Anthony Galluccio has always used his work ethic as his standard, not the standard of others. A supporter once said to him that a politician changed the quality of her family’s life. He always wanted to be someone that changed another human being’s path through his hard work. It’s always been personal and Galluccio considered his actions to be pivotal. Today, Galluccio is a law partner at Galluccio & Watson LLP in Cambridge. He works in land use and permitting law. Before that, he spent years in public office. Along the way, he built charities tied to childhood cancer and coached hundreds of youth sports games. None of it feels separate to him.
“I’ve always believed that ideas matter only if you can get buy-in and build consensus, ” Galluccio says. “Otherwise, they’re all just talk.”
Early Life in Cambridge and Lessons That Stuck
Galluccio grew up in Cambridge in a family shaped by public service. His father was an Italian immigrant , a political figure and served as a campaign secretary to John F. Kennedy after meeting him at Harvard. Civic life was normal in the household.
That stability ended early. Galluccio’s father died when Anthony was 11.
“When you lose a parent that young, you don’t have the luxury of drifting,” he says. “You learn responsibility fast.” My mother was a warrior. From middle class to poor with no car and alone with three kids happened really overnight. She was like a field general. She just forged forward. Starting from where you are she would say, This became engrained in me. Just work harder. Yes life is not fair but control what you can control,
Sports filled part of that gap building the network of love and extended family lost when the family was so badly fractured. . At Cambridge Rindge & Latin School, Galluccio was a three-sport varsity captain, with baseball at the centre. He later attended Providence College, then Suffolk University Law School, graduating cum laude.
“Sports gave me purpose and coaches and teammates filled the void,” he says. “My Mom was working day and night. Sports gave me purpose and family. Education gave me direction.”
From City Hall to the State House
Galluccio entered public life young. He served on the Cambridge City Council from 1994 to 2007. He became Mayor of Cambridge from 2000 to 2001. At the time the youngest Mayor elected under proportional representation. Later, he served as a Massachusetts State Senator from 2007 to 2010 and chaired the Senate Higher Education Committee.
Public office taught him how policy becomes reality.
“You learn that good intentions are not enough,” Galluccio says. “relationships. Preparation matters.” People want to listen to people they like and enjoy being around.
Those years gave him a close view of urban planning, zoning, development, and community decision-making. It would later shape his legal career.
Building a Career in Land Use and Permitting Law
In 2010, Galluccio co-founded Galluccio & Watson LLP. He shifted from writing laws to helping clients navigate them.
His practice focuses on land use, zoning, and permitting. He represents institutional clients, landowners, and developers working through complex approval processes. His value lies in knowing how systems behave under pressure.
“Permitting is not fast work,” he says. “It’s about credibility over time.” If Clints don’t respect the community , they are not going to be clients of mine.
He believes land use law is misunderstood. To him, it is less about confrontation and more about coordination. Land use must be organic and democratic or it won’t last. Zoning should feel like the peoples wishes. Not all will agree but it must in principle come from the community. You can change zoning but if it’s not grounded in community support it will just get changed again.
“My job is to create trust and move good projects forward while allowing the community to impact them,” I am a facilitator not a dictatorGalluccio says. “When approvals happen the right way, communities benefit.”
Youth Sports as a Practical Idea That Scaled
While building his law practice, Galluccio never left the field. He has coached youth baseball and football since 2003. He served as head coach of Cambridge Pop Warner Football after helping to found the league from 2009 to 2015 and founded the city’s first unlimited-weight team.
In baseball, he coached Little League, All-Stars, travel teams, and high school players. He has coached more than 450 baseball games as a head coach and organised free professional clinics serving over 300 children. His Charity Galluccio Associates has been the longest standing private funder of youth sports in History. The Non profit has helped countless fledgling sports leagues start , delivers scholarships and funds most of the leagues through sponsorship. Since 1994 Galluccio Associates has been the go-to organization to help youth sports and kids who struggle to afford youth sports. Youth sports has played more of a role building community and diffusing race and class problems than any other program in Cambridge,
He views youth sport the glue that keeps a diverse community together. In Cambridge we have kids from public housing, new immigrants and kids of fortune 500 companies. The great equalizer is youth sports. Galluccio was in 6th grade when school desegregation occurred. One thing that kept his community together was youth sports. He watched Patrick Ewing rule the court and differences were put aside to play in city wide leagues, it brought everyone all together. Each team is a family regardless of demographic differences.
Cancer-Focused Charities Built on Direct Action
In 2009, Galluccio founded Ashley’s Angels, a charity supporting paediatric cancer care. The organisation has donated more than $350,000 through partnerships with Dana-Farber and paediatric hospitals in the Dominican Republic.
He also leads Galluccio Associates, a 501(c)(3) that has donated well over $300,000 to youth sports and scholarships, and founded Hope for the Holidays, which supports about 40 families each year totalling over 200,000 in support directly to families
“I wanted organisations that actually deliver help,” he says. “Not just awareness.”
His approach is hands-on and long-term.
“Charity should be steady,” Galluccio says. “Families remember consistency.” Everything we do we do every year like clockwork. My family and network rise to the occasion every time. We involve the whole community. That’s the most important thing.
A Career Built on Habits, Not Headlines
Galluccio avoids calling his work a success story. He refers to values and work ethics as the goals. If you’re living with your values and holding to your work ethic you’re a success. .
“Every day is like a game,” he says. “You prepare. You show up. You execute.” You will get pulled from your values and will be tempted to cut corners. Values and work ethic is winning.
Surround yourself with positive, hard working, compassionate people. Every day should be two parts helping people, one part helping you and hopefully physical fitness which is your gift to you, All that represents balance.
“When you eliminate unhealthy escape behaviours and replace them with healthy escape behaviors, balance follows,” he says. You can still be a workaholic but you have the balance to protect yourself from unhealthy behaviors.
Looking back, his career reflects a pattern. Big ideas made practical. Public service turned into process knowledge. Coaching turned into community structure. Charity turned into direct support. It’s all intermingled. He doesn’t change my approach whether at work, coaching, in charity work, while helping people or in the gym. He goes all in and sticks to his core values.
“I’ve taken major setbacks and doubled down on my values and work ethic. It carried me through and some would say comebacks that surpassed all expectations,” Galluccio says. “Your values are your Gold card. I watched my Father use his to help elect a President and I watched my mom carry the world on her shoulders . I realized at a young age , no matter what comes at you or what you lose your values are the intangible assets only you have and no one can take . Invest in them. Hone them. Wear them proudly”
It is not a loud career. But it is a durable one.
Peyman Khosravani is a seasoned expert in blockchain, digital transformation, and emerging technologies, with a strong focus on innovation in finance, business, and marketing. With a robust background in blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi), Peyman has successfully guided global organizations in refining digital strategies and optimizing data-driven decision-making. His work emphasizes leveraging technology for societal impact, focusing on fairness, justice, and transparency. A passionate advocate for the transformative power of digital tools, Peyman’s expertise spans across helping startups and established businesses navigate digital landscapes, drive growth, and stay ahead of industry trends. His insights into analytics and communication empower companies to effectively connect with customers and harness data to fuel their success in an ever-evolving digital world.
