Josh Zakim
| Josh Zakim | |
|---|---|
 Josh Zakim at the 2015 Boston Pride Parade | |
| District 8 Councilor of the Boston City Council | |
|
Assumed office January 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Ross |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 16, 1983 Newton |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Back Bay, Boston |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania; Northeastern University School of Law |
| Profession | Boston City Councilor |
| Committees | Chair of the Committee Human Rights and Civil Rights; Chair of the Special Committee on Transportation, Public Infrastructure, Planning and Investment |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Website | Josh Zakim |
Josh Zakim (born December 16, 1983) is a Boston politician, attorney, and community activist. He is the Boston City Councilor representing District 8, which includes Boston's Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway–Kenmore, Mission Hill, and West End neighborhoods.[1]
Family
Zakim is the son of Lenny and Joyce Zakim.[1] He grew up in Newton, Massachusetts with his two younger sisters, Deena and Shari. Zakim's father was a Jewish-American religious and civil rights leader in Boston. After his death in 1999, Boston's Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge was named in his honor.[2]
Education
Zakim attended high school at Buckingham Browne & Nichols in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and went on to receive his law degree from the Northeastern University School of Law.[1] He was sworn in to the Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on December 2, 2009.[3]
Career
Zakim began his career at Greater Boston Legal Services in their Consumer Rights Unit. He then went on to join the Public Finance group of the law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, where he worked on municipal bond transactions for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, MassPort and the MBTA.
Zakim was elected to the Boston City Council on November 5, 2013. He serves as the Chair of both the Committee on Human Rights and Civil Rights and the Special Committee on Transportation, Public Infrastructure, Planning, and Investment.[4] Zakim has proven to be a progressive voice on the Boston City Council, and his legislative priorities center around social and economic justice.
Zakim is also an active Board Member of the Lenny Zakim Fund.[5] Founded two decades ago by his father and his activist friends, the Fund gives small grants to support local grassroots organizations seeking to address complex social issues such as youth violence, adult literacy, and job training.