Koby Gardner-Levine

Regional Manager, Office of Congressman Jim McGovern: Age 29

Koby Gardner-Levine

Koby Gardner-Levine describes his work as being a “jack of all trades.”

Indeed, as regional manager for the Northampton office of U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, he handles everything from overseeing the needs of the 30 municipalities in the western portion of the massive district (most of them in Hampshire and Franklin counties) to assisting individual constituents with matters involving Social Security, veterans’ affairs, IRS matters, and more, to overseeing $8.5 million in Community Project Funding across the district in 2024.

Overall, it’s rewarding work, said Gardner-Levine, who has worked in McGovern’s Western Mass. office for six years, adding that, in many cases, but certainly not all, problems can be solved, and issues can be properly addressed.

“No day is exactly the same as the day before it,” he noted, adding that he often works with constituents one-on-one, but is also out in the community speaking to groups, as he did recently on Medicare policies. “I like being in a role where I’m able to give back to this community and really get a better understanding of the needs in this area.”

The Northampton office is generally busy with constituent calls and inquiries from officials in those 30 communities, he said, adding that the volume of calls has increased exponentially since the start of the Trump administration and its sweeping changes and executive orders.

“Our phones have been ringing off the hook since the new administration took office,” he noted. “We’ve certainly had a lot of constituent outreach on different federal initiatives coming out of the White House, and Congress as well.”

A Clark University graduate with a master’s degree in environmental science and policy, Gardner-Levine serves on the board of the Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst, just one example of his involvement in the community. He also serves on the board of the United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region and is a member of the Hampshire Food Policy Council.

He also works closely with McGovern on food-security issues, and has served as a panelist in discussions hosted by the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the Amherst Survival Center, and the Hampshire County Council of Social Agencies to discuss various topics, including last year’s White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.

He has also worked in partnership with the African Heritage Reparations Assembly of Amherst, a group with a mission to study and develop reparation proposals for local people of African heritage.

—George O’Brien