Mayor-elect Michelle Wu names transition team

Mayor-elect Michelle Wu held a press availability after she met with her transition cochairs and advisers at Boston City Hall on Tuesday.Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff

A week before she officially takes office, Mayor-elect Michelle Wu announced the cochairs of her transition team along with an initial list of transition advisers, representing a range of fields from education to finance to the environment.

Acting Mayor Kim Janey will serve as the honorary chair of the transition, and Wu said Tuesday that she has had daily check-in calls with Janey “just so we are on the same page.”

The transition cochairs include former state representative Charlotte Golar Richie, who worked for former mayor Thomas M. Menino and who herself ran for mayor in 2013. She sits on the board of directors for YouthBuild USA.

Jay Gonzalez, a former Massachusetts secretary of administration and finance and a former gubernatorial candidate, now a partner at the law firm Hinckley Allen, also will serve as a cochair. Noemi “Mimi” Ramos, a community activist and executive director of New England United 4 Justice, was also named a cochair.

Wu met with her team Tuesday, noting the quick transition to her administration and the need for “speedy” preparations.

“In the next seven days, we are preparing to truly hit the ground running,” she said. “As we all know, this is a pretty unprecedented transition both for how quick it is . . . but also because of this moment and the issues we need to be taking on.”

Several members of the transition team joined Wu for a briefing with reporters Tuesday.

“We’re really excited to be part of this journey with you and to tackle the challenges that we know our community is facing together,” Ramos said, referring to Wu.

Wu also named a team of transition advisers with a range of “lived experiences, expertise, and perspectives to help advance key priorities during the condensed transition period,” her team said. They include:

▪ Dr. Julian Agyeman, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning and Fletcher Professor of Rhetoric and Debate, Tufts University

▪ Dana Alas, organizing director, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

▪ Shawn Brown, executive director, Becoming A Man, Boston

▪ Joe Byrne, executive secretary-treasurer, North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters

▪ Ali Fong, chef and cofounder, Bon Me

▪ Trish Fontanilla, head of community, Simplr

▪ Rev. Arlene Hall, pastor, Deliverance Temple Worship Center

▪ José Massó, broadcaster and producer, ¡Con Salsa! on WBUR

▪ Marcus McNeil, student, Fenway High School

▪ Dr. Cassandra Pierre, assistant professor, Boston University School of Medicine and medical director of Public Health Programs, Boston Medical Center

▪ Micho Spring, chair of the Weber Shandwick Global Corporate Practice, president of Weber Shandwick New England, and board chair of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

▪ Kannan Thiruvengadam, climate activist and director, Eastie Farm

▪ Mitchell Weiss, Richard L. Menschel Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School

In a statement, Wu said “This group represents just the beginning of our work to uplift bold solutions to the biggest challenges that await us, and to enlist community in the work of making them a reality.”

Wu, who made history last week with her election as the city’s first woman, person of color, and Asian American to be elected mayor, is slated to be sworn in on Nov. 16 during a ceremony at City Hall. She plans a more formal inauguration in January, when the newly comprised 13-member City Council also will take office.

Mayors are usually inaugurated in the January following an election. Wu’s much quicker transition to power is due to former mayor Martin J. Walsh’s departure for a post in President Biden’s Cabinet in March. Janey, per city rules, as president of the City Council served in the interim until a new mayor could be elected.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect Charlotte Golar Richie’s current title as a member of the board of directors for YouthBuild USA.