About Us
Meet Our Team
Administration
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Jenny Raitt is Executive Director of the Northern Middlesex Council of Government. In this role, she directs the agency’s work in policy and service areas that span the various disciplines under NMCOG’s purview. She also leads the Council’s engagement with elected and appointed officials at the federal, state, and local levels.
Prior to joining NMCOG in 2022, Jenny served as Director of Planning and Community Development for the Town of Arlington. Jenny has held several key leadership positions throughout her nearly 30 year career serving local and regional organizations in housing, community development, and urban planning. She also served as an adjunct professor with Boston University’s Graduate Program in City Planning and Urban Affairs from 2008 to 2016.
Jenny represents NMCOG on the Lowell Development & Financial Corporation. She also serves as a member of the American Planning Association Legislative and Policy Steering Committee, the Town of Brookline Housing Advisory Board and Community Preservation Committee, as President of TransitMatters, and on the B’nai B’rith Housing Board.
She received a M.S. in Nonprofit Management and Urban Policy at The New School’s Milano School of Policy, Management, and Environment and a B.A. in Urban and Documentary Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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Kelly is the Deputy Director and joined NMCOG in May 2023. In this role, Kelly supports the Executive Director in oversight of the organization, specifically in contract administration and management, public affairs and communications, and oversight of planning activities and programs. She also participates in management of local and regional planning efforts in housing, economic development, climate and resiliency, transportation, land use, and GIS.
Kelly brings to NMCOG a career of interwoven planning and communications experience. Most recently, she served as Assistant Director of the Department of Planning and Community Development for the Town of Arlington, where she coordinated the implementation of the Town’s master plan, oversaw land use and housing policy development, and managed the Department’s community affairs. She also worked in placemaking and the public realm for the Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation and as an urban planner and project manager for two private-sector firms, Utile and NBBJ, where she worked on neighborhood and comprehensive plans for communities across the eastern US.
Kelly received her Master’s in Urban Planning at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and received her B.A. in Sociology at Tufts University. In 2022, she received a certificate in Local Government Leadership and Management from Massachusetts Municipal Association and Suffolk University. Prior to completing her undergraduate degree, she had a 10-year career in marketing, advertising, and graphic design. Kelly is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
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Sara is the Finance and Benefits Manager and joined NMCOG in March 2023. Her responsibilities include all accounting and financial reporting and any activity related to the Council’s financial operations. Oversight of accounts payable and receivable, budget preparation, payroll, and maintaining records of revenues and expenditures, preparation of warrants, analysis of cash flow and projections, tax filings, audit preparation, account reconciliations, and assisting staff with grant contract management activities, including invoicing. She manages the Council’s cost allocation plan and maintains appropriate cost allocation controls. Sara also assists with all administrative and financial tasks for onboarding new employees and aids with benefits for existing employees and retirees.
Sara brings more than 20 years of financial experience to NMCOG. She previously worked as a Controller in the pulp and paper industry at a plant in Fitchburg and as the Town Treasurer/Collector for the Town of Ashburnham.
Sara is a full-time student pursuing her BS in Accounting Concentration, Business Administration. After that she will continue on to earn her MBA in Accounting, and then sit for the CPA exam. Sara’s goal is to obtain her Public Accountancy License from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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Lesley is the Executive Assistant and joined NMCOG in February 2023. Her responsibilities involve reception, administrative project support, website maintenance, meeting arrangements, facilities maintenance, and event planning. Lesley provides direct administrative support to the Executive Director.
Lesley previously worked as an Administrative Assistant in the Dean of Students Office at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. Prior to her time there, she worked as an Executive Assistant in the Student Development Office at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she established a much-needed food pantry for food insecure students.
Lesley received a B.A. in Computer Information Systems at Bentley College.
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Blake is a Regional Transit Planner II at NMCOG, having joined in August 2023. At the agency, Blake's primary responsibility is to support the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA). This includes maintaining transit system data, ensuring compliance with federal and state requirements such as Title VI, Federal Transit Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act, and National Transit Database. reporting. He also conducts analyses of ridership trends and operations and serves as a liaison with municipalities, regional partners, and advocacy organizations.
