Wu selects Diana Fernandez Bibeau as Boston's new parks commissioner

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has appointed Diana Fernandez Bibeau to be the city’s next parks and recreations commissioner, as well as the city's first deputy chief of open spaces.

"She understands that our parks must serve everyone, from all our communities in all our neighborhoods, and she understands the power of public space to create a sense of belonging," Wu said during a press conference Monday.

Fernandez Bibeau, who has served as the deputy chief of urban design in the planning department since 2022, will start her new roles on June 1.

"To think that the daughter of immigrants, a little girl who barely spoke English, would one day be entrusted with the care of Boston's most treasured landscapes, and as the first Latina in this role, is beyond what my wildest childhood dreams could be," Fernandez Bibeau said.

The new deputy chief of open spaces position will serve as a point of contact for between the city and private partners, according to city officials, Wu said.

"It's the first time we're going to be creating a centralized space to do open space planning citywide," Fernandez Bibeau said. "We want to create the greatest expansion of open space in a generation. And to do that, it means that we need a centralized space to start to put all those puzzle pieces together to finish [Frederick Law] Olmsted's legacy, finish the Emerald Necklace."

Fernandez Bibeau played a key role in the city's effort to rebuild White Stadium. Construction at the Franklin Park site is underway, despite intense criticism over both the project's cost and the public-private agreement between the city and Boston Legacy professional soccer club to split time at the facility.

"I have learned so much through that process," Fernandez Bibeau said. "I want to bring that same level of deep listening, of creativity to the work that I'm going to be doing. I also think it's an excellent example of public-private partnership that allows us to execute at a level that is really serving communities and bringing generational investments into parts of the city that have never seen something like that."