BOSTON, November 5, 2025 – Building on its nearly 10 years of work to create a vibrant, welcoming, and resilient Boston Harborwalk, Boston Harbor Now has appointed its first-ever Senior Manager for Harborwalk, Access and Resilience overseeing the 43-mile coastline public trail.
The recruitment of Jason Rundle, a coastal access and environmental advocate who also holds a graduate degree in public health, puts a dedicated lead and champion in charge of all aspects of implementing Boston Harbor Now’s Harborwalk 2.0 vision for an improved, 43-mile public waterfront trail that is resilient to the impacts of rising sea levels and storm surges while remaining fully accessible and welcoming to all. Rundle will also focus on local and state policy and regulatory reforms in support of climate resilience projects along the waterfront, and build coalitions of partners to activate Boston’s Harborwalk with new, welcoming public programming and special events.
JASON RUNDLE, Boston Harbor Now’s new Senior Harborwalk Manager.
“We’re excited to welcome Jason Rundle to our team, both as a talented and experienced open space advocate and environmental leader and as the embodiment of Boston Harbor Now’s commitment to ensuring the Harborwalk remains one of our City’s most vital and beloved public assets,’’ said Boston Harbor Now Chief Impact Officer Linda Orel. “This role has been needed for a long time to help our waterfront live up to its full promise for everyone. We’re truly grateful to the donors and partners who stepped up to make it happen. Their support means we can better care for the Boston Harborwalk and ensure more people experience the full benefits of living in a premier coastal city.”
Having recently marked its 40th anniversary, the Boston Harborwalk is the result of decades of collaborative planning and development that have transformed the city’s waterfront and ensured public access to it throughout East Boston, Charlestown, and from the North End through Wharf District, the South Boston Waterfront, into Dorchester. Boston Harbor Now has been a key leader in ensuring that new and redeveloped properties along Boston Harbor comply with Massachusetts Chapter 91, the state’s Public Waterfront Act that protects the public’s right to access, use, and enjoy the waterfront. This work helps guarantee that these projects meet public access requirements and fulfill their commitments to provide facilities of public accommodation, including community meeting rooms, public restrooms, and other resources required as a condition of their development approvals.
Harborwalk 2.0, one of Boston Harbor Now’s most important strategic priorities for the next five years and beyond, is a set of planning and design standards designed to ensure that the waterfront is:
Accessible and welcoming to all residents and visitors, with well-marked connections to adjacent neighborhoods, robust water transportation options, and widespread access to the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park.
Continuously improved, through physical improvements and nature-based approaches – like restored wetlands and living shorelines – to buffer coastal neighborhoods from climate impacts, ensuring maximum resiliency to climate impacts..
Enlivened year-round destination with programs and amenities that attract people from all over Boston and beyond.
Rundle said: “The Harborwalk is a uniquely wonderful open space where people can connect to Boston’s history, culture, and one another. I’m excited to collaborate with the more than 360 property owners and managers along the Harborwalk to make it even more of a place of joy and connection for every Bostonian and the millions of annual visitors.”
Rundle earned both a bachelor’s degree in health science and a master’s degree in environmental health from Boston University. He previously led policy initiatives at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, where he worked on the front lines of coastal access advocacy and environmental justice.
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