Before joining NMCOG, Blake was a transit analyst at the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization. There, he led projects on curb management and assisted the MBTA with updating their Title VI policy and conducting equity analyses.
Blake holds a B.A. in geography from the University of Missouri, earned in 2018, where he specialized in GIS, planning, and transportation. He later completed his M.A. in transportation geography in 2020 at The Ohio State University. During this period, he researched and published on the impact of bus rapid transit on property values.
Planning and Technical Staff
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Carlin is the GIS and Data Program Manager and joined NMCOG in October 2012. He is responsible for the development of local and regional Geographic Information System and data resources. Carlin provides GIS mapping and analysis and data services for the agency’s varied planning initiatives and plans, as well as numerous other initiatives throughout the Northern Middlesex region and along the Route 3 corridor.
Prior to coming to NMCOG, Carlin served as the GIS Coordinator for the New York City Office of Emergency Management where he coordinated GIS requests from multiple city, state, and federal agencies, led GIS teams for emergency response, and oversaw hurricane surge modeling efforts for evacuation zone planning.
Carlin received a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology with a Concentration in Environmental Studies at Swarthmore College and GIS Certification from the University of California Riverside Extension. Carlin is a Certified GIS Professional with the GIS Certification Institute.
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Michael is the Senior Planner for Housing and Land Use and joined NMCOG in April 2023. In this role he provides planning and technical assistance to advance local and regional housing initiatives for the Northern Middlesex Council of Government communities. This work includes working with communities in the development of municipal housing plans, zoning analysis, master planning, regulation and handbook drafting, and other related functions to support vibrant, equitable, and sustainable housing and land use planning.
Michael brings more than 15 years of planning experience to this role. Most recently with the City of Dover, NH after spending eight years working in Rhode Island as the Assistant Town Planner in Portsmouth and Town Planner in Johnston. During this time Michael developed his career in the planning field by working closely with planning boards, zoning boards of appeals, and numerous municipal boards and committees facilitating and implementing various policies aimed at strengthening the communities’ visions and viability while modernizing engagement tools and processes. He also drafted land use regulations, policy, and comprehensive plans; provided technical support to Zoning, Planning and Design Review Boards; enforced code violations; developed grant proposals; reviewed development applications; developed department protocols; managed and maintained GIS databases; and integrated technologies to better serve the public.
Michael received his Bachelor’s in Environmental Design and Urban Policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s School of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. Michael is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
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Jessica is the Transportation Mobility Specialist and joined NMCOG in September 2022. Jessica collaborates with the transportation planning team to develop updates to federal certification documents, including the Long-Range Transportation Plan, Unified Planning Work Program, Title VI Plan, and Coordinated Public Human Services Transit Plan, and provides regular presentations to the Northern Middlesex MPO. Jessica is managing the development of a Regional Safety Action Plan funded by the Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant awarded in 2022 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Jessica is the MARPA Representative for the Massachusetts Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board. Jessica has a passion for safe streets and enjoys engaging regional stakeholders in the development of strategies that support implementations for vulnerable road users.
Prior to joining NMCOG, Jessica was a Transportation Planner with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Jessica is a member of the Westford Pedestrian Committee and a member of the Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition. Jessica received a Master’s in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University and a B.A. in English Writing and Ethnic and Gender Studies.
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Isabel is the Regional Land Use Planner II and joined NMCOG in June 2023. She primarily works on projects such as the Regional Digital Equity Plan and other land use and economic development projects. She is passionate about finding solutions to address any and all challenges related to planning and community development.
Prior to working at NMCOG, she worked at the Borough of State College in Pennsylvania, where she gained extensive experience in addressing local planning-related issues and zoning enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the areas of rent and small business loan assistance, zoning for signage, and short-term rental licensing enforcement.
