lists of the “Most Walkable” and “Most Bikeable” cities in the United States. Mayor Curtatone has become a national leader in the system of better management through measurement. Delegations from other Massachusetts communities – and from cities as far away as Ireland and Korea – regularly visited Somerville for briefings on the city’s SomerStat program, a data-driven performance management system modeled on Baltimore’s CitiSTAT initiative.

A 1984 graduate of Somerville High School, he earned his Bachelor degree (B.A.) from Boston College in 1990, a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the New England School of Law in 1994, and a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2011.

He has also volunteered as a football coach at Somerville High School, Somerville Little League, and Somerville Youth Hockey.