By Colin Young.
Nicole LaChapelle, the mayor of Easthampton since 2018 and a participant in various Healey administration initiatives in recent years, will replace Brian Arrigo as the new head of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) beginning next Monday (July 21).
Arrigo, a former mayor of Revere, is taking a job as vice chancellor of finance and operations at UMass Lowell this summer.
“DCR parks, playgrounds, and beaches are where Massachusetts residents go to have fun and relax. Our public lands also attract tourists from around the world and fuel our growing outdoor recreation economy,” Gov. Healey said in a statement. “Mayor LaChapelle understands the connection our communities have with our DCR properties. She’ll make sure they are safe, clean and accessible to all.”
Before being elected mayor, LaChapelle’s career focused on disabled and marginalized students, including as director of the private Center for School Crisis Intervention and Assessment and in 2015 as chief of pupil services for Holyoke Public Schools. She was elected treasurer of the Massachusetts Democratic Party in 2013 after having expressed an interest in running for party chair. She served as party treasurer until 2015.
“The hardworking staff at DCR are the caretakers for our state, and I’m looking forward to joining the team,” LaChapelle said in a statement. “Our forests, lakes, and beaches are at the heart of Massachusetts. I’ve had a front row seat in Easthampton, surrounded by so many of these properties. I’m ready to get to work preserving our public lands for generations to come.”
Her personal website says LaChapelle has a daughter, a Great Pyrenees, and “loves The Grateful Dead, electric vehicles, composting, and exploring Easthampton’s open spaces and walkable places.”
