Mayor-elect Marc Laredo has announced his incoming leadership team, and it’s filled with familiar faces.

The picks hint at a desire to have continuity in his first year at the helm. All of them have served in Newton’s city government already. And some are simply keeping the jobs they’re already doing under Mayor Ruthanne Fuller.

Here are some of the new leadership figures we’ll see in January at City Hall.

Dana Hanson, chief of staff

You may have frequently seen Hanson around the city with U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss. That’s because she has been his district director since he took office nearly five years ago. Now, she’s set to be chief of staff to the mayor.

City Hall is familiar territory for Hanson, who served as director of community engagement and inclusion under Mayor Ruthanne Fuller before going to work for Auchincloss.

And she clearly loves books. She’s a founding member of the Auburndale Community Library and a former trustee of the Newton Free Library, and she’s been a PTO president at two schools and youth programming leader at the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton.

Josh Morse is Newton’s public buildings commissioner at a time when public buildings are seeing a renaissance. Photo by Genevieve Morrison

Josh Morse, chief operating officer

Morse has been the city’s public buildings commissioner for 12 years and has worked for the city’s Public Buildings Department for 18 years. To say he’s helping to build a new city would not be a stretch. And, as Laredo noted in his announcement, Morse served in the Navy, in a nuclear engineering role.

“Josh has already dedicated 25 years to public service, and he has led Newton through the busiest period of municipal and school building construction in our city’s history,” Laredo wrote. “Anyone who knows him knows that Josh is dedicated to hard work, efficiency in government, strong communications, and fostering a sense of community in everything he does.”

Newton CFO Maureen Lemieux speaks to the City Council on April 22, 2025. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Maureen Lemieux, chief financial officer

Lemieux is the city’s first chief financial officer, and she started working at City Hall in 2010 under Mayor Setti Warren. She’s helped craft budgets and financial plans for the city through some of its toughest times in recent memory—she started during the Great Recession at the tail end of a global financial collapse and has had to navigate the city’s finances through a global pandemic, an inflation crisis and a teacher’s strike—and will have to gear up to tackle whatever the Trump administration throws at Newton.

“For the past fifteen years, Maureen has been Newton’s financial architect, instrumental in strategizing, planning, directing, developing, and implementing the City’s overall financial strategy including long-range financial plans, annual municipal budgets, collective bargaining agreements, long-term liabilities, and maintaining the City’s AAA bond rating,” Laredo wrote.

Her term runs through June 30, 2026.

Meryl Kessler has been picked to lead a new Arts and Culture Department at City Hall. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Meryl Kessler, arts and culture director

Laredo said a few months ago that he planned to elevate arts and culture to its own department and put Spark Newton (formerly known as Newton Community Pride) Director Meryl Kessler in charge of it.

Now, he’s making good on that pledge.

“Arts and culture are vital to the well-being of a thriving Newton community, an important part of community building, and a vehicle for economic growth, which is why I will be asking the City Council to authorize the creation of this new department.”

Kessler has spent years preparing for the role. She co-founded the city’s annual Halloween Window Painting program in 1999. She joined the Board of Directors of Newton Community Pride in 2003 and has advocated for more public art throughout the city.

Kessler is also an attorney and a former director of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, and she currently serves on the Newton Sustainable Materials Management Commission.

Ellen Ishkanian, communications director

Ishkanian is a seasoned journalist—she worked for The Boston Globe, the Waltham News Tribune and the Newton Graphic—and has worked in City Hall as director of communications for eight years.

She’ll continued in that role, Laredo wrote, handling the mayoral newsletter and social media accounts, connecting the press with contacts inside City Hall and the other functions that come with the job.

Hattie Kerwin Derrick, director of community engagement and inclusion

Kerwin Derrick will continue in her role within the mayor’s office making sure the city provides services “in a fair, just, inclusive, respectful, and equitable manner,” Laredo wrote.  “Hattie works closely with residents, community and neighborhood groups, board and commission members, and the City Council to strengthen engagement, support programming, foster civic participation, and ensure equitable representation in decision-making.”

Kerwin Derrick has been involved in Newton community activism for years, having served as chair of the Newton Human Rights Commission and having volunteered with several other local organizations.

Amalia Timbers, citizens assistance officer

Timbers joined Newton’s city government as the boards and commissions coordinator 10 years ago and has been the citizens assistance officer at City Hall for the past three years. So if someone needs to talk to someone about something, Timbers may be a good person to start with.

Jaclyn Norton, executive aide

Norton is continuing in her role as the mayor’s executive aide. She’s also served as a committee clerk for the Programs & Services and Zoning and Planning committees since 2022 and, before that, she worked for the Social Law Library.

Norton has a bachelor’s degree in law and public policy from Suffolk University.