Swampscott’s new senior planner is looking to bring her background in municipal planning and computer mapping to the town.

The Select Board approved Christa McGaha as the new senior planner at the end of August. McGaha’s addition to the town has grown the Community and Economic Development Department to now include two planners, with Marzie Galazka serving as the director of community and economic development. The department’s role varies from project to project, but it includes reviewing applications, developing surveys, looking into long-range planning and serving as a guide for town boards.

“I’m really looking forward to contributing to the community,” McGaha said. 

McGaha brings over a decade of experience, beginning her career as a geographic information systems (GIS) analyst with BHC Rhodes. She worked as a planner in Leavenworth, Kansas from November 2017 to September 2019. While obtaining her masters in urban planning from the University of Kansas, McGaha worked as planner III for the city in Lenexa, Kansas.

“I had a lot of municipal experience with development review and different types of projects that were coming in for that city,” McGaha said. “We had a lot going on in terms of development. I reviewed parks. I reviewed municipal projects as well as a lot of commercial and apartment type projects.”

In 2023, McGaha moved back to Massachusetts, where she is originally from. She became an urban planner with VHB in Watertown for two years, where she worked with different municipalities across the state and beyond into the East Coast. 

“That really gave me a deep dive into Massachusetts planning, from all of the different levels, all of the different types of grants that are available in state funding,” McGaha said. “I think my GIS experience, which is computer mapping, is essential for every day planning, which is a really good skill to have, but that I think my prior municipal experience and also my Massachusetts experience with various different towns across the state and how their governments function and those work – it uniquely sets me up to be a really good fit for this job.” 

McGaha also serves on the Salem Zoning Board of Appeals, which she says gives her valuable local context.

For Swampscott, McGaha will support different boards but also envision goals and actions for the town, including in a master plan. 

“There’s a lot of community engagement, like ‘what do you want to see in the future of the town?’,” McGaha said.

Looking forward, McGaha said she is excited to help form a plan for Swampscott but also ensure transparency and clarity with residents “so that everyone feels like they’re in the know as to what’s going on.”

“Everyone that I’ve met and I’ve talked to has been wonderful,” McGaha said. “The community, everyone seems to really care a lot, which is important because as planners that’s what we do is just to help make the community a better place to live thinking far into the future.”