Karilyn Crockett, Boston's equity chief and a potential mayoral candidate, is resigning her post.

Crockett, 47, submitted her letter of resignation to Mayor Marty Walsh on Monday.

“It has been my pleasure and honor to serve as chief of equity for the city of Boston these last several months,” the Dorchester native wrote, noting her sooner-than-expected departure as Walsh prepares for an expected U.S. Senate confirmation to become secretary of labor.

Her resignation comes as sources close to her said that she is weighing whether to enter an already crowded race.

Local political observers suggested she might have a hard time mounting a successful campaign.

“The reality is, there are three ways you get on the field in a major race — name recognition, a field operation or money,” said long-time political consultant Michael Goldman.

One redeeming factor, he said, may be an intriguing personal narrative.

Goldman, who has advised Walsh since his 2013 mayoral campaign, said the former state representative’s unique story helped vault him to the top of the pack.

“He was able to break through a lot of different political silos,” Goldman said, pointing to Walsh’s identities as a first-generation American, a child cancer survivor and a man in recovery.

“I don’t know that [Crockett] has a really interesting story that will really resonate,” Goldman continued. “If she’s got a great back story, that could be a way for her to carve into the political landscape. But I don’t know it.”

Crockett, who Walsh appointed to the new cabinet-level position last June, was responsible for embedding equity into the city's plans, processes and regulations.

She took a leave of public service from her position as a lecturer at MIT to take the somewhat nebulous post. It ultimately entailed meeting with Walsh’s cabinet chiefs, asking them to define equity and then devise plans to move their departments towards those goals.

“I am grateful to have played even a small part in leading this work with you and establishing a blueprint for the ongoing success of the Equity and Inclusion Cabinet and its powerful team of executive leaders,” her resignation letter said, pointing to the recently enacted police accountability office, the formation of the Boston Racial Equity Fund and the development of the Health Equity Now Plan.

Crockett authored the 2018 book “People Before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners And A New Movement For City Making,” which examined Boston’s anti-highway expansion movement in the 1960s.

A scholar, she holds a doctorate from Yale’s American studies program, a master's degree in geography from the London School of Economics and a master's in religion from Yale Divinity School.

Prior to her current stint, Crockett served the city as director of economic policy and research and as director of small business development between 2014 and 2018.

Colette Phillips, who runs a marketing and communications company, said Crockett is brilliant and could be a strong candidate, but her lack of campaign experience would be a steep hurdle in a race packed with candidates who have years of campaign experience.

“All the other people running are current office holders with a natural constituency," Phillips said. "That’s going to be hard to overcome."

Phillips, who has not endorsed any candidate, said Boston suffers from “an embarrassment” of talented people of color who could lead the city well. Still, she would advise those mulling a run at this point to consider what sort of realistic backing they can muster.

“I think they all need to think very strategically,” she said. “Can the city sustain all these people running?”

Still, Phillips added, “In politics I never bet, because anything can happen.”

Crockett’s last day on the job will be Friday, March 5.