Urban Affairs Teacher Joins Healey Administration in Tourism and Economic Development Role

In the City Planning & Urban Affairs program at BU’s Metropolitan College, you get a hands-on education led by professors making a real-world impact in the civics field through both research and policy. Now, a part-time BU MET faculty member is enlisting in Massachusetts state government after being appointed to a critical role.

At BU MET, Sarah Stanton teaches students about the economic, social, and political aspects of state and local government finances, including important lessons about revenue, expenditures, and budgets, in Public Finance and Urban Infrastructure (MET UA 509)—an elective that both Master of Urban Affairs and Master of City Planning students are eligible to take as part of their degree studies.

Now, Ms. Stanton will take those lessons she teaches and leverage them for the good of the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, having been appointed its Undersecretary of Economic Strategies by Governor Maura Healey in April.

Part of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, the role sees Stanton oversee new growth initiatives that complement the work achieved by other agencies. She’ll also help manage the state’s tourism and international trade sectors and lead efforts to help residents continue developing career skills over time. Stanton will help coordinate with federal programs, like CHIPS and Science Act funding, ARPA-H, and climate-tech investment, and closely with quasi-government partners Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and MassVentures.

Stanton has had a substantial career in public service throughout Massachusetts. She’s served as budget director for the City of Cambridge; the town manager of Bedford; finance director/city auditor for the City of Salem; and other municipal leadership roles in the Town of Ipswich, City of Woburn, and City of Haverhill. She holds an undergraduate degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration.

Read more about Ms. Stanton’s early days in public service at Haverhill City Hall at WHAV’s Wavelengths. For more about her position in the Healey administration, visit Mass.gov.