Author: WalkBoston

Creating Connections in Plainfield

Creating Connections in Plainfield

Walk Audit Participants walk towards the intersection of Main Street and Central Street

On Tuesday, July 5th, WalkBoston led a walk audit in the town of Plainfield, MA and were joined by 11 community members, including members of the local walking group, the planning board, the highway department, the police department, and other town organizations. The walk audit took place along the stretch of Route 116 between Plainfield’s Union St and Central St, including the bounding intersections. Prior to the walk audit, WalkBoston led a virtual Ped101 session that offered introductory knowledge on rural walkability, its importance, and various examples of interventions used to improve the pedestrian experience in rural communities.

Plainfield residents hope to improve pedestrian safety in the town center. As is the case with many rural towns, Plainfield’s Main St happens to be a highway used by large freight trucks. Additionally, limited sight lines due to the geography of the area make it difficult for pedestrians to look out for oncoming traffic. To mitigate these concerns, residents are interested in traffic calming measures, a sidewalk, and some crosswalks. These interventions will complement an upcoming village green project–transforming a redundant section of road next to Town Hall and the Congregational Church into a new open space for community gatherings. WalkBoston will soon publish a summary report of the walk audit, offering recommendations to the town for infrastructure improvements and funding opportunities. Plainfield can use these recommendations to make adjustments that support and encourage walking for those of all ages and abilities. 

The Hilltown CDC, together with Healthy Hampshire and WalkBoston, are leading a 5-year grant project to promote Age-Friendly Walkability in the Hilltowns Village Centers, funded by the Dept. of Public Health’s Healthy Aging Fund. In partnership with community residents and leaders, the team will be conducting a series of walk audits in partnering Hilltowns villages. The goal of these walk audits is to identify infrastructure improvements and policy changes to make village center walking safe and enjoyable for people of all ages in the Hilltowns. The Town of Plainfield is one of the partnering communities in this grant project.

 

First Annual Bob Sloane Walk: Muddy River

First Annual Bob Sloane Walk: Muddy River

Thank you to everyone who came out to join us for our first Annual Bob Sloane Walk (and first in-person event in almost 2 years) on June 7th!

It was wonderful to see so many friends and advocates.

Special thanks to our partners at Olmsted Now and our guest speakers: Isabel Schulman and Sophia Bass Warner, National Park Service; Bill Smith, Town of Brookline, Department of Public Works; Charlotte Fleetwood, Boston Transportation Department; and Veronika Trufanova, Emerald Necklace Conservancy.

Thank you for helping us honor Bob Sloane’s legacy and continue his advocacy work. We look forward to seeing more of all of you soon!

Below are a few more photos from the event, we hope you enjoy them and that you had a great time walking with us. For more about Olmsted Now, Greater Boston’s Olmsted Bicentennial, head to OlmstedNow.org

FULL-TIME WALKBOSTON POSITION AVAILABLE: PROGRAM COORDINATOR

FULL-TIME WALKBOSTON POSITION AVAILABLE: PROGRAM COORDINATOR

WalkBoston seeks a self-motivated, detail-oriented, full-time Program Coordinator with experience in office management, development (fundraising) activities, communication strategies, and event planning. The Program Coordinator would support all staff members and play a key role in ensuring that the office functions efficiently and effectively.

Job Responsibilities:

  • Reporting to the Executive Director, the Program Coordinator will assist in office management, development, communication and event planning activities that support our work. Primary responsibilities include:
  • Office administration and human resource activities
  • Development (fundraising) support, primarily assisting with Salesforce database and donor acknowledgement
  • Communication/Event support

Desired Qualifications:

Minimum 3 to 4 years of office experience

  • Strong communication skills both written and verbal
  • Superior organizational and critical thinking skills
  • Strong knowledge of Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Suite (Drive, Docs)
  • Experience with running virtual meetings and workplaces (Zoom, Google Meets, Slack)
  • Proficiency with Salesforce
  • Experience with website management (WordPress), event management systems (EventBrite, RunSignUp/GiveSignUp), and email systems (MailChimp)
  • Experience with Adobe Suite is a plus

Specific Tasks:

Program and Office Support (40%)

  • Provide administrative support to Executive Director with meeting scheduling, records management, and personnel time tracking
  • Support Executive Director and Program Staff with community engagement activities (virtual and in-person) including: workshops, walk audits, and other events
  • Prepare presentations and take notes for internal and external meetings
  • Support Bookkeeper in maintaining office administrative files including contracts, filings, human resources, and other organization records
  • Manage onboarding process for new employees
  • Coordinate use of shared office space, including reserving conference rooms, tracking attendance, etc.
  • Provide basic IT assistance and work with outside IT vendor to maintain system security, purchase new equipment, and maintain current IT systems
  • Respond to general requests, phone calls, and emails

Development Support (30%)

  • Perform Salesforce data entry including creating and updating contacts, recording donations, and running basic reports
  • Maintain MailChimp to Salesforce leads pipeline and updated MailChimp mailing lists
  • Generate digital and printed donation acknowledgement letters
  • Handle credit card payments (Square)
  • Support Development Director with campaigns and other donor stewardship activities

Communications and Event Support (30%)

  • Assist staff with production of e-news, blog posts, social media posts and other regular communication outputs
  • Assist staff with website maintenance (WordPress), email systems (MailChimp), donation tracking systems (Salesforce), and event platforms (RunSignUp/GiveSignUp)
  • Assist with event planning, including WalkMassachusetts Network meetings, the Annual Meeting, Beat the Bay State, Talk the Walk sessions, and advocacy walks

Compensation and location:

  • Full-time position (37.5 hours/week)
  • Annual salary range: $40,000 to $45,000 based upon prior work experience
  • Standard benefits include: holiday compensation, paid time off, health insurance, and flexible scheduling
  • In-state travel is required. Availability for occasional early morning, evening, or weekend hours required. 

