Joyce Linehan works as Chief of Policy for the Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh. She previously managed rock bands and a record label. She runs a company that mounts public relations campaigns for arts and culture groups. She was born and lives in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Education
Joyce Linehan is the daughter of John J. Linehan and Yvonne Linehan. As a Dorchester native, Linehan graduated from the Notre Dame Academy and attended College at Suffolk University until she flunked out. She eventually continued her studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Media and American Popular Culture and a Masters in American Studies. She received the Dr. Robert W. Spayne Research Grant for study at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Her master's thesis — The Day My Mama Socked it to the Harper Valley PTA: Country Music Womanhood in the Second Wave of Feminism — received the American Studies Book Award from UMass Boston.
Career
Band manager
Linehan first worked in Boston's underground rock scene, booking bands into small local clubs. Eventually this led her to becoming a manager. She managed the Smithereens, Six Finger Satellite and the Lemonheads. During her time booking gigs and managing she met with Courtney Love from Hole, Bullet LeVolta, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Nirvana.
Record labels
In the 1990s, Linehan took a job as promotions director and talent scout at Sub Pop, a Seattle label that was later acquired by Warner Brothers and launched the grunge band Nirvana into mainstream stardom. Linehan’s Dorchester home served as the East Coast offices of Sub Pop. When Linehan left Sub Pop, she became the manager of the Pernice Brothers. Linehan and Joe Pernice later decided to create their own label, called Ashmont Records. Their label released numerous records including Yours, Mine and Ours, by the Pernice Brothers, released in 2003. The two also co-wrote the book Pernice to Me: a chronicle of disagreements between Linehan and Pernice, most of which has appeared on Twitter. She currently resides at Ashmonticello, on Burt Street, which the Phoenix once called the "most famous and best-loved rock-and-roll crash pad in Boston history." Bikini Kill, Smashing Pumpkins, Elliott Smith, the Jesus Lizard, and Stereolab all stayed there over the years.
Linehan is the President of Ashmont Media, a public relations company that specializes in the development of media campaigns for arts and culture groups in the Boston area. Some of her clients include ArtsEmerson, Fruitlands Museum, Handel & Haydn Society and Institute of Contemporary Art. She is also the founder of the Dorchester Arts Collaborative.
Political campaigns
In 2000 Linehan began to engage in politics in addition to the arts. She helped out in many campaigns including John Kerry's 2004 Presidential Election and Elizabeth Warren's run for U.S Senate in 2012. Linehan took part in all campaigns as a volunteer until she took the job as Chief of Policy in 2014 for Mayor Walsh. She volunteered with Marty Walsh's mayoral campaign before being appointed as his Chief of Policy.
Other
Linehan is an animal advocate and leader in the fight to end breed-specific legislation; and serves on the board of Interim House, a residential substance abuse treatment center.
Awards
In 2012, she received an Unsung Heroine of Massachusetts award from the Massachusetts Commission of the Status of Women. She has also been honored by The Irish Echo for her commitment to working people, and by Company One for her commitment to theater. She is a lifelong resident of Dorchester.
