TOM EVANS
Executive Director

Tom began his career in community engagement by hanging community newsletters on doorknobs in his hometown of Baltimore.  After a decade of working in public schools and outdoor education, Tom pursued a masters degree in urban planning at UC Berkeley.  He then spent eight years at the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency facilitating large-scale residential projects on former railyards, military bases, and freeways. 

He is now the Executive Director of the CRA, where he has led the strategic repositioning of the organization and expanded its scope citywide.   He facilitated the entitlement of two million square feet of mixed-use projects in Kendall Square which brought the first residential units into the redevelopment area and led to significant reinvestments in parks, transit facilities and streetscapes.  Although he was formerly a math and science teacher, Tom acknowledges that most of the innovation in Kendall is way over his head. 

Tom has led to expanded investments in community infrastructure across Cambridge. He facilitated the redevelopment of the Foundry, the preservation of the nonprofit center at Bishop Allen Drive, and the launch of the Forward Fund grant program. He is now leading the growth of the CRA into new areas, including homeownership developments, neighborhood retail economic opportunities, and the preservation of historic community facilities.