The MBTA has appointed Gabrielle (Farrell) Mondestin as its first chief communications officer, becoming a member of the senior leadership team at the mass transit agency.
Mondestin will report to General Manager Phillip Eng and be responsible for developing and transforming the T’s communications strategy to provide unified, transparent, effective and authentic messaging while prioritizing meaningful communications with riders and the communities the agency serves.
Before joining the MBTA, Mondestin served as chief communications officer of the Boston Public Schools. She previously worked as deputy chief of staff at BPS.
Mondestin has held other senior strategy communications roles, including with Senator Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign, Connecticut’s Treasury Department, the New Hampshire Democratic Party and Senator Warren’s and then-mayor Martin J. Walsh’s re-election campaigns.
“Gabrielle is a seasoned, highly skilled and experienced communications professional widely respected in her field, with a proven track record of success,” Eng said. “She is a great addition to our team, and I am confident she will play a key role in helping us effectively communicate with the public.”
Mondestin said she was excited about the new opportunity.
“We will work to identify areas of communication opportunity and growth, address areas of improvement and develop initiatives to make public outreach more transparent, accessible and reliable,” she said. “By working together, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of our T riders and workforce and improve the system for everyone.”
Her career began in 2012 as a communications associate at Project Bread – The Walk for Hunger before entering public service in 2014 as a press assistant in Walsh’s office. She has also worked in the tech industry, developing a media relations program for PTC Inc., a global billion-dollar software company.
She completed her master’s in corporate and organizational communications at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies. As a Posse Foundation Scholar, she received two bachelor’s degrees in political science and French from Bryn Mawr College. She is a Boston native who was raised in Mattapan and now resides in Dorchester.
