Greg Watson

Schumacher Center for a New Economics

Greg Watson is director of policy and systems design for the Schumacher Center for a New Economics in Great Barrington, Mass. The Schumacher Center promotes the “new economy,” which includes the concepts of community land trusts, community-supported agriculture, local currency and community-supported industry. The center’s work combines theoretical research with practical application at the local, regional, national and international levels.

Prior to joining the Schumacher Center in January, Mr. Watson was Massachusetts’ commissioner of agriculture, a post he also held from 1990 to 1993. Among Mr. Watson’s accomplishments during his most recent tenure was working to launch a statewide urban-agriculture grants program. He chaired both the state’s Public Market Commission, which oversees the planning and construction of the Public Market in Boston, and the Massachusetts Food Policy Council, which is charged with developing a strategic plan for the state’s food system. The Public Market, which will promote produce and products from local farms, is slated to open this summer. Mr. Watson’s other previous positions include serving as executive director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, a nonprofit community-based planning and organizing entity in the Roxbury/North Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston, and as the first executive director of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. He also was a member of President-elect Obama’s Department of Energy transition team.