Anthony D Galluccio is a Cambridge-based attorney and law partner who has built a career at the intersection of public service, law, and community leadership. He grew up in Cambridge and faced early adversity when his father died when he was 11. That loss shaped his sense of responsibility, work ethic and his resilience and ability to embrace adversity.
He graduated from Cambridge Rindge & Latin School in 1985 and later earned a Political Science degree from Providence College in 1989, with a Business minor. He attended night school Suffolk Law School in 1996, graduating cum laude.
Galluccio spent more than a decade in elected office. He served on the Cambridge City Council from 1994 to 2007 and was Mayor of Cambridge from 2000 to 2001 when he also chaired the Cambridge School committee. He later served as a Massachusetts state senator from 2007 to 2010 and chaired the Senate Higher Education Committee. His work was recognized with awards for championing issues related to supporting children, Workforce training, technical education and supporting minority communities and immigrants.
In 2010, he co-founded Galluccio & Watson LLP with Cheryl Watson Fisher. His practice now focuses on land use law, including work for major institutions and large developers. He is also known for deep involvement in youth sports. He has coached youth football and baseball for years, including extensive travel baseball and free clinics serving hundreds of kids.
For over 15 years he served on boards to support families in transition with housing and human services for immigrant families across greater Boston. He leads his own long-running charitable efforts through Galluccio Associates, Hope for the Holidays, and Ashley’s Angels. His work includes scholarships, youth sports support, and significant giving to pediatric oncology, in the Dominican Republic.
When you think about success, what does it mean in your day-to-day life?
Success looks like momentum that holds up over time. I measure it by whether I stayed consistent with my responsibilities and adhered to my balance that day. I try to have every day be multi- faceted. Work,charity and helping individuals. Personally, it means being accountable for my mistakes and working towards improvement every day. I hope people will say he was a great son and a wonderful friend to many. Doing what you say you will do is success. It can mean keeping a promise to a family or following through on a job recommendation or someone who needs help. I sleep better when I check on the young men I am mentoring. With many years in public office comes a commitment to pick up the phone and help people. I also stay very visible in my community. I was once called a “ cheerleader “ by a local paper. That’s important to me. Especially for kids. Ultimately success is positively affecting people’s lives. A few people a day can mean thousands over a lifetime.
Your career includes public office and law. How did public service shape your approach to business?
Public service is about helping people and respect for the community. Support and votes happen because of years of commitment. I grew up in gritty urban politics. It was very competitive. No social media promotion. You were judged by what you accomplished and doing what you said you would do. It was unforgiving in that you were judged by the last time you were asked for help. I was young and competing in tough city politics. I had to come through , deliver and show results.
That experience carried into my legal career when I co-founded Galluccio & Watson LLP in 2010. First in general law then in land use law it was about being responsive and results. Politics also taught me that communication is critical. Making sure constituents or clients know what you are doing to help is critical. You only get things done in politics with collaboration and strategy. Law is no different. Especially land use and permitting. You are as good as your credibility with the community and the municipalities and agencies you work with.
What role did education play in your path?
Like my work experiences throughout childhood, I saw education as a place to build relationships. My sixth grade year of elementary school was the first year of school desegregation. My school changed overnight and what was first met with serious challenges became a positive life changing experience. Becoming friends and teammates from kids from all over Cambridge and from different backgrounds shaped my life in the most positive way. Valuing diversity and surrounding myself with different types of people is now a life value and discipline. Education gave me options and discipline. The harder you work the better your performance. Cambridge Rindge & Latin School was the ultimate social experience. Providence College grounded me in the basics and helped me build a foundation in Political Science with a Business minor, and I finished in 1989. Law school at Suffolk was where I learned how to think in a structured way under pressure, and graduating cum laude in 1996 mattered because it reflected sustained effort. Proving to myself I could work throughout college and working while going to law school really helped establish my confidence in my overall capacity. I am one of those people that is better with the more on my plate. I am built that way.
You have been connected to youth sports for years. What does coaching teach about success?
