BOSTON – MassINC welcomes Dr. Tracy Corley to the new role of Transit-Oriented Development Fellow. In this position—made possible with generous financial support from the Barr Foundation—Dr. Corley will lead MassINC’s ongoing effort to tap into the promise and potential of transit-oriented development in Gateway Cities.

“Over the next several years, the state must make a series of major transportation decisions,” explains MassINC President Lauren Grogan. “Development around underutilized rails connecting Gateway Cities to Boston has vast potential to help address the region’s housing and congestion challenges. Dr. Corley’s formidable research skills can help us better understand how we unlock this opportunity.”

Dr. Corley recently earned her Ph.D. in Law and Public Policy from Northeastern University. Previously, she served as a business leader and policy entrepreneur in Seattle, Washington and Greenville, South Carolina.

“Understanding how we get more growth and opportunity from existing Gateway City transit-assets, and rallying the community behind the right policies, requires solid research skills, as well as the ability to promote dialogue and bring leaders together,” explains Gateway Cities Innovation Institute Director, Ben Forman. “When we met Tracy, we just knew she’d be the perfect fit for this assignment.”

In Seattle, Dr. Corley’s career experience included creating award-winning buildings as an architectural designer and serving as a strategy and planning advisor to the Seattle Jobs Initiative. For over a decade, she led her own consultancy, providing planning, policy, and strategy development services to public, private, and nonprofit clients.

During this time, Dr. Corley emerged as a valued leader in Seattle’s business community, serving as the Vice Chair of Small Business on the Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Trustees and receiving the chamber’s Community Service Leadership Award in 2009.

With German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and other grants, Dr. Corley spent two years as a visiting doctoral student at the University Duisburg-Essen’s Institute for Labor, Skills and Training (IAQ), Berlin Social Sciences Center (WZB), and the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG), where she investigated how social and economic policy reforms impact informal work in Germany since its reunification in 1989.

“Massachusetts is full of great places to live, work, and play, and amazing things to see and do,” said Mary Skelton Roberts, Barr Foundation Climate Co-Director. “But our transportation system is holding us back. That’s why TOD is such an important opportunity. It’s a way to build our communities with good transportation options for all, and to protect our environment. With a new generation of talented leaders like Tracy, it’s our move to transform transportation from a pain point, to a bright spot in our days.”