She received a Master’s in City and Regional Planning at Ohio State University and a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a Concentration in American Music from Carleton College. She lives with her husband in Lowell. Isabel is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
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Meghan is NMCOG's Sustainability Planner II, joining the team in January 2024. Using a climate justice lens, Meghan supports NMCOG's communities in sustainability planning through climate mitigation and adaptation projects and programs, hazard mitigation, community engagement and education, capacity building, water resource management, and grant writing.
Before joining NMCOG, she was a Climate Resilience Planner and Project Manager for Launch Consulting out of Charlottesville, Virginia, where she supported counties, cities, and utilities in preparing emergency response plans, hazard mitigation, climate action/adaptation plans, and led equity-focused community engagement and education projects.
She holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Environmental Studies from the University of Washington and an M.A. in Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning from Tufts University. Her award-winning 2021 Master's Thesis explored the gendered differentials of climate action plans. Meghan is a member of the American Planning Association (APA), the American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP), and EcoDistricts. Additionally, she holds a Certificate in Fundraising Management from the University of Washington and the ENV SP credential.
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Chris is the Housing and Economic Development Program Manager - AICP, and has been with NMCOG since October 2021. Chris oversees the housing and economic development team and provides direct technical assistance on housing, economic development, and land use projects. He also manages the District Local Technical Assistance program and the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy process. In the latter role, he serves as a liaison to the U.S. Economic Development Administration on behalf of the region’s communities. Chris represents NMCOG on the Common Ground Development Corporation and the Greater Lowell MassHire Workforce Board.
Chris lives in Lowell with his partner--and often pet fancy rats--but was born near Buffalo, New York and grew up near Champaign, Illinois. He received a Master’s in Regional Planning at Cornell University and has been in the planning field for over a decade. Prior to that, he was a substitute teacher and a drug and alcohol addiction recovery center technician. He co-founded the community-based organizations DIY Lowell and Lowell Votes, and serves on boards of Brush Art Gallery and DIY Lowell. Chris is a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
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Ricardo is Sealer of Weights and Measures and joined NMCOG in April 2023. He was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and has lived with his family in the Greater Lowell area for over 40 years. Ricardo brings to NMCOG extensive experience as a quality assurance inspector for computer circuit board companies and as a graphic artist with various companies. He also owned a small business. Ricardo is a licensed paid soccer coach with state and international confederations.
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Mark is Sealer of Weights and Measures and joined NMCOG in January 2023. Mark was born and raised in Lowell and recently moved to Dracut where he lives with his family. He has volunteered with many area organizations, including: Lowell Pop Warner as coach for seven years; Highland Baseball as assistant coach for four years; Lowell Lacrosse as parent assistant for two years; Lowell High School Rowing Committee as chair for eight seasons; Troop 25 as scout den leader for three years; and St. Louis Elementary as president PTO.
Mark attended the Ste. Jeanne D’Arc Elementary School, Lowell High School, and Newbury Junior College, Culinary Arts. Mark spent 36 years in the hospitality industry as a chef, food and beverage director, general manager, and owner. He most recently worked in transportation and logistics and is an active member of Teamsters Local 25.
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Austen is a Transportation Planner II and joined NMCOG in August 2023. In this role Austen works as staff support to the Northern Middlesex Metropolitan Planning Organization to advance goals and performance measure requirements of US DOT and MassDOT. His work includes monitoring and assessing pavement conditions, safety and security, as well as system performance of the regional transportation network. This work guides infrastructure project prioritization, safety improvement strategies and emergency management, as well as congestion mitigation.
Prior to joining NMCOG, Austen was a Planner for the City of Portland, Maine, where his duties included reviewing development and re-zoning proposals for compliance with Portland’s Land Use Code, as well as data visualization and outreach to facilitate bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects. He also managed the City’s program for temporary public art, assisting in the installation of sculptures, murals and other artwork throughout the city.
Austen received a B.A. in Geography and Urban Studies from Temple University and a Master’s in Regional Planning from Cornell University. His studies at Cornell included researching the impacts of urban greenway development along disused rail corridors, and the intersections between adaptive reuse and active transportation.