Boston Chief of Housing Sheila Dillon speaks to reporters during a March 30, 2021 press conference at Boston City Hall. Photo by John Wilcox | Boston Mayor’s Office

Boston Mayor-elect Michelle Wu has announced she will keep Sheila Dillon in charge of the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development and head of housing policy efforts.

Dillon was originally appointed by former Mayor Marty Walsh and was kept on by acting Mayor Kim Janey, and has been at the center of both administration’s efforts to grow the city’s affordable housing supply. While DND does not directly oversee the development approvals process in Boston, it does oversee several ongoing efforts to sell off city-owned land for housing development, and it has led housing policy development in the Walsh and Janey administrations.

Wu’s transition team announced the appointment as part of a slate of three appointments aimed at tackling the homelessness, crime and substance abuse problems at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard on the border between the South End and the Newmarket industrial neighborhood.

Wu intends to appoint former state public health commissioner Monica Bharel to a cabinet-level senior advisor position “to take charge of the city’s efforts over the next six months to address the intersecting crises of substance use disorder, mental health, public safety, and homelessness,” the administration’s transition team said in a statement. She will also elevate Boston Public Health Commission Executive Director Bisola Ojikutu to her cabinet and has asked Marty Martinez, current chief of the Mayor’s Office of Health and Human Services, to stay on as a senior advisor.

“The humanitarian crisis at Mass and Cass demands urgent, bold solutions that create genuine pathways to recovery and stability for our most vulnerable residents––and we need the right team to get it done,” Wu said in a statement. “Dr. Bharel, Dr. Ojikutu, and Chief Dillon have dedicated their careers to serving the public and each brings a track record of results. This is the team that we need for Boston as we prioritize public health and housing and center the safety and dignity of all those struggling with substance use disorder, mental health, and housing instability.”