Sean Regan

Photography by Jennifer Bodnar

Sean Regan is a force to be reckoned with. As the newly appointed South Boston Coordinator to the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services,  Sean advocates for the constituents of South Boston and the community as a whole in an effort to connect them with city services available to them.  Part of Sean’s job is to organize and facilitate community meetings, which – as anyone who has attended one can attest – is no easy task.  Sean makes it look effortless.  He is able to handle the crowd, the outbursts, and the meeting agenda in a professional and calm matter.  He never loses his cool.  His favorite part of his job is helping people.  “When an opportunity presents itself to help someone, I do my best and in the end when I do help them with their issue or problem, it makes everything worth it.”

Sean is a son of South Boston.  Born the oldest child of three to Karen (Coughlin – of the legendary Coughlin family) and Tom Regan, Southie resident via West Roxbury and Regan’s Motivate Fitness fame, he had a typical Southie childhood.  He attend St. Peter’s School, Boston Latin School, The Pomfret School and UMass Amherst where he played defenseman for the Minutemen hockey team.  “I didn’t start playing hockey until I was nine years old – which is late by Southie standards.  Skill-wise,  I was really behind most of the kids my age, but I wanted to get better. My father who never skated or played hockey himself, learned as much as he could from the other neighborhood fathers and helped me. Among other things, he had me shooting pucks in my yard and running hills. Eventually, he even built a small rink in our back yard for me, my brother, sister.  Looking back, I attribute any success I had in my hockey career to the work ethic my father instilled in me –  of course the Coughlin hockey gene from my mother didn’t hurt either”, says Sean.  The lesson of focused and dedicated hard work paying off has translated into all areas of Sean’s life.  His loyalty and strong work ethic is second to none.  From his mother, he has learned the importance of how to treat people with kindness and respect. “I’ve watched her selfless actions my entire life. She has shown me how to be there for people when they need it most,” says Sean.  A trait that proves itself important in his new role. 

Just the facts:

• Grew up on Marine Road
• Brother to Brittany and Thomas
• Certified Personal Trainer – occasionally you can see him teaching a class or working with a client
• Has a cameo in Danny Picard’s documentary 363 the Road to the Southie 3-on-3
• Founded the South Boston Leadership Initiative – a new mentoring program for the youth of South Boston.
• Favorite spot in Southie: My favorite spot in Southie is at the top of the Golden Stairs on Covington Street. I started running those stairs in high school as cross training.  I like to stand at the top and look out over Carson Beach and Columbia/Moakley Park. It reminds me of how fortunate I am to be where I’m from.
• Favorite restaurant: There are so many great restaurants in South Boston. I do not think I could choose just one. I am kind of a creature of habit. I tend to go to different places for different reasons. If I were meeting a friend for a dinner, I would have to choose Mirasola’s – and for lunch, Sal’s. If I was on a date, I would go with old faithful, Amrhein’s. If I am looking for a date, you can find me at Lincoln!

Sean’s new position is not an easy one.  According to Michael Kineavy, Chief of Policy and Planning for the City of Boston, the learning curve of this position is steep but he has the utmost confidence in Sean’s ability.  “Sean is eager to learn and understand all the parts of his job and the process involved in doing his job. He has a good heart and is respectful of people and their need to be heard.  It’s a tough position but Sean is doing an amazing job.  He’s a natural.”

His intelligence and street smarts combine to make Sean a valuable asset to the community.  His sincerity is an added bonus.  He is on your side South Boston and he’s got your back.  When asked what his goal is as South Boston Coordinator he says, “To ensure that South Boston continues to be a wonderful community to live. Personally, I hope to be able to help as many people as possible to live a happy, healthy and successful life here. I believe that we all should work hard to make all that we can; but more importantly, we should work even harder to give back all that we can.”

If you have a question or concern regarding our neighborhood, you can contact Sean at [email protected] or by calling 617-635-2680