About Josh
MY EDUCATION
I grew up in Newton where I attended Zervas elementary school, Brown junior high and Newton South before graduating from the School of Management at UMass-Amherst. While in college I realized the wonderful opportunities that exist for students to travel and spent one semester at Louisiana State University and my final semester in college studying at the Université Paul Valery in Montpellier, France. After college, I went on to law school at the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C.
After law school, my wife and I returned to Newton where we wanted to raise our children and give them the same excellent educational opportunities that we had enjoyed. My wife also grew up in Newton and attended the Newton public schools. We were thrilled to send our kids to the schools we attended together: Brown middle school and Newton South High School. In case you are wondering - although we were in the same graduating class from South, it was not until years later that we began dating.
We now have three beautiful children, a Golden Retriever (Blanco), a mini Golden Retriever (Bailey) and 13 chickens.
MY CAREER
I am an attorney who has built a career on public service with a particular focus on health care. I currently serve as the Director of Government Affairs for Boston Medical Center Health System, the largest safety net hospital in the region. Prior to that, I was the Director of Government Relations for Commonwealth Care Alliance – a non-profit, pre-paid health care delivery system providing care to adults and seniors who are eligible for Medicaid and Medicare and UMass Medical School as a health care policy consultant advising the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services as well as other states’ Medicaid agencies on health care policy. In addition, I spent more than 12 years working in the Massachusetts Senate, ultimately as Deputy Senate Counsel.
MY VOLUNTEER WORK
I have served on the Newton City Council for the past 8 years, including 4 as the chair of the Programs and Services Committee. Under my leadership, the Programs and Services Committee has updated the city’s leaf blower ordinance, drastically revised our tree ordinance and pushed the city to develop long and short term plans to improve our recreational fields and significantly improve the resources allocated towards maintaining our parks and fields, among other important matters.
Prior to my time on the Council, I served as chair of the Newton Charter Commission, an elected body tasked with reviewing the City's Charter and proposing revisions and updates. Although the Commission's proposal was not adopted by the city, much of our work led to revisions adopted by a City Council subcommittee, on which I served.
I served multiple terms as the President of the Lower Falls Improvement Association, I co-founded the Riverside Station Neighborhood Coalition (RSNC), served on the RSNC steering committee as well as several other local committees and boards of directors.
Under my leadership, the LFIA worked with city and state officials to implement much needed traffic calming measures along Grove Street, redesign an intersection including the addition of new stop signs, beautify our park and make substantial renovations and improvements to the Hamilton community center. We also supported the restoration of a foot bridge to Wellesley lower falls and ran a free, public skating rink established and maintained exclusively by neighborhood volunteers.