John Connell
About John Connell
John Connell is the Director of Safety Engineering at MBTA in Boston, Massachusetts, with extensive experience in safety engineering and project management.
Title and Current Position
John Connell is the Director of Safety Engineering at MBTA. He has held this role since 2019. In his current position, Connell works in Boston, Massachusetts, and is responsible for overseeing safety engineering initiatives within the organization.
Previous Roles at MBTA
Prior to becoming Director of Safety Engineering, John Connell held several positions at MBTA. He served as Deputy Director of Safety Engineering - Systems for four months in 2019, Deputy Director of Safety Engineering - Infrastructure from 2017 to 2019, System Safety Specialist briefly in 2017, and System Safety Analyst from 2014 to 2017. Throughout these roles, he was based in the Greater Boston Area, contributing to various safety engineering projects and initiatives.
Educational Background
John Connell holds multiple advanced degrees. He earned a Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering from Boston University from 2011 to 2014. He also holds a Master of Education in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, obtained in 2005. Additionally, Connell completed a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from St. Lawrence University from 1996 to 2000.
Early Career and Internships
Earlier in his career, John Connell worked in various roles including a stint as an Engineering Intern at Aeronautica Windpower, LLC in 2013. He has also worked as a Systems Engineering Student at Boston University from 2011 to 2014 and held administrative positions at the U.S. Embassy Tokyo from 2009 to 2011, and at the U.S. Department of State in Taiwan from 2007 to 2009.
Project Management and Safety Implementation
In his role at MBTA, John Connell managed the safety of over 140 capital improvement projects valued at $10 billion, including new vehicle procurements and construction projects. He implemented the Authority’s Safety Certification and System Modification programs and chaired working group committees on multiple $1 billion+ rail extensions and signal system upgrade projects. Additionally, he acted as project manager for over 80 Occupational Health and Safety infrastructure improvement projects.