MVC staff recently hosted State Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer in her first official visit to the Island since being appointed in 2023. She was joined by Deanna Moran, the state’s Chief Coastal Resilience Officer; Galen Nelson, Chief Climate Officer at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center; and Rose Skylstad, Climate Planning and Research Associate of the Governor’s Office.

Hoffer previously held lead roles in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office under Maura Healey, including as Chief of the newly formed Energy and Environment Bureau in 2015, and in the EPA during the Biden Administration. She is the state’s first Climate Chief. The visit in October included a tour of vulnerable sites in the down-Island towns and meetings with town leaders who are working to make those areas more resilient.

The tour capped off with a roundtable event with the Steamship Authority, ACEMV, and Vineyard Power, focusing on economic resilience, transportation, and energy transformation, including ways the state can support resilience projects on the Island.

Thanks to the Vineyard Transit Authority for generously providing an electric bus for the day.

Photo: Back - Tim Connelly (Island Grown Initiative), Galen Nelson (MA), Caroline Pam (IGI), Rose Skylstad (MA). Front - Noli Taylor (IGI), Melissa Hoffer (MA), Deanna Moran (MA), Dan Doyle (MVC), Sakiko Isomichi (MVC).