Stephen Larrick

Department: Data Services – Digital Services
Email: [email protected]

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Biography:

Stephen Larrick is an urbanist and open gov advocate who has worked at the intersection of community planning, municipal governance, and data & technology for over a decade. He joined the MAPC Data Services team in 2022 as Manager of the Digital Group. In this role he oversees both the development of civic technology products and web applications to support transparency and data-driven decision making, as well as MAPC’s portfolio of planning and implementation projects to support broadband access and digital equity in greater Boston.

Stephen’s previous work includes experience in academia, at an urban technology startup, as a leading government transparency advocate, and as a municipal official.

Most recently, from 2021 – 2022, Stephen was a Technology and Public Purpose Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Development, where he researched local government access to private sector platform data and emerging regulatory approaches to public-private data sharing.

Prior to HKS, as head of city success at urban-tech startup Stae, Stephen helped grow the company’s first cohort of local government clients, and provided strategic direction for a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that enables public officials to access, manage, and collaborate with civic data.

Before joining Stae, Stephen founded and directed the Open Cities Team at the Sunlight Foundation, where he oversaw the adoption and implementation of data transparency policies in dozens of mid-sized American cities participating in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities Initiative, and developed best practices for community-centered data engagement.

Larrick previously served in local government as Director of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Central Falls, Rhode Island, where he played a key part in successful turnaround efforts during a time of extreme fiscal crisis—managing the city’s residential and commercial redevelopment, tax incentive policy, and community grant programs following an historic chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy filing. In addition to his duties as city planner, Larrick worked closely with two state-appointed receivers and one mayor to rethink local government service delivery with a heavy emphasis on digital engagement and open and inclusive governance.

Larrick received his Bachelor’s of Arts in Urban Studies and Political Philosophy from Brown University, and lives in Salem, MA with his wife Sarah and their dog Panda.