Coaching reminds us we all want to be part of a team and extended family.Coaching is far more about supporting kids then technique and expertise is the sport. Kids respond to your consistency and humanity. They can see if you’re all in and if you are for real. I have coached youth baseball and football since 2003, and I have seen the same pattern again and again. Teaching kids the value of hard work and practice is great but motivation comes from them knowing you support and believe in them.
Coaching also teaches leadership without authority. You cannot force growth. You have to create a system where everyone buys in. I love local sports because you are building a community. Friendships and a network for life. This year I took my high school players from Malden Catholic to volunteer at a softball game for special adults. First they did not even know what it was. They left in a zen state and we bonded over this common effort to help others. In Cambridge I took my football players to a local senior home. They gained so much perspective. I often engage my players in my charity work. It’s a game changer. Those bonds show up on and off the field.
Your charitable work has real scale. How does that connect to your idea of success?
I don’t think of charity that way. I don’t think you should engage in charity or community service for credit or networking. If you’re asking, does it help me personally? The work I do keeps me grounded and keeps everything in perspective. In that way it is integral to my ability to be successful in work and life.
I have been president of Galluccio Associates, a 501(c)(3), since 1994, and we have donated more than $300,000 to youth sports and scholarships. We have an amazing event every year honoring local youth sports volunteers and giving scholarships. I founded Hope for the Holidays in 2007, and it supports around 40 families per year with about $250,000 in direct aid distributed. First I partnered with Centro Latino , Inc then the Hildebrand Family Self Help Center, inc . Now, we work with front line school staff led by my sister, and a local church ,St Paul AME, to identify needy families. I founded Ashley’s Angels in 2009, partnering with Dana-Farber Global Health Initiative and The Voluntariados Con Jesus Por Ninos in the Dominican Republic, and we donated more than $300,000 to pediatric oncology at Arturo Grullón Children’s Hospital in Santiago. I am there at the clinic usually twice a year.
Success in this area is not a feeling. It is whether the help reaches the right people, year after year.
You have spoken about adversity and pivoting. What helps you stay steady through setbacks?
I have lived through hard personal events, including losing my father when I was 11 and later losing my mother. I have also had to navigate serious family health struggles and my own mistakes. Life will bring you adversity no matter how much you try to control it. Disappointments and loss are guaranteed in life. What helps me stay steady is treating setbacks like problems that require action, not identity. Understanding that you cannot avoid setbacks but staying prepared and as prepared as possible is important. Most impactful was watching how quickly my Mother responded to tragedy. My mother ran our household for our survival working long hours and extra jobs. She was our fearless leader and Northstar. She was told she needed to go to Dialysis three days a week to survive. Unknown to us she was given about two years to live. Over 8 years later she passed away, rarely missing a day and adhering to a meticulous diet. She poured her joy into her days off and appreciated every little joy. She adored her visits to the summer house I called Nancy’s Place. She never complained and until the end thought she would regain her ability to walk through the front door or dip her feet in the pool. I think more than anything her example of accepting things as they are and fighting through was in the forefront. I added my Dads sense of romanticism and looked for opportunity in adversity. You only get one life so trying to extract some opportunity and growth no matter the adversity is critical, in this way living in the moment not denying it is very difficult but important. Embracing every challenge will hopefully bring clarity and opportunity.
I lean on work ethic, maintaining friendships and lean on fitness. I like work that forces hard work , like multi faceted permitting and coaching. Own mistakes and let go of things you cannot control. My mother always said Start from where you are, I eliminate unhealthy escape behaviors and try to process emotional grief and trauma in real time so that demons cannot evolve. I am very proud of that,
What is one practical success habit that people overlook?
Everything you do and love has to be personal. In public service, I learned that colleagues and the voters needed to understand and know I was personally vested in the work. In the Senate, when I chaired the Higher Education Committee, I needed people to know , I would not give up on kids , especially lower income kids. In permitting law, the same idea applies. I believe in my projects and am not giving up. I cannot go all in if it’s not personal and I am always all in.
Everything I do is with sincere personal attachment and passion. This is what makes life exciting.