Julia Wallerce

Assistant Director of Transportation, Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Julia Wallerce joined MAPC in 2023 and is the Assistant Director of Transportation. In addition to managing department staff and budgets, Julia plays a critical role in a variety of planning activities and policies to advance sustainable mobility, smart growth, and transportation equity in Greater Boston, including regional bikeshare, Bus Network Redesign, and place-based technical assistance projects throughout the region. Julia represents MAPC on the Boston MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) and works to advance the transportation components of Greater Boston’s regional land use and policy plan, MetroCommon2050.

Prior to joining MAPC, Julia was the Boston Program Manager for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) where she managed the BostonBRT Initiative and championed efforts to advance bus priority and pursue bus rapid transit (BRT) in Greater Boston. Julia also served as Executive Director of MassCommute, a coalition of Transportation Management Associations (TMAs) working with businesses and employers to provide sustainable commuter options and incentives programs and spent several years working in community development with the Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) where she facilitated the connections between transportation and housing issues and delivered green development workshops across the nation.

As a Northern California native, Julia holds a BA in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz and later ventured east to earn her MA in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) at Tufts University. Julia served on the Board of Directors for LivableStreets Alliance for twelve years, a non-profit organization advocating for safer, better streets and transit and recently participated on the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s transportation transition team. She lives in Winthrop with her husband and two children where she is very active in local transportation planning issues and leads community building initiatives such as Bike Winthrop and Project Play.