EXPERIENCE

Experience, 
Community Engagement, and Results

Town Government: 

8 Years Wellesley Natural Resources Commission 
  • Currently serving third time as Chair
Committees and Projects:
  • Community Preservation Committee
  • Climate Action Plan Working Group
  • Fuller Brook Park Coordinating Committee
  • Unified Plan Steering Committee
  • LED Streetlight Conversion Committee
  • North 40 Steering Committee
  • Hunnewell Athletic Fields Project Liaison
  • Route 9 Enhancement Committee
  • Outdoor Noise and Light Study Group
  • 3-R Working Group
7-Year Town Meeting Member, Precinct E
 Organization Memberships:

Co-Founder, Friends of Brookside 

Member: 
  • Sustainable Wellesley
  • Wellesley Club
  • Wellesley Conservation Land Trust
  • Wellesley Green Collaborative
  • Wellesley Green Schools
  • Wellesley League of Women Voters
  • Hale Reservation
  • Harris Center, NH
  • Mass Audubon Society
  • Mass Green Network
  • Mass Toxics Action
  • Native Plant Trust
  • Sierra Club
  • Trustees of Reservations
RESULTS: 

My experience as co-founder of Friends of Brookside, Town Meeting Member, and 8-year NRC Commissioner has taught me how our town government works and the importance of taking time to build broad support for complex projects. The strong relationships I’ve built with residents, businesses, talented staff, and members from our nine independently elected boards and multiple appointed committees have enabled me to produce positive results for our town, none of them alone! 

I’m proud of my part in the NRC’s accomplishments over the past 8 years:
  • Hiring our Director, Brandon Schmitt
  • Banning single-use plastic checkout bags
  • Partnering with the Wellesley MLP on energy- and money-saving LED Street Light conversion project to educate and involve the public 
  • Serving on the Community Preservation Committee to propose and approve funding for important open space and recreation projects, including $800,000 for the Girls’ Softball Fields renovations, and the Morses Pond Shoreline Restoration project.
  • Working with Town partners to complete the Thomas Lee and Diane Warren softball fields. 
  • Creating Grow Green Wellesley to encourage the use of  eco-friendly landscaping methods to protect our health and environment, including the recent Pollinate Wellesley initiative. 
  • Serving on the North 40 Steering Committee to purchase this important, undeveloped land 
  • Enhancing our town’s Tree Canopy: Hundreds of new trees planted in residents' front yards
  • Addressing gas leaks town- and state-wide
  • Purchasing of a gas leak detection device to detect methane in soil and avoid planting new trees near gas leaks
  • Serving on the Unified Plan Steering Committee to incorporate environmental best management practices in our long-range planning 
  • Partnering with town and state organizations to present educational forums and install the Police Station Pollinator Garden.
I love it all, from teaching children about stormwater runoff at our STEM Expo to negotiating an expensive weed harvester for our ponds. I appreciate the natural assets we have, and I serve to protect them while aiding progress that enriches the lives of all residents. Thank you.

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