Patricia Kelleher Joins Salem’s Department of Planning & Community Development

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll is pleased to announce the hiring of Patricia Kelleher as Community Development Staff Planner. Patti is the first planner to be hired by the City with historic preservation expertise and experience. Working within the Department of Planning and Community Development, Ms. Kelleher will serve a variety of roles, including staff support to the Salem Historical Commission and project management oversight for City-sponsored projects affecting historic resources.

Ms. Kelleher has a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation from Boston University and has more than 20 years of experience in preservation planning, having served as Director of the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission for the City of Somerville in the 1990s and more recently as a preservation planner for a private community development firm serving municipal clients throughout Massachusetts.   

“We are excited to have Patti join our staff,” said Mayor Driscoll. “She brings a strong background in historic preservation planning and has a great passion for Salem, where she has lived with her family for many years. This hiring fulfills one of the recommendations set forth in the recently completed Salem Historic Preservation Plan to hire a planner with expertise in historic preservation.”