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Llyr Johansen Communications Director, MassINC

As Communications Director, Llyr Johansen is responsible for developing and implementing effective communication strategies that advance MassINC’s mission to help, “move the best ideas, supported by hard data, into public policy that provides a ladder to the middle class for Massachusetts residents.” Prior to his appointment, Llyr served MassINC as Digital Director as well as Online Communications and Development Strategist.

Before moving to Boston, Llyr made his mark in Hollywood as a production professional in the trenches of the film industry. There, he worked on the sets of numerous big-budget films including Inception, Shutter Island, The Dark Knight, and Zero Dark Thirty. During this time he volunteered, working on one Congressional and two Presidential races, engaging the community, canvassing, and managing get-out-the-vote operations. Prior to his work in Los Angeles, he served as a finance professional for Morgan Stanley and Raymond James Financial.

A Boulder native, Llyr holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

 

ARTICLES By Llyr Johansen

Dr. Tracy Corley joins the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth’s (MassINC) Gateway Cities Innovation Institute

Will lead MassINC’s ongoing effort to tap into the promise and potential of transit-oriented development in Gateway Cities

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

Aimee Ward Weeden named next COO of MassINC

Appointment ensures a future of strength and stability for the nonprofit

MassINC has named Aimee Ward Weeden as its new Chief Operating Officer! Aimee currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Policy Director for Secretary of Housing and Economic Development (EOHED) Jay Ash. She previously served as Vice President of Finance and Operations at MassINC from 2009 to 2013. Weeden will replace former COO Lauren Louison

Lauren Louison Grogan named President and CEO of MassINC

Leadership transitions mark a new beginning for the Institute

Dear Friend of MassINC, We have big news! Lauren Louison Grogan has been named the next President of the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC), the publisher of CommonWealth magazine, and a member of The MassINC Polling Group Board of Directors. Ann-Ellen Hornidge, Chair of the MassINC Board of Directors, and outgoing President Greg Torres announced the appointment this

New MassINC study finds the number of inmates in state and county correctional facilities keeps falling, but correctional budgets are still going up in Massachusetts

New research from the nonpartisan think MassINC shows correctional budgets are still rising even as the number of individuals in state and county correctional facilities falls precipitously. These revealing new figures come as leaders on Beacon Hill look for ways to help agencies cover the costs they will incur in order to comply with legislation

Study reveals large untapped development potential around urban commuter rail stations

Spurring Transit-Oriented Development

A major new study from the nonpartisan think-tank MassINC finds that vacant and underutilized land surrounding 13 Gateway City commuter rail stations could house up to 230,000 residents and 230,000 jobs-double the number of people living and working in these station areas today. Decades of disinvestment have made it difficult for private real estate markets

The MassINC Polling Group Announces Launch of MPG Media

Media, communications services will augment opinion research

Boston, MA – MassINC and The MassINC Polling Group (MPG) are excited to launch their new in-house media group, MPG Media. The new division offers public, private, and social-sector clients a suite of digital storytelling services, including photography and videography, messaging and distribution, and social media strategy and web design. Ahead of its official launch,

New study to identify strategies to spur growth by increasing mobility

MassINC-led research will focus on leveraging existing Gateway City transportation assets

Boston – MassINC—a nonpartisan think-tank that has vigorously advocated for state investment in Gateway Cities over the years—has launched a new initiative aimed at better understanding and acting upon opportunities to make mobility a catalyst for economic development outside of Greater Boston. The researchers will look closely at opportunities to cluster residential, office, and other

Correctional Spending Soars While Prison Population Declines, According to New Report from MassINC

“Getting Tough on Spending” Report Shows Waste, Inefficiencies in Staffing

The report, Getting Tough on Spending, an 18 percent increase in spending for the Department of Correction and county sheriff departments between fiscal 2011 and 2016, while the prison population declined by almost 3,000 or 12 percent. The research further shows that this growth is focused primarily on raises and new hires for correctional officers,

New MassINC Poll: Voters embrace end to mandatory minimum sentencing, support second chance reforms

See Prison Contributing to Recidivism, Support More Aggressive Criminal Justice Reforms

Click here for the topline results. BOSTON – Massachusetts voters strongly favor judicial discretion over mandatory minimum sentencing and broadly support more aggressive reforms to the criminal justice system than are now being considered by legislators, a new MassINC poll shows. The poll and two new policy research reports on the state’s criminal justice system

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