Energy regulator, local news founder, and elected official. Working at the intersection of infrastructure, technology, and civic engagement on Massachusetts' South Shore.
What I Do
Energy Regulation
Assistant Director of the Pipeline Safety Division. Overseeing pipeline infrastructure, natural gas operations, LNG facilities, and pioneering safety guidelines for utility networked geothermal systems. Seven years ensuring Massachusetts' energy infrastructure is safe and reliable.
AI Journalism
Founded in 2024, South Shore News is an AI-powered hyperlocal news publication covering municipal government across 19 South Shore communities. Using technology to bring transparency to local government—one town meeting at a time. Nearly 4,000 subscribers and growing.
Read the latestLocal Government
Three-term elected member serving since 2019. Led efforts on Community Preservation Act adoption, school agreement reform, and municipal energy aggregation. Focused on fiscal sustainability, economic development, and public communications.
Support the campaignIn Action
Presenting on pipeline safety
Speaking out on local issues
Healey-Driscoll campaign event
Covering 19 South Shore communities
Flying the lighthouse colors
Evans Explains
Loading posts...
South Shore News
Fetching from South Shore News
In the Media
Radio interview with Justin Evans, editor and founder of South Shore News, on covering town government with AI.
Profile of South Shore News after its April paywall launch drew 350 paid subscribers — a sign of a real audience for AI-generated local news.
Northeastern journalism professor Dan Kennedy on South Shore News, AI-assisted meeting coverage, and the fight over legal notices.
Feature on Massachusetts AI local news startups — including South Shore News — and the challenge of earning reader trust.
Interview on local issues facing Whitman, including the pending auction of the Peaceful Meadows property.
Background
I'm a Whitman native with a Master's in Energy Systems and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University. My career has focused on the intersection of energy infrastructure, public safety, and policy—first as an engineer, now as a regulator.
At the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, I've spent seven years working to keep our pipeline infrastructure safe. My team achieved perfect PHMSA audit scores and developed first-in-nation safety guidelines for utility networked geothermal systems.
In 2024, I founded South Shore News to solve a problem I saw in local government: important decisions being made without public awareness. Using AI tools to process meeting transcripts and generate coverage, we're bringing transparency to 19 communities that traditional media has largely abandoned.
I live in Whitman with my wife and daughter. When I'm not at work or in a town meeting, you'll find me cooking, working on home electrification projects, or walking my dog.