September 29, 2023 |City of Lynn, City Services, Department of Public Health, News

City names public health, parking directors; CFO reappointed

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Mayor Jared C. Nicholson appointed Lisa Tobin as director of public health, Jessica Chiappini as parking director, and reappointed Chief Financial Officer Michael Bertino, with the City Council confirmed.

“We are excited with both appointments of Lisa and Jessica, who bring a wealth of experience and professionalism to their new roles,” Nicholson said. “Both Lisa and Jessica bring a background of dedicated public service and will provide their respective departments with vision and leadership that will continue to expand the accessibility of City Hall and provide residents with essential services. We are also grateful to retain Michael Bertino, who has played a crucial role in the City’s financial recovery and removal from state oversight.”

Tobin is a 25-year public employee who worked in the Inspectional Services department since 2014 as sanitarian. She also served as sealer of weights and measures for the last three years.  Prior to that, Tobin worked 15 years at the Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development, as admissions office manager and executive assistant to the executive director.

“I always had a desire to work for the City,” said Tobin, who recalled shadowing former Lynn Public Schools Business Manager Stephen Upton on Student Government Day as a Lynn Classical senior in 1992. “I feel fortunate to be able to do it.”

Tobin earned her bachelor’s degree from Westfield State University and master’s in public administration from Suffolk University. She is licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a certified health officer.

“I had the opportunity to take the Certified Public Health exam and it coincided with this position becoming open,” said Tobin, who oversees a staff of 14, including six who are stationed at the Lynn Senior Center.

“There is a lot of desire to grow that program and make it even more robust than it already is,” Tobin said. “The goal is to increase programming for seniors.”

A runner, Tobin has been teaching exercise classes at the Demakes Family YMCA for 26 years.

Chiappini started working for the City in April 2020 after 25 years as a paralegal at Lynn law firm Bradley Moore Primason Cuffe & Weber. She worked in Inspectional Services as code enforcement officer and assistant supervisor of custodian and maintenance.

“I always had an interest in enforcement,” said Chiappini, a Lynn English graduate who earned her bachelor’s and master’s (criminal justice) from Salem State University.

In her role as code enforcement officer, Chiappini dealt with complaints about illegal apartments and illegal contractor yards, causing her to work closely with the parking department.

“It all comes back to parking,” she said.

Chiappini, who is directing a staff of 13, said her priorities are to continue to upgrade equipment and explore the possibility of installing kiosks, which would centralize where people pay for metered parking. She also wants to make sure the two City parking lots downtown are fully utilized.

Chiappini encouraged residents to register for the RAVE Mobile Safety program, which provides notifications on parking bans, school closings, major traffic delays and weather alerts. There is no cost to sign up, which can be done by visiting smart911.com.

“We want to make sure residents are getting the most up-to-date, accurate information,” said Chiappini, who is the co-founder of Brown Girl 2 Brown Girl, a mentoring program for minority girls in the city.

Bertino has been Lynn’s CFO since 2018. Prior to that he worked in municipal finance in Winthrop, Somerville and West Newbury. A graduate of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, he started his professional career as an accountant and also worked as a bank examiner.

“I’m happy to continue working for the administration and to have the opportunity to continue the good work that the City has been doing,” Bertino said. “We’ve completed a lot, but there’s a lot more to do.”

The above press release was submitted to us by Mayor Nicholson’s office.