Eric Nakajima to Direct Holyoke Office of Planning and Economic Development

Eric Nakajima

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia appointed Eric Nakajima to head the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development. Nakajima succeeds Aaron Vega, who has been appointed president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council.

Nakajima, 59, is an economic development consultant. He has held policy and innovation positions with the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and is the former director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute. From 2020 to 2024, he was director of Government Relations for the Massachusetts Teachers Assoc.

Nakajima earned a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in political science from UMass Amherst and a master’s degree in city planning from the University of California, Berkeley. He held a year-long fellowship for working professionals at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

The mission of Holyoke’s Office of Planning and Economic Development is business recruitment and retention, short- and long-range planning, and providing staff support to the Planning Board, Redevelopment Authority, Economic Development Industrial Corp., Licensing Board, and Tourism Advisory Committee, among other boards and commissions.

“Holyoke is a city on the rise,” Nakajima said, “and I am excited to join such an outstanding team to support the economic growth, vitality, and livability of the city.”

Garcia said Nakajima’s credentials and experience put him at the top of the list for the director’s post.

“We’re fortunate to have attracted a professional whose skills and knowledge are so relevant to Holyoke’s prosperity path,” the mayor said. “The growth that Aaron Vega and his team brought about will continue and expand under Eric’s leadership.”