Mary Skelton Roberts

Co-director of the Barr Foundation Climate Change Program

Mary Skelton Roberts is Co-director of Barr’s Climate Change Program. In that role she is a thought leader, strategist, change maker, and climate defender, leveraging the Foundation’s resources to improve mobility for communities throughout Massachusetts and helping the region prepare for the impacts of climate change. Mary leverages a $18 million annual portfolio to put the best existing technology to work, elevate new ideas, and galvanize communities to make tangible improvements a reality. Mary also provides extensive thought leadership to partners, motivating them to think big and try ambitious ideas. She is a leader in efforts to bring Gold Standard Bus Rapid Transit to the region, and the City of Boston’s Go Boston 2030 transportation planning process, which set a new standard for public engagement in city planning. In her climate preparedness work, she helped catalyze Climate Ready Boston, the City’s first comprehensive analysis of climate vulnerability and the first multi-neighborhood resilience plan in the United States. Mary’s work is united by her vision for a Greater Boston in which many transportation modes weave together seamlessly with affordable, transit-oriented development to form a low-carbon, resilient city that serves as a national model.