Newton Losing Crucial Department Leader In New Year

NEWTON, MA — The city is saying goodbye to another local leader in the new year.

Parks, Recreation, and Culture Commissioner Nicole Banks is leaving her position at the start of 2026, according to Mayor Ruthanne Fuller. Banks first assumed the role in March of 2020, however Fuller said the COVID-19 pandemic did not impede her from making both an immediate and long-term impact.

The Parks, Recreation, and Culture Commissioner’s duties include managing the department’s portion of the annual operating budget, supervising all other staff, overseeing the maintenance of all parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, and public building grounds, taking a leadership role in certain capital improvement projects, and overseeing all of the city’s trees.

“Nicole’s (Banks) incredible breadth and depth of experience, her thorough and thoughtful approach as well as her professional expertise and persistence created lasting improvements in our city that will be enjoyed for generations,” Fuller said.

Notable projects and initiatives that took place during Banks’s tenure include the Gath Pool site renovation that constructed two new pools and splash pads, permanent stadium lighting at Newton North High School’s Dickinson Stadium, the Walker Dog Park, the Newton Community Stage auditorium in conjunction with Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School creation of the community garden at Spears Park, as well as improvements to the Marty Sender Riverwalk Trail, Pellegrini Fieldhouse, and Captain Ryan’s Park.

Fuller also said Banks was a driving force behind the Cooper Center for Active Living, which opened in early December.

Before coming to Newton, Banks was the Director of Recreation for the Town of Westwood for seven years. In March, her department received the Metrowest Region Community Impact Award from the Massachusetts Recreation and Park Association.

According to Fuller, Banks’s departure is due to she and her family moving to California, where she is slated to take on a similar role for her new place of residence.

“While Nicole’s accomplishments in our city are numerous, when I think of her I think of so much more - her warmth, enthusiasm and that huge smile,” Fuller said.

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