Amy Schectman, a current member of TCB’s Community Life committee, joined the TCB board of directors in November 2018. She currently serves as the president and chief executive officer of 2Life Communities in Brighton, Mass., which provides affordable, supportive housing to lower-income older adults. The nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1965, has over 1,500 residents in several key properties within the Greater Boston metropolitan area.

Amy has worked in the public and nonprofit sectors to advance affordable housing and social justice. She plays a state and national advocacy role, serving on Governor Charlie Baker’s Council to Address Aging in Massachusetts, and the boards of CHAPA, MHIC, MHAC, and other nonprofits. She has been invited to The White House four times, and has hosted U.S. Congressmen, U.S. Senate staff, and state legislators numerous times.

A theme across Amy’s career is collaboration to maximize the impact of resources. As Governor Michael Dukakis’ Director of Capital Budget and Planning, she helped convene cross-agency collaborations on key policy agendas. Later, at the Boston Housing Authority, Amy secured the City’s first two federal HOPE VI grants, $50,000,000 each, to revitalize failing public housing developments with comprehensive modernization and the addition of social services, economic development, health care, and community programming, offering residents not only shelter but pathways out of poverty as well as promoting neighborhood revitalization.

As the Town of Brookline’s first Economic Development Director, Amy instituted holiday festivals to stimulate small businesses, negotiated development/preservation of over 500 affordable housing units, and brought stakeholders together to support a revenue-generating developments with public amenities.

Serving the state again, as Director of Public Housing/Rental Assistance, Amy repaired relationships with local housing agencies, led a major rehab of existing state public housing, worked on homelessness prevention and rehousing programs, and enhanced social programs to support housing residents.

Amy holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University and a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).