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Jan Devereux was Vice Mayor of Cambridge (MA) during the 2018-19 term. She served two terms on the City Council, having been the only non-incumbent to win a seat in the November 2015 election and re-elected in 2017. She chose not to seek re-election in 2019. All nine city councillors serve at-large for two-year terms. The councillors choose who will serve as mayor and vice mayor each term.

Jan’s City Council Committee Assignments (2018-2019):

Government Operations, Rules, and Claims (Chair)
Transportation and Public Utilities (Chair)
Health and Environment (Co-Chair)
Finance*
Ordinance*
Housing
Human Services and Veterans
Civic Unity
Public Safety
*committees of the whole (all 9 councillors are members)

In her first term, Jan served on the Coordinating Council for Children, Youth and Families (aka “The Kids’ Council”), and was a mentor for the Girls Only Leadership Development (GOLD) program co-sponsored by Mayor Simmons and the YWCA. She also chaired the Health and Environment Committee in 2016-17.

A resident of the Huron Village neighborhood of West Cambridge, Jan moved to Cambridge in 1993, having lived and worked in Manhattan and Paris prior. A former marketing communications professional and neighborhood activist, Jan made public service a full-time job for the four years she was on the Council. Jan studied English literature at Princeton University and earned an MBA from Columbia University. She is the mother of three grown children, and her husband, Peter C. Johnson, is a former singer-songwriter and a retired substance abuse counselor.