Peter Meade

Peter G. Meade is an American business executive, government official, and radio host who held various roles in the administration of Boston Mayor Kevin White, hosted a talk show on WBZ radio, and served as president of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and the New England Council.

Peter Meade
Meade in 2007
Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority
In office
2011–2014
MayorThomas Menino
Preceded byJohn Palmieri
Succeeded byBrian P. Golden
President and CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
In office
2009–2012
Preceded byposition created
Succeeded byAndrew Tarsy
President and CEO of the New England Council
In office
1992–1996
Preceded byNicholas Koskores
Succeeded byJames T. Brett
Boston Parks Commissioner
In office
1976–1977
MayorKevin White
Head of the Boston Office of Public Service
In office
1974–1976
MayorKevin White

Early life

Meade was raised in Dorchester. His father was a guard at the Charles Street Jail and his mother was a homemaker. He graduated from Cathedral High School and Emerson College.[1]

White administration

Meade served various roles in the administration of Boston Mayor Kevin White. After starting as director of community schools he was selected to lead the office of public service in 1974.[2] In this role he oversaw the Little City Hall program and was the mayor's chief public safety liaison during the court-mandated desegregation of schools. In 1976 he was named the city's parks commissioner.[3] He resigned in 1977 to run for Massachusetts State Auditor.[4] He lost in the Democratic primary to incumbent auditor Thaddeus M. Buczko 60% to 40%.[5] Following his defeat, Meade was named senior management officer for intergovernmental affairs in the Boston Public Schools.[6] During the 1983 Boston mayoral election, Meade was an advisor to David Finnegan.[7]

WBZ

In 1981, Meade was hired by Warner Amex Cable Communications during a bidding war for Boston's cable television contract.[8] He served as Warner Amex's assistant vice president for New England until 1983, when he began hosting a talk show on WBZ radio. When the station switched to an all-news format in 1992, he and Gary LaPierre became the station's morning anchors.[9]

Private sector

In 1992, Meade was named president and chief executive officer of the New England Council, a regional business lobbying group.[10] He remained there until 1996, when became the executive vice president for corporate affairs at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.[11] In 2008 he left Blue Cross to become the managing director of Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications, a Boston-based public relations and lobbying firm.[12] The following year he became the first-ever president and CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.[13]

Meade has also served as chairman of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy and as a director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, the Anti-Defamation League of New England, and AAA of Southern New England.[12]

Boston Redevelopment Authority

In 2011, Meade was appointed head of the Boston Redevelopment Authority by mayor Thomas Menino.[14] He retired at the end of Menino's term.[15]

References
  1. Aucoin, Don (May 10, 2005). "The Go -To Guy". The Boston Globe.
  2. Jordan, Robert (September 26, 1974). "Mayor White orders staff changes". The Boston Globe.
  3. Surkin, Carol (February 10, 1976). "White shifting his personnel". The Boston Globe.
  4. "Mayor's action irks Meade friends". The Boston Globe. January 1, 1978.
  5. Massachusetts Election Statistics 1978.
  6. Cohen, Muriel (December 15, 1978). "Meade reportedly to get schools job". The Boston Globe.
  7. "The Issue of Race and the Boston Mayoralty Campaign". The Boston Globe. September 30, 1983.
  8. Klibanoff, Hank (July 21, 1981). "Behind the Boston Bidding". The Boston Globe.
  9. Johnson, Dean (January 16, 1992). "Boston Radio WBZ morning team comfortable in news format". Boston Herald.
  10. Epstein, Gady A. (June 30, 1992). "N.E. Council picks Meade president". The Boston Globe.
  11. Pham, Alex (June 28, 1996). "N.E. Council's Meade to join Blue Cross". The Boston Globe.
  12. Krasner, Jeffery (June 3, 2008). "Meade joins top Boston PR agency". The Boston Globe.
  13. "New post for Meade". The Boston Globe. July 15, 2009.
  14. Kronenberg, Jerry (April 5, 2011). "Menino formally taps 'proven leader' Meade to head BRA". McClatchy - Tribune Business News.
  15. Ebbert, Stephanie (January 9, 2014). "Walsh appoints acting director of BRA". The Boston Globe.


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