Walsh Appoints City's First Chief Resilience Officer

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is appointing Dr. Atyia Martin as the city's first chief resilience officer.

Martin says the goal of the cabinet-level position is to look at how ongoing issues like income inequality, a lack of affordable housing, poverty and racism could play a role in recovery from a disaster.

"This is an opportunity to really connect the dots between what happens on a day-to-day basis in people's lives and how we can make some changes to improve the outcomes after disasters," she told WBUR's newscast on Monday.

Martin spent the last four years as city director of public health preparedness. She is also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and has worked for the FBI and National Security Agency.

In her new role, Martin will develop a resilience strategy for Boston and lead a city-wide effort to help Boston prepare for, withstand and recover from disasters such as floods, infrastructure failure and terrorism in addition to her focus on addressing social and economic issues.

The new position is part of the 100 Resilient Cities initiative created by The Rockefeller Foundation. Boston is a part of the initiative, which aims to help cities address social, economic and physical challenges.