Tell us a little about yourself. You can include your personal background, family, outside interests that are important to who you are as a person and a candidate.
After growing up in Newton, heading to college in NYC, and working in New York, London, and Washington, DC, I returned to Massachusetts in 2010 to raise my family. Lexington won out because it was perfectly equidistant from a commuting perspective between my job and my husband’s and I feel so lucky we landed here since we have found it to be such a committed, compassionate community.
I’ve volunteered locally for many years, including on the Cary Memorial Library Foundation Board, the Lexington Center Artwalk Committee, the Lexington Center Committee, and as a Town Meeting member since 2020. I was also a caretaker for my mother, who lived with Alzheimer’s. That experience pushed me back to school for a master’s degree in social work—an amazing experience that not only included learning new approaches to problem solving, but also learning from my inspiring classmates from all walks of life in their 20s and 30s.
One of my frequent local joys is running and treading on Lexington’s many paths, although admittedly at a slower and more careful pace than when I first moved here.
Why are you running for Town Meeting?
I am running for my third term in Town Meeting, and I genuinely enjoy the range and complexity of the issues we take up from zoning issues to school funding to capital projects. What keeps me engaged is the opportunity to hear so many different points of view, often from neighbors who care deeply about doing what is best for our town but may approach doing so from different angles. Those conversations, especially the ones that challenge my own assumptions, are where the real work of local democracy happens.
I value the thoughtful questions (even those that come late at night) and especially the moments when someone raises a concern I hadn’t considered. I also have seen and appreciate the collective effort that so many Town Meeting Members take in carefully wading through complex issues to arrive at decisions that they believe reflect the best interests of our community.
Serving on Town Meeting has helped me realize how local issues are impactful for our lives day-to-day and how we can collectively and cooperatively shape the Lexington we want to live in. I’m running again because I want to continue contributing with curiosity, respect, and a steady commitment to Lexington’s future.
How has your past experience — whether in your professional life, elected office, or as a community leader — prepared you for a role in Town Meeting?
Patience and respect are, to me, the two qualities that make a strong Town Meeting member. I’ve learned that many of the issues we vote on at Town Meeting come with a long history. Unpacking that history to understand how we got here – and what might have been considered before to solve the problem – takes patience to sort through and respect for those who have advanced the issue over time, so we can learn from their experience.
I’ve had plenty of practice with both patience and respect. As the mother of three children born 21 months apart (yes, twins included), I learned early how to stay calm, listen carefully, and navigate competing needs without losing my sense of humor. Professionally, I’ve worked in fast‑paced environments with a wide range of personalities, which taught me the importance of clear communications and defining shared goals even when perspectives differ. My volunteer work has reinforced the importance of collaboration and thoughtful deliberation. Additionally, being a caregiver for my mother during her years with Alzheimer’s is an experience that deepened my empathy and strengthened my commitment to policies that support residents at all ages and of all abilities.
To me, engaging with people who see things differently is just part of how I move through life so there is not one single moment that stands out. I actually value hearing from people with different views and welcome the opportunity to hear their perspective. Over the years, I’ve endorsed candidates who don’t share all of my own views. If someone is genuinely committed to Lexington’s future, I believe they deserve a platform to be heard. Our community works best when a range of perspectives are discussed and taken seriously. That approach has shaped how I participate in Town Meeting: listen first and stay curious in order to come to a balanced and thoughtful decision.
What is the most important issue in this election to you personally, and what ideas do you have about how to address this issue?
One of the most important issues to me this year is the increasingly tight funding environment the town is facing, driven mostly by rising healthcare costs. This is a challenge that municipalities across the state are dealing with, so Lexington is certainly not alone. Our town staff and fiscal committees have done an excellent job developing the balanced budget they are proposing for a vote at Town Meeting this year, setting aside resources in the past, and structuring debt service on the high school project to cushion the impact on residents as much as possible. However, even with that strong effort, we have likely reached the point where future spending decisions will require real tradeoff and evaluation.