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.
I grew up in the area (Belmont High School graduate), served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (1998–2000 in South Africa) before moving to California where I completed a Ph.D. in insect ecology and taught environmental studies. That’s also where I met my husband, Michael. He and I brought our family to Lexington in 2014. We have two children currently attending Lexington Public Schools—at LHS and Estabrook. I am currently the LexFarm Volunteer Programs coordinator.
Some of the things I love most about Lexington—land conservation, community volunteerism, commitment to high quality public education—are central to who I am.
Why are you running for Town Meeting?
I am running for re-election to a third term because I’m invested in our community and believe in actively contributing my time and experience to Lexington’s success.
Public service has been part of my life, from when I served in the Peace Corps twenty-five years ago to my involvement now in Lexington. The through-line of my community service has been connecting people to each other and to the natural world, examining problems and collaborating to find solutions.
I value the relationships I have built with other Town Meeting members and the deliberative process we take to making decisions on behalf of our community. I also value listening to community concerns and ideas, being informed by good data, and engaging in respectful discourse. Serving as a Town Meeting member allows me to represent our shared interests in ways that shape the direction Lexington is headed. We have key decisions to make this year which will have major impacts on Lexington’s future. I remain active and engaged with these issues, and am prepared to represent our interests with my votes.
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?
In my early 20s, through my U.S. Peace Corps service, I learned the value of slowing down to listen to what community priorities are, even when my own impulse may be to leap to action quickly. A deliberative decision process also ensures all the important questions can be asked and answered—this is a primary role of Town Meeting members during Town Meeting debate.
I’ve spent the past decade immersing myself in community service in Lexington in a variety of ways. I have served as a member of Town Manager Search Selection (2024) and Residential Exemption Policy Study (2018–19) committees, Estabrook Big Backyard program coordinator, Lexington Living Landscapes steering committee, former Treasurer of LexFUN!, former Dismantling Racism in Our Town facilitator, among others. The experiences and conversations I’ve had in these organizations inform my understanding of Lexington values and priorities.
As Town Meeting members, we are asked to consider a wide range of financial and policy questions each year. It’s a role I take seriously by following Select Board meetings and working hard to understand the complex competing factors at play. This work includes examining the draft budget during the budget summit process, asking questions of those with subject matter expertise, and listening to residents with a variety of perspectives and priorities. We each have different lived experiences which inform our opinions, so it is understandable that I hear from constituents who feel differently from each other, and sometimes differently from me, particularly on hot-button issues in town.
When a constituent comes to me with a question or opinion they want to share, my first step is to discern what their core concerns are. Sometimes, sharing more information related to the issue will satisfy their concerns. Always, I listen to their concerns and reflect on where and why our priorities may not be aligned. I’m a scientist and an open listener—when there is new information to be considered, I’m grateful to those who bring it forward.
What is the most important issue in this election to you personally, and what ideas do you have about how to address this issue?
As a town, we are facing challenging decisions—these will determine where Lexington is headed. My priorities remain working to find a balance between large capital project needs and residential property tax strain, encouraging diversified development while maintaining our tree canopy and a sustainable Town operating budget, and working to increase connection among Lexington residents.
The biggest issue our community is facing today is the extremely rapid population growth Lexington is now anticipating in the next couple years as a result of the 2023 MBTA rezoning bylaw—a rate that was not predicted when Town Meeting voted. Building permits have been submitted in two years that we had been advised would take a decade. Continuing at the current rate would strain our operating budget, our municipal infrastructure, and our schools beyond capacity. A change now is needed. Compliance with the State law, which aims to alleviate a regional housing shortage, is necessary and moral, but we need to scale back the acres allowed and slow the rate of new projects going forward. Town Meeting will have an opportunity to accomplish this scaling-back with Article 2 on March 17, which I support.
MBTA zoning is not our only important issue in the next year, however. Our biggest capital project yet will be the Lexington High School building project—vital for the future success of Lexington and also a significant financial cost. Town Meeting will be asked to vote on this project in fall 2025. Lexington has been planning financially for this project for the past decade, setting aside approximately $40 million to date (Capital Stabilization Fund) to offset some of this cost. How that money will be allocated to soften the impact, particularly in the earlier years of this project’s debt service is something I have advocated for to Select Board members and will continue to do so. Town Meeting members are responsible for examining whether the cost savings side and the impact-mitigating side of this project are done to the best of the Town’s ability, and I take that responsibility very seriously.
These are two critically important issues for Lexington, but there are other articles I care deeply about that are coming to Town Meeting this spring as well. If re-elected, I promise to continue to come to Town Meeting informed and prepared on each warrant article.
Thanks for considering my candidacy. Please vote on Monday, March 3.