Currently, WalkBoston staff is working on a hybrid model, with a flexible number of days spent in-person. We have a shared office space at the CIC in Downtown Boston which we share with several other transportation advocacy organizations. 

Interested applicants possessing the above experience and skills are encouraged to apply by sending a resume and cover letter with salary expectation to jobs@walkboston.org.

About WalkBoston

WalkBoston, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) advocacy organization, makes walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment and more vibrant communities. We know that walking improves personal, economic, environmental and civic health. Working on walking takes us across Massachusetts to empower people with knowledge and proven strategies to make their own communities more walkable. Our small, committed staff work as a team to make change: whether it’s getting a crosswalk painted in a neighborhood, or influencing Massachusetts state policy to make streets safer for all. 

WalkBoston is committed to better understanding, identifying, and undoing the racist processes and policies that lead to inequities in the walking environment for communities of color across the Commonwealth. We are deepening our engagement in meaningful program and organizational strategies that lead with racial justice. WalkBoston is actively seeking to build a diverse staff. We encourage multiple perspectives and experiences, support a multicultural environment, and strive to hire and retain a diverse workforce that reflects the populations we work with and the communities where we work. 

WalkBoston is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. All qualified applaicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information.

FULL-TIME WALKBOSTON POSITION AVAILABLE: PROGRAM MANAGER

FULL-TIME WALKBOSTON POSITION AVAILABLE: PROGRAM MANAGER

Are you interested in working on strategies that support equitable, people-centered streets that prioritize community vitality and safety? Do you have project management experience in the fields of planning, public health, transportation, community organizing or a related field? Are you interested in applying your skills to empower people to make change in the walking environment in neighborhoods across Massachusetts? 

WalkBoston is seeking a Program Manager to lead our statewide technical assistance programs that work to improve the safety and quality of the walking environment. Our programs are community-partnered and centered on making street-level changes and policy improvements that make walking safe and enjoyable for people of all ages, abilities, races, and incomes. Our programs describe the health, economic and community benefits of walking, and include walk audits that identify infrastructure deficiencies, recommend solutions, and build community support for walking.

Job Responsibilities:

  • Manage program implementation with state agencies, municipal staff, community-based organizations, and local advocates. Representative programs include: Age-Friendly Walking, Community Walks (Boston Public Housing), Caminatas Seguras (East Boston Access to Parks), Hilltowns Healthy Aging, and WalkMassachusetts Network.
  • Conduct walk audits, which use built environment analysis skills and technical knowledge of strategies to support safer streets (previous experience desired but not required).
  • Develop, deliver and facilitate workshops in-person and virtually.
  • Support the development of new advocacy training materials and guidance reports.
  • Support capacity building efforts and build/maintain relationships with community partners.
  • Act as WalkBoston representative on various task forces or working groups, such as the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative and Transportation for Massachusetts.
  • Support proposal/grant writing efforts.
  • Lead and support data analysis and report writing.
  • Suggest improvements in project and organizational processes and systems through participation in internal committees.

Desired Qualifications:

  • 3 to 5 years of professional experience in urban planning/design, transportation planning/engineering, public health, community organizing, or related fields. 
  • Project management skills, including budget development and project scope preparation.
  • Strong organizational and time management skills, and ability to juggle many projects and tasks at once.
  • Superior communication skills. Ability to write and speak clearly and persuasively in diverse settings to articulate the impacts of WalkBoston’s work and the benefits of walkable communities. 
  • Ability to engage clients, and multisector and community-level stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.
  • Ability to work independently, collaboratively and productively in a team environment both virtually and in person. Self-starter, entrepreneurial, flexible and well-organized.
  • Commitment to and understanding of racial equity and strong analysis of the root causes of inequities, and how racism intersects with walkable communities.
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
  • Proficiency in virtual work software (e.g., Zoom, Google Suite).
  • Proficiency in graphic design and spatial analysis software (e.g. Adobe Suite, Canva, QGIS, ArcGIS) is preferred.
  • Drivers license required.

Compensation and location:

  • Full-time position (37.5 hours/week)
  • Annual salary range: $63,000-$67,000 based upon prior work experience
  • Standard benefits include: holiday compensation, paid time off, health insurance, and flexible scheduling
  • In-state travel is required. Availability for occasional early morning, evening, or weekend hours required. 

Currently, WalkBoston staff is working on a hybrid model, with a flexible number of days spent in-person. We have a shared office space at the CIC in Downtown Boston which we share with several other transportation advocacy organizations. 

Interested applicants possessing the above experience and skills are encouraged to apply by sending a resume and cover letter with salary expectations to jobs@walkboston.org.

Updated 8/11/22

About WalkBoston

WalkBoston, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) advocacy organization, makes walking safer and easier in Massachusetts to encourage better health, a cleaner environment and more vibrant communities. We know that walking improves personal, economic, environmental and civic health. Working on walking takes us across Massachusetts to empower people with knowledge and proven strategies to make their own communities more walkable. Our small, committed staff work as a team to make change: whether it’s getting a crosswalk painted in a neighborhood, or influencing Massachusetts state policy to make streets safer for all. 

WalkBoston is committed to better understanding, identifying, and undoing the racist processes and policies that lead to inequities in the walking environment for communities of color across the Commonwealth. We are deepening our engagement in meaningful program and organizational strategies that lead with racial justice. WalkBoston is actively seeking to build a diverse staff. We encourage multiple perspectives and experiences, support a multicultural environment, and strive to hire and retain a diverse workforce that reflects the populations we work with and the communities where we work. 

WalkBoston is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information.